Boston Food Reviews: Pizza, Seafood, and More

Local cuisine is one of the best things about travelling, and my recent trip to the Boston/Cambridge area was certainly no different, so here were some of the interesting things I had in the even windier city!

Pinocchio's Pizza at Harvard Square

Most Canadians associate Boston with Pizza, despite Boston Pizza being totally Canadian, and Boston's lack of an iconic pizza style like New York's or Chicago's.

Regardless, the city has a strong Italian community and some renowned pizza spots such as Pinocchio's Pizza & Subs. Located in Harvard Square, it's famously referenced in Suits when Mike Ross fails to answer the question about where Harvard students get square pizza (which "any self-respecting alumnus would know" is Pinocchio's).

The storefront and interior are charming and homey, with tight seating and pictures of Harvard sports teams and dedicated customers all over the walls.

We ordered a half pepperoni and half barbecue chicken pizza which was freshly made for us and came piping hot.

I haven't yet had a pizza I didn't like, and I enjoyed the BBQ sauce on the chicken slices as well as the cheesiness of the pizza. However, the tomato sauce was quite runny and the pizza crust was quite soggy, so the overall experience was a bit disappointing. Still miam! Perhaps the square pizza would've been better...

Apparently Mark Zuckerberg ate at Pinocchio's almost every day during his student days - I imagine his review would be quite glowing.

Smoked Bluefish Bagel at The Smoot Standard

Stopping by the Smoot Standard in Cambridge's Central Square, I had a smoked bluefish bagel with cucumber and radish sprouts.

I'd never had bluefish before, but it's a Boston staple, and this smoked bluefish pâté was deliciously smoky and fresh, while still having a good buttery and fishy bite to it. It was well-complemented by the crunchy cucumber slices and sprouts, and I could see myself eating this every morning (if only smoked bluefish pâté was easier to get my hands on!). Miam miam!

Oysters at Althea

At Althea, also in Central Square near MIT, they have an amazing $1 oyster deal daily from 2pm-5pm. There's not much I can say about oysters, as they're quite love 'em or hate 'em (I fall into the former camp), but they did come with two condiments: a mignonette (oniony-pickly sauce) and a tomato horseradish sauce.

My personal favourite pairing was with the tomato horseradish sauce, but with two dozen oysters to consume, the variety between having the oysters naked, with lemon, or with sauces was splendid (miam miam miam). The atmosphere at Althea is also very nice, so I'd highly recommend stopping by if visiting MIT!

Clam Chowder at Union Oyster House

Union Oyster House is America's oldest continuously operating restaurant (since 1826!) which is not difficult to believe when you walk in and see its large rustic interior.

Ya can't leave Boston without trying a chowda, so I tried both the clam and fish chowders. Though the chowder generally didn't feel too special from other chowders I've tried, it definitely seemed like the seafood chunks (clam and whitefish) were fresher and more substantial, which may be all it takes to make a chowder great!

After having spent half the day in the biting cold, the heartiness of the chowder was just perfectly miam miam miam.

Those were the culinary highlights of my trip to Boston! Hope this gave you anappetite for seafood - as a seafood lover myself, I was very happy with the city's cuisine overall (I'll be thinking about those oysters for a while 😋).

Until next time,

Ana