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Boston House of PIzza and Sicilias -- two godawful spots around the corner from each other


Why does the pizza in this city have to be so awful so often? It's a simple thing. It's bread, cheese, and tomatoes.

I work near BU West, and for lunch today I decided I had a hankering for pizza. There are two slice joints right near my office; Siclia's, and Boston House of Pizza. I decided instead of two slices from one place or the other, I would try a slice from each to see which I would prefer for future visits.

The answer: I think I'd prefer a bag of totino's pizza rolls before I go back to either.

Boston House of Pizza was the more edible of the two, but I could tell as soon as I heard the owner's accent that it would be that awful abomination known as "greek style" pizza. Sure enough, he heated up my plain slice in a metal pan. Why in God's name would you cook or heat pizza in a pan? The oven needs to be HOT and the pizza needs to be right on the oven element, be it brick or gas. You know, so you actually get CRUST...chewy, pliable, crusty...not that greasy, spongey stuff that tastes like a pizza hut breadstick. Seriously, if I became mayor of Boston I would make Greek Pizza illegal. Boston HOP's pizza was par for the course. Mass produced tasteless mozzarella, flavorless sauce, and spongey, oily crust. Blech.

Next I got my Sicilia's slice. I went for the plain thin crust instead of the stuffed deep dish because, well, deep dish pizza is garbage. Ugh...I should have just stuck with what they are known for. The thin crust pizza tasted like stale matzah, and the slice was OLD! I mean, it had been sitting out in some stupid heat lamp carousel for god knows how long. I took two bites and threw it out.

Next time I'm walking the extra five blocks to T. Anthony's. What garbage.

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  1. And this just in...I now have a raging case of heartburn. I wonder which "slice" is to blame.

    2 Replies
    1. re: tamerlanenj

      Absolute truth: I've never had heartburn. Don't have any idea what it feels like.

      That said, as Chris below said, I never, ever go to a place with "House of Pizza" in its name.

      1. re: Bostonbob3

        Count yourself lucky. Heartburn feels like you're burping up the bile in your stomach. The acid burns slightly in your esophagus, in the chest region, hence "heart-burn" My perscription, two Alka-Seltzer. It does wonders, not to mention also as a hangover remedy.

    2. I'm pretty sure that all of the "House of Pizza"s are Greek pizza. Well now you know...

      1. At a place called Sicilia's, I would have gone for the Sicilian slice. Sicilian pie, if made correctly (crispy crust, fluffy middle, spicy sauce), can be a thing of beauty. Its one of the many things I miss since moving to New England.

        Only way I can stomach greek pie is if you load it up with meat.

        7 Replies
        1. re: LStaff

          Oddly enough, there is no siclian slice at Sicilia's. They do a thin crust and a stuffed deep dish.

          I'll save my sicilian slice eating for my next trip to L&B Spumoni Gardens.

          1. re: tamerlanenj

            That's strange. The Sicilia's in Providence (same owners) is excellent. But I don't know many people who go to the one in Boston. I guess there's a reason for that. ;-b

          2. re: LStaff

            If you miss Sicilian pizza, try Pinocchio's in Harvard Square.

            1. re: lipoff

              Armando's in Huron Village in Cambridge is doing a fabulous sicilian slice now. OMG it's so good and perfectly seasoned, unlike their plain pizza - which I love, but needs salt often.

              1. re: MB fka MB

                Does Armando's Sicilian slices compare with Galleria Umberto in the North End? If so, I'm there, possibly this weekend!

                1. re: hiddenboston

                  I've not had the Sicilian from there, but I never really liked Sicilian slices before and I'm beginning to feel like an addict at 'mando's. I've tried them from Pinocchio's in Harvard Square and those were just kind of...eh.

                  The Armando's Sicilian has a pretty thick crust with lots of crunch, the cheese is almost a little burnt on the edges, the center is definitely more bread-like and the sauce is really well seasoned--it's spicy and I don't need to add salt. So, I'm no expert, but that's what I like about their slice.

                  1. re: hiddenboston

                    I wouldn't really describe the GU pizza as "Sicilian" even though it's square. It's more of that "bakery pizza" or "grandma pizza" style.

            2. Whenever I am looking for a new pizza place around here, I check the menu. If they offer Greek Salad, Gyros, or any kind of wraps with hummos in them, I run in the other direction :) Luckily, there are two very good pizza places near my office, so when we get pizza for lunch, I don't have to scrape all the toppings off of the gawdawful crust.

              Oh, and if the place has the word "Spa" in the name, that's just as bad as "House of Pizza". What's with calling it a Spa, anyhow?

              T Anthony's is the only decent pizza place in that area, that I'm aware of. The weather is really nice now, and it'll do you good to walk off those slices :)

              3 Replies
              1. re: mwk

                I dunno, I LIKE Brookline Spa a good deal, at least compared to a lot of the competition.

                1. re: tamerlanenj

                  well, like every other rule it obviously has exceptions. I'm sure somebody out there likes xxx House of Pizza, too :) But, I still want to know why it's called a "Spa"?

                2. re: mwk

                  Spa is an old Boston-area term, quite venerable as it fades as ancient places close. It arose in the days of soda fountains, when places served a variety of light refreshments (not full-course meals, as it were).

                3. The original comment has been removed