1 Massachusetts Restaurant Makes Yelp’s Top 100 Of 2024

With the start of a new year, we see a nice mix of shout-outs in January. This includes "best of" features from the previous year, and then other what we have to look forward to this year. Yelp recently published the top 100 restaurants of 2024 and just one Massachusetts establishment made the top 20.

Coming in at number 90, Boston was recognized for its pizza, of all things. In fact, Union Park Pizza on Newbury Street is only about five years old.

To compile this list, Yelp stuck with its community engagement strategy. "This year, our huge, food-loving community reviewed and rated their faves from coast to coast, so you can find lots of new restaurants to love, whether you’re at home or on the road," they explained.

This final compilation is vast and, as you can imagine, covers just about every food group. Specifically, Yelp calls out how popular noodles seem to be in addition to Latin cuisine.

As the only Massachusetts restaurant to be recognized by Yelp in their top 100 places of the year, Union Park Pizza is understandably proud of the nod.

The husband and wife team behind this restaurant took a leap of faith upon seeing the space available for lease. They describe themselves as having "a passion for pizza and local and organic food." Therefore, much consideration is put into the ingredients used to make their delicious pizza.

Yelp says, "The dough and sauce at this Back Bay pizzeria are made in-house daily—using organic flour, tomatoes, and wine imported from Italy, plus locally sourced herbs and vegetables."

The pizza menu at Union Park includes 17 different options. "Our homemade dough is topped with garlic-infused oil, aged mozzarella, aged parmesan & fresh herbs," they explain. Though it is certainly hard to pass that up, Union Park also has seven smaller plates on the menu, in addition to three salads.

Though Massachusetts just had one place recognized by Yelp restaurants, they were not alone in the New England region. Vermont and Maine each had a restaurant featured as well.

I'm a guy who moved from New Jersey to Boston; growing up, Sicilian pizza was pretty easily available. I incorrectly assumed that all Americans enjoyed this kind of pizza selection. However, when I moved to Boston, I realized that it's much harder to find that delicacy here. But there are also a few unique places that are cooking up Sicilian pizza in Massachusetts.

As an expert on Sicilian, I will tell you that it has to be prepared properly in order for it to be worth the calories. Here, I will detail three establishments where you can find great Sicilian pizza in Massachusetts. Sure, you may have to travel a bit, but these places are worth your time.

Before we cut into this delicious style of pie, let’s define our terms. Traditional Sicilian pizza is cut into square or rectangular-shaped slices. The crust is thicker and crunchy. Though this pizza is obviously heavier, it still can be topped with your favorite pizza add-ons. A sprinkle of oregano is a subtle but often important finishing.

Though strip pizza in Rhode Island is similar, one significant difference with Sicilian is that it is not baked on a focaccia style dough. In fact, Palermo Pizza NJ defines what distinguishes Sicilian Pizza and what makes it different from regular pizza. “The dough rises differently with this kind of crust because more oil is used in the recipe as opposed to a regular pizza crust recipe,” they said, when describing how this is made in a rectangular pan.

In Massachusetts, the three locations that are serving up great Sicilian Pizza are quite different from each other, but have this menu item in common. One of them happens to be a favorite of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Tucked into a quaint New England, Harvard Square street, Pinocchio's is where you need to go if you want Sicilian pizza of all varieties. It's also where you will see Mark Zuckerberg's photo all over the wall. This was the go-to spot for Zuck while he was attending Harvard. In fact, it's a place he still makes sure to stop into when in town. As for the pizza, there are 20 different toppings you can find atop the hot Sicilian pies. These pies come in a 9-slice or 15-slice size option. The 15-slice pie comes in two boxes and can feed up to nine people. During the school months, Pinocchio's stays open until 2 am on weekends.

At 289 Hanover Street in the North End of Boston, Umberto's can be easy to miss. However, once you recognize their old-school sign, you know you are in for a treat. They are old-school: it is a cash-only establishment where the large trays of piping hot Sicilian pies are continuously served. Typically, it's cheese only, but you will not be disappointed as no other flavor is needed. The single line usually reaches the door, but it moves quickly. It also gives you time to decide which arancini (their famous rice ball) you'd like to add to your order.

Leone's Pizza and Sub has been family-owned and operated since 1954. They are located right on Broadway and open seven days per week, from 8 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Their Sicilian pizza is the standard menu option here. It is available by the slice, in a half tray or full tray. The whole tray also comes in two boxes (16 slice) and costs $40. Their Sicilian pies also come in a tomato basil option and a spinach and garlic. Leone's sub menu contains over 30 options. This includes a fried meatball sub.

Right in the heart of Cleveland Circle, Pino's is a fan-favorite of Boston College students. Though the crust is a perfect combination of pillow and crunch, the secret here is actually in the sauce. Pino's describes it as "delicious, garlicky tomato sauce with in-house seasoning, cooked on a pan." $20 gets you nine Sicilian slices at Pino's. If you want to add variety to your order, they also have alfredo pies, white pies, and buffalo chicken. Like Pinocchio's, Pino's stays open until the early morning hours on the weekend to help accommodate the college crowd.