Santarpio's Pizza
I’m sitting at the bar at Santarpio’s Pizza. On one side of me, two guys who keep dropping f-bombs are complaining about “people from the North Shore talking about the place where there are only two things on the menu.” On the other side, another man, upon finding out that it’s my first time there, raises his eyebrows and says, “Did you just fly in?” Apparently, I am a negligent Bostonian for not experiencing Santarpio’s, an East Boston institution, sooner. The “two things” on the menu besides pizza are sausage and lamb, so don’t go there if you want salad or dessert. You also need to arrive before the lunch and dinner rushes, or you’ll be waiting for a table outside the door. But once you’re inside Santarpio’s, where the wait staff is constantly yelling over each other and most of the customers seem to be regulars, you’ll find that the pizza, voted “Best of Boston” no less than five times, is worth the hype. It has a crispy crust and the perfect amount of cheese—just don’t expect to get it by the slice. Next time I’ll try the lamb, which the guy next to me was raving about.
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