Regina Pizzeria (North End) - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 10/2/2012
Price: $11-14 small pizza, $19-23 large pizza
Location: 11 1/2 Thatcher St, Boston, MA 02113
website

The Quick Bit

+ brick oven pizza -> great tasting crust

+ great selection of specialty pizzas

Δ wait can be long

While many people argue about the merits of New York pizza vs Chicago pizza, my friends from Boston have always insisted that Boston pizza was actually the best. Intrigued, I made sure to make a stop to try the Boston pizza from what was allegedly the best pizza in the city.

Regina Pizzeria has been open since 1926 and was mainly a family run operation until it was expanded in the last decade. While I did pass some of the mall locations, I noticed that those locations used conventional style ovens to cook the pizza. However, what makes Regina special is its brick oven that was built in 1888; the oven reaches temperatures in excess of 700 degrees, which makes the crust taste especially unique. Another specialty of Regina is that the sausage is made fresh daily.

St. Anthony - regina sausage, sausage links, roasted peppers, onions, mushrooms, garlic, mozzarella

As I dropped by Regina during the afternoon to avoid the rush, I only had space to sample a small pizza as part of a snack. I settled on the St Anthony because it contained the specialty sausage and was also a white pizza.

In the first bite, I knew that the crust was special. The style of the pizza isn't quite VPN - I'd say it's more of an Americanized version of VPN, which made the experience much more enjoyable. Moreover the flavor of the Regina sausage really stood out. It had a nice complex flavor of spice mixed into the pork sausage that made the flavors of the St Anthony special. 

Conclusion

While I haven't tried the best Chicago and New York pizzas to declare a winner of the best style of pizza in the US, if Boston Pizza is in the style of Regina, it will be hard to beat. The pizza had all the characteristics I enjoy of the VPN style pizzas, but were brought up a notch. Keeping in mind that Regina is a completely casual style restaurant, it was definitely one of the better pizzas I've had in my life.

Regina Pizzeria gets a bit award for the great tasting brick oven pizzas.

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Voltage Coffee and Art - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 10/1/2012
Price: $2.50 for pour over
Location: 295 3rd St, Cambridge, MA
website

The Quick Bit:

+ great atmosphere of an art gallery with a coffee shop

+ high quality coffee beans

+ convenient location

Δ Ordering can be difficult when there is a line

Voltage Coffee and Art is owned by Lucy Valena. Valena's premise is that coffee acts as a fuel for artistic innovation; by providing coffee in an art gallery ambiance, Valena hopes to jump-start creative works. Interestingly, Voltage was founded through a microloan program. Valena used this loan to establish a reputation to eventually secure venture capital for establishing a brick and mortar storefront.

The espresso drinks served at Voltage contain added flavors to take them to the next level such a the vanilla and burnt sugar in the Atticus Finch drink. However, the draw for me was the the Madcap pour over. I knew Madcap was an up and coming coffee roaster and I jumped at the opportunity to enjoy their coffee in the pour over method - a process that unlocks more acidity and floral notes in the coffee leading to greater body and balance in flavor.

madcap ethiopian pour over

When I sipped the Ethiopian Kochere, I knew I had made the correct choice as it had a great balance of acidity and floral notes to complement the toffee undertones. Even without added milk or sugar, the cup was extremely balanced, and more reminiscent of a strong yet balanced tea.

Conclusion

With its great variety of espresso and pour over coffees and excellent ambiance, I was extremely happy with my visit to Voltage. Even with a single visit, I am confident in awarding Voltage the bit award.

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