By Dana Ferrante ’17

It’s true. Mike’s Pastry, in all its powdered-sugar-sprinkled, ricotta-filled goodness, has finally opened in Harvard Square. With the interior not quite done, Mike’s opened today unannounced, boasting only the spotless glass cases filled with pastries of all kinds and the smooth granite countertops. But really, what else could you possibly need?

Mike’s Pastry has been open in the North End (basically Boston’s Little Italy) for almost 62 years now. The new satellite shop in Harvard Square will receive deliveries of all sorts of pastries (lobster tails, tiramisu, and empty cannoli shells that will be filled to order) from the main bakery in the North End each morning. To finish off the exciting Italian-American immigration to Harvard Square, the new shop will also offer coffee drinks, including espresso and cappuccino.

For my first Mike’s run of the semester, I thought I would stick to the basics: cannoli and pizzelle.

Unlike most bakeries in the North End, Mike’s Pastry fries its own cannoli shells seven days a week. For anyone who has ever bitten into a disappointingly stale cannoli shell, Mike’s fresh, light, and generally larger shells, are nothing short of salvation. It may just be a matter of personal preference, but there’s really nothing like a ricotta-filled cannoli with a plain shell. An oreo or strawberry cannoli may seem tempting, but these are purely Americanized versions of an Italian classic– a classic, which I believe (some people say a little too obstinately) is perfect, and most delicious, in its original form.

For the time being, the shop will open from 8am to 10pm each day, but as the manager explained, “we have already heard from a lot of students that Saturday night is going to be very busy.” He went on to explain how the current hours are soft, meaning if there seems to be a high-demand for cannoli late at night, the shop will change its hours accordingly. Something tells me that late-night Mike’s will soon become the next big thing on Harvard’s campus.