UX Testing IRL - Boston's Best Cannoli - August 2017
The 3 test Cannoli before the taste test.
Throughout my entire college career and for year following the debate has raged. What is the best cannoli in Boston?
We have all debated over coffee and waited with seas of people at Mike’s Pastry’s to get the “best” savory and cream filled, Italian delight.
On the evening of Saturday, August 19th, 2017, three dedicated testers decided to once, and for all, settle this debate. At 8:30 PM, on a busy festival night in the North End, we set up a criterion to judge Boston’s Best Cannoli. After a hearty Italian dinner, we set out to obtain cannolis from Modern Pastry, Mike’s Pastry, and “local favorite” Bova Pizzeria and Pastry shop.
Set-up:
Each tester, a current or former Boston citizen, chose one pastry shop to represent their favorite cannoli shop.
Mike’s Pastry , located at 300 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113 (My entry)
Modern Pastry, located at 257 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113 (Brian’s)
Bova Bakery, located at 134 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113 (Kristina’s “Local Favorite)
The test was on standard, plain, Ricotta Cannoli. We purchased 2 cannoli per location, and had head to head taste comparison.
The Grading was based on 5 Categories:
Shell,
Filling,
Presentation,
Value (Price vs. Size of Pastry),
Experience (Line length, wait time, shopping experience)
Methodology:
We purchased 2 cannoli per location, and had head to head taste comparison.
The cannoli were placed side by side on a single plate and all 3 taste testers shared the exact cannoli.
3 tasters secretly ranked all 3 cannoli on all 5 criteria. (3pt to the favorite, 2pt for 2nd, 1pt for last)
This was not a double-blind test, if we were to run it again, we would maintain anonymity by doing a double-blind taste test.
Assumptions:
No votes were swayed by knowing the origin of the cannoli
This one experience, was representative of any random day and time in the North End.
Summary:
Modern won!
Modern took first place in Experience (I was in and out in under 3 minutes), Shell, Presentation, and was a close second for Filling and Value.
Mike’s was the best Filling and Value, and 2nd in Shell and Presentation. However, the frantic NASDAQ trading floor style atmosphere in the store and long wait put it 3rd in Experience,
Bova was the 2nd in Experience (Short lines and open late helped it easily past Mike’s), and a far 3rd for Shell, Presentation, and Filling (more custard than ricotta, aka. cannoli)