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6 Mass. restaurants make the ‘Yelp Elites’ favorite pizzas in U.S. list
Some of the Massachusetts restaurants aren't pizzerias but still received recognition for their pies.
Options for a slice of pizza in and around Boston feel limitless, from takeout pizzerias to sit-down Italian restaurants. This guide from Yelp’s most trusted reviewers from around the country recommended six Boston area-based eateries when it comes to pizza.
The annual Top 100 Pizza Spots from Yelp included one Cambridge restaurant and five Boston businesses — one with a second location on the North Shore — in a ranking put together by “Yelp Elites,” which the business review website describes as their “most passionate and trusted reviewers and influencers.”
The highest ranked Massachusetts restaurant was Cambridge’s Russell House Tavern, in spot No. 33. This Harvard Square eatery doesn’t only serve pizza, with a menu that includes steak frites, a raw bar, and a signature burger. Executive chef Brian Pawlak said their pizza is a standout because of the dough, which they make in house daily.
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“Several years ago, we made it our mission to overhaul our pizza dough,” Pawlak said in an email. “Many iterations and pizza tastings later, we landed on a dough we felt best represents the bar pie style we serve at Russell House Tavern.”
He called the mushroom and leek pizza — with a garlic mascarpone base, light goat cheese, mozzarella, and truffle oil — a “crowd favorite.” But his personal recommendation was the Brussels house pizza, topped with barbecue braised pulled pork, shredded mozzarella and pecorino, roasted corn, pickled red onions, and of course, crispy shaved Brussels sprouts.
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“But you’ll never go wrong with our crispy Margherita,” Pawlak said.
Coming in second among Massachusetts spots and No. 42 on the top-100 list was The Salty Pig, a restaurant located on the line of the Back Bay and South End that focuses heavily on charcuterie boards.
Similarly, executive chef David Kriz gave credit to their fine-tuning process of the dough and their ingredients used.
“Even the way we stretch the dough, assemble, and bake the pizzas is done in a specific way,” Kriz said in an email. “Almost everything we have on our menu is made from scratch, which allows us to prepare things exactly the way we want them.”
If you’re visiting The Salty Pig for a pie, Kriz said they always have at least one pizza on their menu that features house-made hot Italian pork sausage with seasonal toppings. He recommended that, as well as their Margherita pizza.
Here are the other four Massachusetts restaurants that appeared on Yelp’s pizza list:
- 51: La Famiglia Giorgio’s, Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End
- 64: Santarpio’s Pizza, pizzeria in East Boston and Peabody
- 81: Antico Forno, Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End
- 82: Picco, pizzeria in the South End
Yelp’s top-10 picks included several New York and California restaurants, but a Chicago place that appeared in FX hit series “The Bear,” Pequod’s Pizza, snagged the top spot.
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