Plain, ordinary pizza...

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

I was at a party some months ago in Davis, and someone ordered pizza, and it was Good. I would love to know where it came from, but I have so little information as to be completely useless. It came in your standard pizza delivery box; I didn't live in the square at the time, so I didn't recognize (or, obviously, remember) the name... what it was, was plain ol' tasty, floppy, foldable, not-too-saucy, grease-on-top, more-chewy-than-crispy "mall" pizza. New York style, I think they call it -- which, I have determined, you cannot get in Boston for love nor money.

So, any recommendations for good pizza that fits that description? I just keep finding places that are either gourmet (which is also nice, of course) or just nasty (i.e. Domino's).

Comments

[cemeterygates.livejournal.com]

Sounds like Cristos pizza to me. Could also be Primos.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I am partial to Cristo's, but I don't really know what New York style is, or whether Cristo's matches that description.

[dreamgirly19.livejournal.com]

the pizza place Angelinas on Holland St right up from the sq has amazing pizza!

[frederic.livejournal.com]

I second Angelina's.

Also, Pini's on B-way in Magoon Square (near where B-way intersects Medford).

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Pini's I've tried. Good, but not the place.

Thanks.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

My roommate tells me that Cristo's is Greek style. So perhaps not the place, but I quite like Greek-style pizza too, so I appreciate the recommendation.

[larksdream]

What's Greek style pizza?

[lidiya6.livejournal.com]

I think greek style is when the crust is a little fatter and fluffier (not really a thick crust tho), basically more like bread than what I think of as pizza crust. Also, the crust will be more squared off at the bottom.

[bex77]

Maybe Theo's in Teele Square? TaF ordered from them a couple of times.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that makes it a *really* good bet! Thank you!

[dougo.livejournal.com]

Davis Square Pizza makes it like that. Corner of Willow and Highland.

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

You can easily spot this pizza, as it's cooked in a pan instead of directly in the oven.

The crust is greasy and spongy and breadlike. The cheese is thick and chewy.

[irinarasp.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's Pine's in Magoun Square.

[ah42.livejournal.com]

I have determined that is very difficult to find a Good(tm) pizza within I-95. Even Uno's chicago-style pizza is not really chicago-style. And what places call "deep dish" is only merely thicker than their normal pizza, and still what I'd consider a thin crust. And they're so very floppy.. you need three hands to hold a slice!

Oh... good luck :)

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

My standard is NYC style pizza and I've found Mikes, right on the square to be the closest approximation around here. It's *not* Greek style, which makes sense as (most of?) the rest of the food they have is Italian, not Greek.

[kjc.livejournal.com]

Obligatory bias confession: I grew up in Jersey on NY Style pizza and I miss it. It's pretty much the only thing about Jersey I miss besides my Grandma and my aunties.

Greek pizza has a thick, almost fluffy crust, lots of sauce, some kinda chewy cheese (generic mozarella, I think, and lots of it), and a pool of grease in the middle.

NY Style has a thin (but not crispy) crust that's a bit chewy, very little sauce (and the sauce usually has oregano in it), and slightly sour mozarella cheese. The cheese barely covers the pie. It is perfection.

Domino's is on the Greek end of the scale crust-wise, but I think they use bell peppers in their sauce (which just tastes nasty to me).

Papa John's has a fluffy, chewy crust, is somewhere between Greek & NY in terms of cheese and sauce, but minus the greasiness of Greek. I find it pretty tasty. They have a thin crust option, available in their large size only, that is much closer to Italian, but the crust is crispy. They include two little packets of CRACK with their thin crust - it's a bunch of finely ground spices (akin to the addictive stuff in Doritos) that you sprinkle on the pizza that makes it even better.

Surprisingly, Papa Gino's is pretty damn close to NY Style, although there aren't any in the immediate Camberville area.

In Cambridge, Emma's over in Kendall Square makes an excellent pizza, but tending toward the gourmet end of the scale (which I find more bearable than Greek piza).

Also in Cambridge, toward Mt. Auburn Hospital, there used to be a fantastic place that made perfect NY Style pizza. It was called IL BUONGUSTAIO and, of course, it closed. Supposedly it merged with a place called REAL PIZZA across the street (they used to be competitors). REAL PIZZA was an offshoot of the Hi Rise Bakery. I haven't been there in a while and they don't have a website so I don't know if they're still open or what.

I like Bertucci's pizza (especially the Margherita), but it's kind of in a class all its own.

I miss Tommy's House of Pizza back when they were doing the special crusts. You could get your crust with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic, cheese, etc. A garlic pizza with garlic crust - yum!

I'm too scared to try Mike's in Davis. I've tried most of the other pizza in the Porter Square/Davis Square/Union Square area and it's all Greek.

