Ed found a really great pizza place today just about three miles east of the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. We ran a few errands and then decided to head out for a bite to eat. Pizza was on our mind. He found Matthew's Pizzeria, a pizza joint that's been around since 1943.
It's located on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore just a couple of miles from The Broadway Diner and not far from the truckstop near the Dundalk Marine Terminal. We had a car so it was easy to get to - no truck parking here - but since it's so close to where we could take a truck, I'd definitely cab it over.
Matthew's serves up individual pies in your choice of 8" or 10", a fact immediately pointed out to us by our waitress Amanda, who showed us two plate sizes to give us a proper visual. She was beyond friendly. She asked if we'd ever been there before and when we said no, launched an "everything you need to know about pizza" speech. She covered sizes, types, customer favorites, etc. She was super-friendly and extremely attentive.
In describing the pizza, she said that although they offer thin crust, they're know for their thick crust. I said, "Like Sicilian?" because I love Sicilian Pizza, but she said "No, more like pan pizza."
My heart sank a little. Because pan pizza to me is synonymous with Pizza Hut. But, the awards and reviews for this place were like none I'd ever seen, and they were all glowing. They'd been voted Baltimore's Best Pizza over 70 times, made it onto the USA Today 51 Great Pizza Parlors list, and even Zagat said it was a great buy and that the pizza would blow you away. It did.
Ed had 4 Seasons Pie, which had hand grated mozzarella, artichoke hearts, black olives, anchovies, mushrooms, and prosciuttini. Except he asked them to leave off the anchovies. Because eww.
I had the 3 Cheese Pie, which had hand grated mozzarella, imported reggianito and ricotta cheese. I've never had ricotta on a pizza before. What the hell kind of Italian am I?? It was amaaaaazing.
The cheese was so delicious, with great meltiness and stretch - yeah, that's a thing. Ever have mozzarella on pizza that's grainy? It's disgusting. This was clearly quality cheese. Even the ricotta had the flavor I knew growing up, and my father bought only the best, so I know ricotta. And the sauce was perfect. I'm so glad I took home leftovers.
They have a good selection of pies and will even make one with toppings of your choice. They have a Crab Pie that the waitress said was popular - I just couldn't do crab on pie - and their Original has tomato sauce, but no cheese. I could totally get into that one.
This is a place we'd definitely go back to and one I'd recommend to anyone traveling in the area - it's a straight shot, less than two miles from I-95. And if you're at the truck stop, it's absolutely worth the cab fare.
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2013: I'm Sure He Was Delicious
2012: Drowning My Sorrows In Mountain Dew
2011: Red Hair At Night, Truckers Delight. Red Hair At Morning, Truckers Warning.
2010: Rok New York
2009: South Dakota Sky
2008: Nutty Friday
2007: It’s Not So Much Fun To Roll Out Your Best Sales Schpiel On A Mute
2006: Forced Happiness
2005: Firestarter