The Hall of Misfit Pies
The best fried-chicken, teriyaki-beef, pastrami, bagel, and sashimi pizzas (this side of Naples.) Apologies in advance to the purists.
This post was last updated in July 2018 to reflect closures of a few spots, and additional restaurants from a couple pizza pros.
The Pastrami Flatbread
Imagine a traditional deli-style Reuben, but without the top slice of bread—or, you know, any pretense of restraint. Joshua Smith’s decadent meat pie slathers wood-fired flatbread with Dijon aioli, then piles on nutty Emmenthaler, sauerkraut, and house-cured pastrami-trim confit, French for “bathed in its own hot fat for hours.”
The Backroom at Moody’s, 468 Moody St., Waltham, 781-216-8732, moodyswaltham.com.
The Honey Barbecue Chicken
We know what you’re thinking, but no: It’s pure coincidence that this scruffy mini chain has an outpost 0.19 miles from the magazine’s offices. It caught our eye only because the Day-Glo honey-mustard sauce—drizzled over layers of chicken strip, French fry, and mozz—is sometimes visible from our windows.
New York Pizza, 435 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, 617-266-7020; 244 Tremont St., Boston, 617-482-3459; newyorkpizzaboston.com.
The Pizza Bagel
A highlight of the daily “after-school specials” offered at Sunny Boy—the new Washington Square eatery by the JM Curley crew—these house-baked bagels get topped with marinara, fresh basil, and mozzarella.
Sunny Boy, 1632 Beacon St., Brookline, 617-739-1114, sunnyboybrookline.com.
Sunny Boy closed in early 2016 to make way for a Stoked Wood Fired pizzeria.
The Sushi Pancake
New York import Crave has figured out that the flaky, pan-seared scallion pancake makes a brilliant conduit for shuttling gobs of bold-flavored…stuff from plate to pie hole. Speaking of which: To fit an entire slice of this sashimi-themed, sriracha-mayo-laced pu-pu platter into your mouth at one time, you practically have to unhinge your jaw.
Crave Mad for Chicken, 75 Kneeland St., Boston, 617-338-0188, cravemadforchicken.com.
The Beef Teriyaki
At long last, a Secret Option C to the age-old conundrum: pizza or Chinese? Mei Mei’s recurring special posits a bold vision of old-world Sicily as seen through a Saugus-tiki prism, nimbly mashing up house-baked rosemary focaccia, mozz, and marinara with pulled braised beef shank doused in a honey-and-black-vinegar teriyaki sauce.
Mei Mei, 506 Park Dr., Boston, 857-250-4959, meimeiboston.com.
Photographs by Marian Siljeholm
PLUS: The List | Best in Crust | College Pizzas | Hall of Misfit Pies
