Mattyhorn’s Profile
Recent Comments
Bertucci's
Bertucci's has become a chain, devoid of its original calling and, as mentioned in the article, expanded way too fast for its own good. By now, the Flatbread Pizza Co. has taken what Bertucci's used to be known for and beaten them at their own game.
I never order pizza at Bertucci's, but they do make effective use of their brick ovens for other dishes, too. Their baked tortellini w/ chicken is friggin' superb.
All in all, a more-than-worthy alternative to the dreaded Olive Garden.
A List of Regional Pizza Styles
I must also comment on the "Sicilian Bakery-Style Pizza", as this is a completely different style than the norm. I'll use as my example the great "Tripoli's Bakery" in Lawrence, Mass. [Lawrence's nickname is "The Immigrant City", as many, many of its former and current inhabitants came here to work in the mills. This resulted in a highly diverse population, though the majority were Irish, then Italian/Sicilian. So there once were many, many pizza shops, including Greek and Lebanese varieties, and overall quality varied greatly]
Tripoli's is a full-service bakery, but also has a separate counter for pizza and meat pies only, and makes what I'm told is authentic Sicilian pizza: square, thin crust, lightly seasoned tomato sauce, very little cheese (mozzarella only), very crisp and made in very large sheets. Often, whole sheets are par-cooked in advance, then reheated, slice by slice, as ordered. Slices can also be ordered with pepperoni or a single thin slice of imported provolone. Importantly, the crust does not rise when cooked, so it stays crispy and is never oily or grease-laden.
This was nearly the only pizza we had growing up, partly because Tripoli's pizza could be bought frozen (uncooked) in bags, then conveniently baked in the toaster oven (or grilled), as two slices fit perfectly. [This is not your usual frozen pizza!]
The pizza is so distinctive, that the bakery also operates a pizza stand at Salisbury Beach, MA, which is constantly busy and open year-round (yes, even in the winter). The funny thing is that another beach stand, Christy's, serves suspiciously-similar pizza only two doors down from the Tripoli's stand, yet is also successful. Around there, the debate of "Christy's vs. Tripoli's" pizza is second perhaps only to the "chicken vs. egg". (They're both pretty darn good.)
I would love to hear if anyone knows any further details about the venerable Tripoli's/Christy's history or other details about Lawrence.
[And don't get me started on meat pie....]
A List of Regional Pizza Styles
Good call on the "NE-Greek Style" pizza, as this seems to be its own distinct regional style of pie. Growing up near Boston, I believe this is by far the most common type of independently-made pizza available (disregarding the popular Papa Gino's chain - but that's another story). Indeed, my wife (born and raised in Detroit) commented upon moving here that "every town has its own 'House of Pizza'". I imagine that this is due to the lack of Italian surnames among the owners; besides, each town can only have one 'HoP', right?
to be continued...
See more comments by Mattyhorn ยป
Recent Posts
Mattyhorn hasn't written a post yet.
Recent Favorites
Mattyhorn hasn't favorited a post yet.
Recent Polls
Mattyhorn hasn't answered any polls yet.
Recent Quizzes
Mattyhorn hasn't taken any quizzes yet.
If you're in the neighborhood, Tripoli's Bakery in Lawrence, MA and Piro's Bakery in Methuen, MA both offer bags of freshly frozen "Sicilian Bakery-Style Pizza" to take home. Two slices fit perfectly in your toaster oven.
While you're there, get some tasty pastries, too...like the North End only, er, further north.