I haven't gone to the North End since my post to find the exact one at Tresca, but I did find some at Whole Foods...it was Cacio di Bosca en Tartufo-softer, younger and not as intense with truffle flavor , but it was a hit at the party I brought it to. It better have been for $20+ a pound!

Thanks, all! My boyfriend will be thrilled when I surprise him with some. =)

Has anyone ever had or heard of caciotta al tartufo? It is semi hard mild truffled cheese. My boyfriend and I ordered a cheese plate at Tresca which featured it and it was one of the best cheeses I've ever had. I was wondering if anyone familiar with the cheese shops in the North End might have a lead on where to get some. FYI - I know it's not in the North End, but I did try a search of Formaggio Kitchen's site (as they seem to have everything) which yielded no results. Thanks!

Speaking of Bacco, I had had pre-dinner drinks there before, but as my husband and I were wandering around the North End last night, trying to avoid the tourist and feast crush, we ducked in for an early dinner. We loved our table by a second floor window, and were able to see (and hear) the brass band pass by. However, that was the best part. Our waitress, who meant well, was sweet and accommodating enough - but several issues ensued at Bacco. We tried to order a bottle of sauvignon blanc. They were out of the one we wanted. They told us it was replaced by something else (which we later discovered was a pinot grigio - not sure how THAT is supposed to work as a substitution for sauvingnon blanc - strange). We order a second one - IT was out. We settled on another (third choice), and when it arrived, it wasn't a sauvignon blanc at all, it was a meritage. Whatever. We kept and drank it, even though it was not very good. They also charged us for the one we ended up having to order, even though it was $9 more for the bottle than the original one they could not provide (and, again, it wasn't even the right variety of wine). We ordered our entrees - my husband liked his scallops puttanesca. I ordered risotto primavera which actually tasted like . . . NOTHING!! It was amazing! My husband, not nearly as picky as I am tasted it and had to agree. I had to put a LOT of salt in there, which I hate to do. It was so utterly lacking in flavor, it tasted like what I imagine wallpaper paste would taste like. I vowed to myself we wouldn't go back. Because it then started torentially raining, derailing our walk to Caffe Vittoria for dessert, we ordered dessert at Bacco. It was a molten chocolate cake. It arrives, in about 2 minutes. Just a tiny cake on a plate with a mint leaf stuck in it. No ice cream, no whipped cream - for $10!!!!! I think you can buy them at the grocery store and stick them in the microwave. The atmosphere and service were lovely - too bad I won't go back. With all the competition in the area, they REALLY need to step things up!