Boston Style Pizza and Mix-In Froyo in Boston

Photo credit: Sally B., Yelp

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve seen froyo offered in all kinds of places, from other types of restaurants to rest stops and car washes. Over the years, I’ve written about hidden places for froyo multiple times. But in this post, I wanted to cover local froyo combinations – that is, food combinations involving froyo that are favored by certain locales.

I remember being in Vancouver years ago and coming across the Boston Pizza chain. At the time, I didn’t know that there was anything different or special about pizza in Boston. Boston Pizza has over 380 restaurants in Canada, so there must be something different about pizza in Boston. Boston-style pizza, aka Greek style or Greek pizza, is pan pizza. The Greek community in Boston invented pan pizza in the early 1950s. The pizza dough is pressed into a well-oiled pan and develops a crispy crust in the oven.

Anyway, several pizza places in and around Boston offer mix-in style froyo, so it must be a thing there. Here are the ones that I found.

• Andalus Pizza, 153 Sutherland Rd, Brighton, MA 02135
• Arlington Café, 475 Summer St, Arlington, MA 02474
• Bits & Bites Café, 912 Main St, Waltham, MA 02451
• Brighton’s Best Pizza, 600 Washington St, Boston, MA 02135
• Broadway’s Best Pizza, 483 E Broadway, Boston, MA 02127
• Café 472, 472 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
• Café Podima, 168 Cambridge St, Boston, MA 02114
• Cappy’s Pizza, 82 Westland Ave., Boston, MA 02115
• Hidyan Mediterranean Grill, 80 Kilmarnock St, Boston, MA 02115
• Natalie’s Pizzeria, 1312 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02134
• Nicole’s Pizza, 639 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02118
• Pizza Connection Plus, 41 Safford St, Quincy, MA 02170
• Supreme House of Pizza, 313 Old Colony Ave, Boston, MA 02127

See, I told you it was a thing in Boston. Not all the shops on the list have Boston-style pizza and mix-in froyo but they do have pizza and froyo. I think they all deliver too!

I can see why the Greeks created Greek style pizza in the 1950s. They probably saw that the Italians were doing well with their pizza shops and they decided to put a Greek spin on pizza to stand out. But why do so many pizzerias in Boston carry froyo? My guess is that it goes back to the popularity of frozen yogurt in the 1970s when the first frozen yogurt shop in the country, The Spa, opened at Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA). They served health food and froyo, but not pizza. But they could have easily inspired local pizza places to carry froyo. And Bostonians might have many fond memories of eating pizza and froyo, so newer froyo shops might have been inspired to carry on a local tradition.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Boston Froyo Report

Fro-yo girl here. Boston is a respectable froyo town. It became achieved that status when Berryline opened at Harvard Square in Cambridge (3 Arrow St.) back in 2007. Local favorite Berryline has won Best FroYo from boston.com’s A-List in 2010-2014. The original shop offers four house flavors a day and they do come up with creative flavors like malted cinnamon cocoa, pear almond, banana chocolate, apple cinnamon, rose and lavender honey. They also have some housemade toppings like granola, mochi and brownies. Some of their flavorings are subtle. The frozen yogurt texture is smooth and light.

Coolidge Corner and the Allston/Brighton/Brookline neighborhoods seem to be the hub of frozen yogurt activity. Many froyo shops are located in this area, including the recently closed Yogurtland (which closed in September 2015), FroyoWorld (from Connecticut), 16 Handles and local shops: Mixx, Chill, JP Licks. Chill (354 Chestnut Hill Ave., Brighton, MA) is a local shop that carries ice cream and counter serve frozen yogurt (4 rotating flavors). Their Original Tart is thick, creamy and refreshing.

JP Licks is primarily an ice cream shop (with 13 locations in the Boston area) but they do offer frozen yogurt. Sweet and tart flavors are offered. Yogurt X is their plain/original tart flavor and it’s respectable (moderately tart, firm with a sweet finish, the texture was slightly gritty).

Mix in, hand churned style yogurt is a popular menu item at Angora Café (1024 Commonwealth Ave., Boston) across from Boston University. The delightful Japanese bakery, Japonaise (1020 Beacon St., Brookline), also offers mix in style froyo, including a green tea and red bean variety.

Froyo is never too far when you’re on the Freedom Trail, starting with the Walgreen’s flagship store (620 Washington St.) at Boston Common which carries UpMarket froyo. Faneuil Hall has Grasshopper Creamery with four flavors of froyo, while you can find froyo at Quincy Market’s The Berry Twist and Sprinkles Ice Cream. Pinkberry (285 Hanover St., Boston) is across the street from the Freedom Trail in the North End area.

You can find froyo at several transportation hubs. Pinkberry has locations at South Station and Logan International Airport. Pinkberry locations in Boston carry more than froyo. I also spotted cupcakes, coffee and acai bowls.

Other froyo shops in Boston include FroZen Yo, Red Mango, iYo, Orange Leaf, etc.

I was excited to try Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt Pearls at Whole Foods, but they weren’t available at the location that I visited.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.