Andrina's Pizza - Arlington - Best pizza I have had in MA

[marcreichman]

To start, I am one of those people who originally came from NJ, and will say things like "every random corner frankie's or joey's pizzeria in NJ beats out most of Boston without even trying". I have lived here about 15 years, and have tried MANY of the places in the area.

With that out of the way, it's kind of hard for me to believe that no one has written about Andrina's just yet.

We've had delivery from them twice, and yesterday I picked up a couple of plain slices to go around lunchtime from a fresh pie. I am not necessarily saying that Andrina's is the best there is, but for *me*, it's perfect. Previously I held Sabatino's in this regard, and if you like that style you will LOVE this. It features good char on the chewy and thin crust, a good amount of garlicky sauce (this is an area Sabatino's lacks), salty cheese with the just the right amount of grease, and, in the case of previous orders, very fresh toppings (large artichoke heart quarters, big pieces of ham, etc.).

I made sure to get food from here several times before writing to make sure there wasn't any consistency issue, and I have not been disappointed. This is definitely not any kind of fancy/attempted fancy pie like Cambridge 1 or Picco but just very well-executed NJ/NY style thin-crust pizza. I would say this is not to be missed.

For reference of my particular style, pizza around here I would vouch for:
Andrina's (duh)
Sabatino's (also duh)
Mangia (South End)
New York Pizza (Roxbury)
Cappy's II (Huntington Ave., Fenway)
Gran Gusto
When Pigs Fly Pizzeria (Kittery, ME)

I do not care for the pizza referred to around here as "greek"-style, or anything that comes off a conveyor belt. For places like this, I find I appreciate the plain slices so much that it's hard to convince me to cover up the awesomeness with a topping.

http://www.andrinaspizza.com/
1060 Massachusetts Ave.
Arlington, MA
781-648-4800

[Edokko]

I have to disagree with the characterization of Andrina's crust as chewy. It seemed to me to be crispy and perfectly uniform in thickness like dried out pita bread. As if the flour was low on gluten. There was an added grainy texture from the corn meal on the bottom. I only went to eat there once so maybe I got a bad example. But Sabatino's is still my Arlington fave, even though they are not super consistent.

[Alcachofa]

I've had the pizza from Andrina's a couple times since the original post. If you live in the area (Arl, Belm, Lex), it is definitely worth looking into. Probably the best around there. I don't see any resemblance to Greek pizza at all. I still prefer Stella's in Watertown, but that's too far for me now.

[Isolda]

Thanks for posting this! We live right down the street in Lexington, and have passed that place many times. Haven't found a good pizza place here yet (no, don't care for Upper Crust), so would be very happy to give Andrina's a try. My 15 year old is the pizza snob in this house and so far, Ty's Pies in Natick is his favorite, but that's a little too far from our new house.

[AngerHeSmiles]

These pizza threads are far and away the most frustrating threads I find on Chowhound. I constantly read each one hoping to find one place that actually serves NYC quality pizza and am constantly disappointed. I had Engine House in Salem the other day based on CH recommendations and thought it was remarkably similar to Elio's pizza I got in my elementary school cafeteria.

There was a place in Ipswich called Theo's that was very good but it's gone now. Riverview is pretty good but I'm not going all the way out to Ipswich for it. I eat Sal's most often because it's close enough to Salem to pick-up for an easy dinner(where Riverview fails for me) and at least consistent in not being horrible which is about all I ask for in MA pizza now a days.

Most recently, the wife and I went to Plum Tomatoes Brick Oven Pizza in Peabody and it was pretty good as well, but I don't give it a full thumbs up until they can repeat it.

[Blumie]

What I find incredibly frustrating is the constant search for "NYC quality pizza." I split my time between Boston and NYC, and while NYC has some great pizza, it also has some incredibly bad pizza. Of the pizza places I prefer (Santarpio's and Regina in Boston; and Roberta's, Saraghina and Co. in NYC, for example), I like them because their pizza is delicious, not because I can categorize them as being a particular style.

NYC certainly offers a broader variety of good pizza than does Boston, but Boston has plenty of good pizza, too. (And, just like NYC, Boston also has its fair share of bad pizza!)

