I took a brief break this week from trying to find the best burger in Boston and moved on to trying to find the best pizza in Boston. Since I love a good food fight, I pitted two popular pizza spots in the city, Santarpio’s in East Boston and Regina’s in the North End, against each other to see who one puts out a better pie. (Pardon the pictures, by the way, they were taken from my Blackberry!)
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| Pizzeria Regina |
Let’s start with Pizzeria Regina, shall we? Tucked away in the North End but easily spotted by the crowds of people that line up around the corner, the decor is pretty lackluster and outdated but in a charming (for lack of better word) way. The dining room is packed and the pies are served up with a little attitude and a thick Boston accent. Regina’s boasts a vast menu that is simple and traditional but also offers other combinations for those that crave more toppings. Keeping it simple, I opted for the Margherita pizza, which is a classic combination of tomato sauce, mozzarella and romano cheeses and then topped with fresh basil. We didn’t have to wait long for the pizza to come out, hot and with the cheese still bubbling. At first bite, the crust is killer. It’s everything you’d want a good crust to be. Soft and crispy at the same time, doughy but not in a bad way and with a flavor that is slightly sweet. The sauce and cheese were a great compliment, lightly gracing the top of the pizza in a way that wasn’t too overpowering. I finished the pizza and found myself still hungry for more. However, this certainly isn’t the type of place where you hang out for hours. Once the last bite is taken, you get rushed out, the table is quickly cleaned off and new patrons are seated before you’re even out the door. Can’t say I blame them. After all, they’ve got a mob of hungry customers waiting.
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| Santarpio’s |
Moving over to East Boston, in another unassuming corner of the street, sits the famed Santarpio’s Pizza. Less touristy and with an atmosphere that is slightly grittier then Regina’s and service to match, Santarpio’s is known not just for good pizza but for its BBQ as well. An interesting combination but it seems to work just fine. Seated at a rickety wooden booth, the pizza came out piping hot and nicely charred. Because I was with a larger crowd, I got to sample both their Italian Cheese Pizza and the Pepperoni Pizza. A little greasier than Regina’s, it was also more generously topped with a thick layer of richly flavored tomato sauce and melted cheese. With the pepperoni pizza, the topping was generously served and hidden under the layer of cheese. The crust was much crispier and less doughy and the bottom was heavily dusted with cornmeal that popped with each bite. The ever popular lamb barbecue (which was strongly recommended to me) was charred nicely but under seasoned and lackluster.
While both are definitely a great pizza and well worth the trip if you haven’t been, for me, I chose Regina’s by a nose and accredit its win to its superior crust. I’d love to hear other’s opinions, either on these two particular pizza spots or any others that you think are good in the city…let’s get the discussion going!
