By Joe Ray
BOSTON
It might be my inner Red Sox fan talking, but the best pizza we found in New York was in Boston.
This is completely unscientific but while in the city, I had to make a choice between burgers or pies and went with the former. Pizza stops were a bonus. Spills and all, Spunto was grand and Lombardi’s had fantastic toppings, but their crust must be an acquired taste.
Seeking a slice in Boston’s North End a few weeks later, we asked a Sox-capped local in front of a packed back street bar where to get a slice. The ‘slice’ part of the request gave him some trouble as he flipped through his mental Rolodex.
“Ah! Il Panino Express.”
Sold.
We ordered at the cafeteria-style counter, sat, bit and stared at each other in amazement.
She said: “This is better than New York.”
He said: “Yeah.”
Crisp crust, sweet sauce, a good dose of good cheese.
We’ll get ‘em next year.
Il Panino Express - MAP
264-266 Hanover St.
Boston
+1 (617) 720-5720
Food and travel writer and photographer Joe Ray is the author of the blog Eating The Motherland and contributes to The Boston Globe's travel blog, Globe-trotting.
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