Sounds like I should try Theo's, Davis Square Pizza, and Pine's.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I've had to resort to going to visit family in IL just to get decent pizza. Growing up in IL I didn't realize that it would be really difficult to get either good mexican or good pizza, but apparently it is really difficult. Granted, I now live in NM, so there is good mexican but still bad pizza and world record setting bad chinese.

[dominika-kretek.livejournal.com]

Ever go to Dion's?

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Ah. Cristo's is not like this. It's just normal pizza. Er. Wait. No - I guess they do put it in a pan. But doesn't everyone?

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

No. Real pizza is baked directly on the oven deck, not in a pan. Greek/crap/Domino's/Pizzahut pizza are baked in a pan, and Chicago pizza is also baked in a pan.

Real pizza: Regina, Santarpio's, T. Anthony, Pino's, Presto, Armando's, Ernesto's.

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

The closest place I've found for pizza that technically is some kind of real pizza is Armando's around the corner from Hi-Rise. Unfortunately, it doesn't have much flavor... I wouldn't recommend it over just going to Allston/Brighton or donwtown or Eastie.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what's scary about Mike's. Try it!

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Ah, right. I guess I have seen that at, um, Bertucci's. I'm used to having to bake pizza in a pan cause otherwise it drips through the grate in the oven (at home).

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Bertucci's too. At home you can use an (ungreased) pan sitting on top of a cast iron pan or bricks or something else that will hold a lot of heat... get it all hot and then put the pizza on top of it

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Ha, you are my pizza diety! You described the kind of pizza I'm looking for perfectly.

I grew up in Philly, which is probably why my ideas about pizza are similar to yours. (And went to college in NY.)

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

The places we use are Cafe Rossini (definitely fits that description), Andrea's (greek style), Primos and Star Pizzaria. Andrea's is my favorite. Rossini is a little too greasy foldy for me!

[turil.livejournal.com]

I'm still a fan of Pini's in Ball Square, which I think has an excellent NY style pizza.

There's also a tiny take out place on Beacon near the Kirkland Street intersection in Somerville (on the Cambridge border, near Inman Square). It's really yummy and very cheap.

Oh, and one other note about the difference between Greek and Italian style pizza crusts, often the Greek style ones are premade (pre-baked, I think) and frozen and, as someone else mentioned, they are more spongy. The Itanian ones are freshly made from very stretchy dough that is tossed into the air while spinning it (they really do this!) to stretch it out quite thinly.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

At home, you can use a pizza stone. Nothing works better than that (in a standard oven, anyway).

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

Is that in NM some place? I can't place the name in either NM or MA.

BTW, still planning on running away from the NE to the desert?

[turil.livejournal.com]

Uh, duh. The name would help people, Turil... That place on Beacon is called Dial-a-pizza if'n your interested.

[dominika-kretek.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's in Albuquerque at the very least. It was always the place to go. Maybe it doesn't exist anymore.

Dion's

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

It still exists. It's all over the place in Albuquerque. I think it used to be a lot better when there were only one or too locations, but its still worth going for the green chili pizza.

[disblfsuspender.livejournal.com]

I just keep finding places that are either gourmet (which is also nice, of course) or just nasty (i.e. Domino's).

This is totally the worst pizza town ever. In going on three years, I haven't been able to find even a passable NY or Chicago style place(and no, Uno is not good Chicago-style), and really only one pizza place that I like at all, Pinocchio's, and that's Sicilian style or somethingorother. It really makes no damned sense at all, with as many college and post-college kids as we have running around here there ought to be a huge market for it, but it seems to be the case, at least in Camberville. I've heard vague rumblings about good hole-in-the-wall places in Allston and/or JP, but I haven't had the motivation to investigate further.

Pinochio's

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

Pinochio's also makes a thin crust pizza which I prefer to the (very good) sicilian they sell by the slice. I don't think you can order the thin crust by the slice, but a fresh, plain cheese thin crust from there is mad good.

I also recently tried Pinky's in Medford and found it to be better than most of the Davis/Teele Square spots.

Re: Pinochio's

[disblfsuspender.livejournal.com]

Pinochio's also makes a thin crust pizza which I prefer to the (very good) sicilian they sell by the slice. I don't think you can order the thin crust by the slice, but a fresh, plain cheese thin crust from there is mad good.

I did not know that. I'll have to give that a try sometime soon. Thanks for the tip.

[lz1982.livejournal.com]

Pizzeria Rico on Bromfield St. downtown has very good NY-style pizza.

In Allston, Angora Cafe. (the branch near Babcock, not Sutherland) is pretty good. And I also like Upper Crust (downtown and Coolidge Corner) but that's "gourmet" pizza.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I love Upper Crust! I miss it now that I'm in Somerville. It wasn't NY style, but it sure was good.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

http://www.tuftslife.com/dining/index.php?sort=DeliveryDesc#Italian/Pizza/Subs