All Star Pizza

The new Inman Square motto

This post is long overdue!  How have I not blogged about All Star Pizza Bar yet?  It's totally wrong and as both a frequent visitor to All Star and a proud Inman Square resident I should be ashamed of myself.  I offer up this meager post as my apology to the mecca that is All Star Pizza Bar.

It used to be that in Inman if you uttered the phrase "All Star" everyone knew you were referring to the renowned sandwich shop All Star Sandwich Bar.  Additionally, for a rather long stretch of time (beginning with the demise of Aram's #1, not to be associated with Aram's #2, and ending with the jubilant grand opening of All Star Pizza Bar) it used to be that in Inman if you wanted pizza you only had one option.  Don't get me wrong, City Girl Cafe has yummy pizza but not much variety and the lack of pizza in our neighborhood was just downright depressing.

That all changed when it was announced that the people behind All Star Sandwich Bar bought the space previously occupied by Aram's with the promise to do to pizza what they had done to sandwiches.  It took them close to a year to renovate the space but slowly things started happening.  Signs went up, humongous pizza ovens were delivered, and murals were painted.  JO and I were constantly updating each other on the progress in the space.  Did you see the awesome mural?  What do you think about the exposed brick wall?  Oh my god! The menu just went up and it looks amazing!  We spent quite a lot of time discussing the evolution of All Star Pizza.  It helped us get through the winter :-)  

The line for the pizza party

Finally, in April, the moment that everyone in Inman had been waiting for happened.  All Star was ready to open.  A few days before the official opening, All Star decided to throw a free pizza party.  I was giddy with excitement all day at work.  People probably thought I was crazy when I said I had to rush out of school at the end of the day to go to a pizza party.  Apparently I wasn't alone.  I got there about a half hour after it started and waited in line for 40 minutes.  Of course I was sending JO pictures since he was in Portland, OR for work.  I finally made it to the pizza counter and I was hooked from my first bite.  It took a lot of restraint on my part not to get pizza on their Grand Opening night, but I held out for JO to get home from his trip so we could try the pizza together.



Since All Star opened we've had our fair share of pizza.  I'm also so overcome with jubilation from their pizza creations that I often post about our All Star visits on Facebook.  As a result, more than one person has commented that they are concerned that all I eat is pizza.  When I brought a couple left over slices to work for lunch several people asked me if this was indeed "the pizza."

Dessert Pizza

One of the cool things they do is have a Funky, and sometimes Funkier, slice/pizza of the day.  These are crazy creations and you just have to try them.  My two favorites have been the shortrib pizza with braised shortribs, roasted mushrooms, and a creamy onion sauce and the dessert pizza featuring roasted apples, chunks of cheesecake, and a walnut, maple burbon drizzle that was to die for.

Shortrib Pizza

My two favorite standard (standard only because they are on the menu daily) pizzas are the Red Head featuring shaved steak, roasted potatoes, cremini mushrooms, applewood bacon, and a horseradish drizzle and the Chile Relleno Pizza featuring salsa verde, corn (yes, that's right and it's delicious!), chorizo, relleno peppers, and Cotija cheese.

The Red Head

Even more than the pizza, and the fact that it's literally 50 steps from our building, what I love about this place is the neighborhood atmosphere.  The owner loves sharing his pizza with Inman and loves how great everyone has been to him.  If he's in the shop he'll stop by your table and ask how the pizza tastes.  It's the kind of place where your greeted not with "What will you have?" but "How's everything going?  Good to see you again."

All Star Pizza Bar deserves all of the awesomeness that has come it's way and I for one, despite my complete lack of a blog post until now, am grateful for it's addition to the Square!

Same Old Story

Sadly it's been over a month since my last blog post.  It's the same old story.  School plus my dad's house kept me super busy.  Fear not.  I had some time to squeeze in city adventures, but certainly not enough time to blog about them.  Thanks to summer vacation though I have all the time in the world now.  It's only been five days but already I feel like I've been on break for a month.  The last two summers have been super busy for me, getting ready to go back to the classroom and wedding planning, so this summer seems extra relaxing.  Here are a couple of highlights from spring in the city.

The Grafton
Towards the end of April vacation I met a friend of mine in Harvard Square for lunch.  We were trying to figure out where to go and settled on The Grafton due to their outdoor seating.  We were lucky enough to get a seat in the perfect spot.  Our table was right where the full windows open onto the patio.  We had the luxury of shade from the restaurant but all the fun of eating outside.  The Grafton's outdoor seating is really great.  I love not only the patio but the bar seating by the full windows.

Meadhall
I headed home from The Grafton when I got a phone call from a good friend saying he was in Kendall Square and wanted to meet up.  Since he was in Kendall, I took the opportunity to suggest a place I had been wanting to try for awhile.  Meadhall opened about a year ago to rave reviews.  We spent a few hours here sitting by the large full sized windows catching up.  This is a great place to hangout and catch up with friends.  With 100 beers on tap everyone should be able to find something they like.

Park Restaurant and Bar
Park opened up in the space formerly occupied by the Redline in Harvard Square.  It's owned by the people who own The Grafton, Temple Bar, and Russel House Tavern.  I didn't love Russel House Tavern when that opened so I didn't hold out high hopes for Park.  In a testament to social media, a picture from Park came up in my Twitter feed and I was instantly intrigued.  The picture showed a large arm chair and small round table in their lounge area.  It reminded me a little bit of The Last Hurrah and anyone who knows me knows I love that place.  Our friends wanted to meet up for drinks one Saturday night so I of course suggested this place.  We got a table in the main bar area and within minutes I was hooked.  I never realized how huge the space was.  They've decorated it perfectly.  The decor was even featured in Boston Magazine last month.  There is a main bar and dining area, a lounge area, a smaller dining room, and another dining room in the back.  Each room is decorated perfectly with a blend of luxury, rustic, and Harvard Square vibes.  You really have to go in person to really get it since I'm not doing a good job explaining it.  Everything at Park is great.  From cheese plates, to chocolate plates, to a trio of bacon tastings and a toast tasting you can't go wrong.  I was so impressed with our visit that we headed back a few weeks later for dinner.  It's easily already one of my favorite places in the Square.  


First Printer (Again)
To celebrate the end of the school year, JO and I decided to head into Harvard Square for dinner at Daedalus and drinks at First Printer.  I have to say, I really enjoy the bar area at First Printer.  The room is so open and bright and the staff is really friendly.  Both First Printer and Park have great sparkling wine options on their menu, something that was lacking in the Square.  I was surprised at how empty the place was, so I don't want to get too attached.  It was recently rated the 2nd most interesting new restaurant in the Boston area so hopefully it won't be going anywhere anytime soon.


Now if this heatwave would just go away I could get back to enjoying the city!