Brockton lawmaker wants to make South Shore bar pizza the state's official slice
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Crisp in all the right places. Photo: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
A Brockton lawmaker wants to tell the world about the South Shore's homegrown pizza, but he'll start with the rest of the state.
Why it matters: Massachusetts doesn't have a designated pizza style like New York, Chicago and Detroit, despite being the birthplace of some unique varieties.
- Bar pizza, the distinct thin-crust pan pizza from Brockton and surrounding areas, has exploded in popularity over the last decade.
State of play: State Sen. Michael Brady (D-Brockton) wants to name South Shore bar pizza the official pizza variety of Massachusetts.
- The legislation he filed is the first attempt to establish a state pizza designation.
Between the lines: If it passes, it'll be a win for the South Shore and for oily-carb lovers everywhere.
- If the bill fails, it'll be because parochial pizza pride led to a food fight at the State House.
What makes it a bar pizza: There are variations on the form (looking at you, Town Spa), but most bar pies are single-serving, 10-inch thin-crust pan pizzas with cheese scattered all the way to the pan's lip so it creates a burned "lace" around the crust.
- There's limited crushed tomato sauce under a bed of cheddar, or a cheddar mixture.
- The crust is buttery in the middle and crisp on the edges.
- Most traditional toppings are available, but you're likely to see more chorizo and linguica and less pepperoni the closer you get to the South Coast.
Dig in: Old-school bar-pie lovers will tell you the real secret is in the seasoned pans, which build flavor over time.
- Used pizza pans become a hot commodity if they ever come up for sale.
What they're saying: "I think it'll help businesses, and especially the places that I represent," Brady told Axios. "Hopefully, by getting some publicity about this, it might bring more business to the Commonwealth and revenue to the Commonwealth."
Legally speaking, Brady's bill defines bar pizza as 10-inch thin crust with edge-to-edge cheese coverage.
- The legislation faces no apparent organized opposition, and Brady reports some positive local media response and public reception across the state.
The intrigue: The bill will have to capture the attention of Democratic leaders to be adopted.
- One hurdle could be Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, the chairman of the all-powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
- Michlewitz hails from Boston's North End, a hot spot for traditional Italian and New York-style slices.
Flashback: Bar pizza started popping up around Brockton-area taverns nearly 90 years ago and was popularized by the Cape Cod Café in 1939.
- Greek immigrant cooks helped pioneer and sustain the pizza variety from Cape Cod to Quincy, but not much outside the South Shore.
- Much of the rest of the state favors the spongier, New England "House of Pizza" style, which also originated with Greek cooks.
Deehan's thought bubble: Never put North Shore roast beef on a South Shore bar pizza. It will create an antimatter explosion that could eradicate the eastern part of the Commonwealth.