Oh, they've spruced up the outside with a giant mural, unhappily obscured by the Big Dig. But on the whole, Pat's Pushcart gives the impression that you've tripped back three decades to the year it opened, long before the Central Artery project made getting to the North End a horrific hassle. In those days, Haymarket vendors would store their pushcarts in the alley out back. It's a gastronomic flashback to an era when eating Italian meant shrimp scampi and veal parm. They remain as popular as ever.
Portions are so generous, leftovers are a given.
There's something about consistency that I grudgingly admire. Admittedly, the chops are overcooked. The wine list is frankly lackluster. Drinking vino from water tumblers is somehow appropriate. Unlike other North End eateries, Pat's offers dessert.