[grant.cook]

Then you have the idea setup, Blumie - because you can stop in New Haven and hit up Frank Pepe's..

[marcreichman]

I agree wholeheartedly. For me, it's simply craving the pizza I ate growing up, which is *my* perfect, which may not be yours, his, hers, etc.

There is a lot of crap everywhere :)

[Blumie]

grant.cook: Not only can I (and do I) stop in New Haven for Frank Pepe's, but I can (and do) stop in Providence for Bob & Timmy's wonderful grilled pizzas!!!

marcreichman: You hit it on the head. Most of us crave not just good tasting pizza, but also pizza that reminds us of what we ate and loved growing up. People often don't recognize the importance that nostalgia plays if the foods we desire. (In my case, I'm always on the look out for veal parmigiana that reminds me of the version I used to get as a kid at Georgio's on Union St. in Newton Centre!)

[grant.cook]

Hmmm.... got a couple of weeks before the new job starts up - maybe a Providence run is in order..

[AngerHeSmiles]

You're correct in that my use of the term "NYC quality" was the wrong choice. That said, there is definitely a NYC style of pizza which is what the constant search is for and the even greater search is for quality "NYC style pizza".

And yes...New Haven has some heavenly pizza's...still haven't made it to Sally's because they won't answer their phone and have terrible hours.

[Dave MP]

This thread was featured in the Overheard section of this week's Boston Digest. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the thread. http://www.chow.com/digest/109891/ove...

[marcreichman]

Somewhat amusing that the quoted piece was the unrelated and doubted reference to a style of pizza that doesn't fit the description of Andrina's..

[Dave MP]

It would be cool if someone could take a picture of an actual pizza from Andrina's. I'm curious to see how it compares to the stock photo from their website. Also, while the Overheard does make use of a specific quote, it's also meant to draw attention to the entire thread. Looks like this place is a great find, and marcreichman, your initial report was awesome!

[Unfoodie]

How is my description unrelated?

[marcreichman]

Bad choice of words, Unfoodie. My bad.

[bear]

We got Andrina's when they first opened a year or two ago. A solid pie. At the time they were connected with Pini's Pizza in Waltham. Definitely not Greek pizza.

[Unfoodie]

To me Andrina's falls into the "Greek pizza" catagory except they might be the best at it. The dough is machine pressed into a perfectly thin crust. The sauce is quite tasty but they're using a lot less of it compared to when they first opened which is q complete shame because they sauce really helped make the pizza standout.

[marcreichman]

Very interesting! I assumed from its texture and char that it was hand tossed and cooked in a baker's pride like back home.

It's still awesome!

[opinionatedchef]

very helpful; thnk you. Saved again by a CH!

[TownSpa]

Thanks for this post! I'll be right by Andrina's tonight. Do you know if they sell slices? Their website only lists prices for whole pies.

[marcreichman]

They sell slices. I had a couple of plain ones on Friday at lunchtime.

[itaunas]

A lot of neighborhood places offer slices at lunch time, but only pies in the evening. Amici's in Medford is one.

[Blumie]

What I find interesting is that the photo on Andrina's website makes the pizza look a lot more like traditional Boston-area Greek pizza than it does NY-style pizza.

http://www.andrinaspizza.com/

[marcreichman]

You know I thought that too on the web site. I ASSURE you it's not that kind of pizza. Guessing that it's some kind of stock photo.

[StriperGuy]

Thanks for the tip... will give it a whirl.

[ipsofatso]

Hard to believe we ID'd a place BassMan has NOT chowed! Mark this thread!

[GretchenS]

I'm really glad to read this. Some neighborhood young people work there and this adds to my reasons to stop in.

[grant.cook]

My neighbor in Arlington, an older Italian guy, raves about Andrina's.. but being that I live 100 yards from Sabatino's, its hard to justify driving through Arlington Center to try it out. Maybe I'll make the case for a drive to the wife next time pizza comes up..

[ipsofatso]

Will have to check it out. I grew up in the NY 'tri state' area and you are right that Boston pizza by comparison is generally severely lacking. I also like Nicola in Arlington.