Regina Pizzeria, a Local Hot Spot since 1926

An online food magazine has told America what North Enders have known for decades—the neighborhood has some of the best pizzas going in the U.S.

In the Daily Meal’s annual ‘101 Best Pizzas in America’ list that was released last week named Pizzeria Regina #22 and Galleria Umberto #85 on their best pizza list.

The Daily Meal named Regina’s Melanzane one of the best pies going.

“It may now sport some 20 locations, but the original Regina Pizzeria has been a local hot spot since 1926 when it opened in Boston’s North End,” the magazine said of the pizza at Regina’s. “Pizzas are made from dough with an 80-year-old family recipe, sauce, whole-milk mozz, and natural toppings with no preservatives or additives, and all cooked in a brick oven. They offer a variety of nearly 20 different pies, some made in a more traditional manner, while others, like the St. Anthony’s pizza with Regina sausage, sausage links, roasted peppers, and garlic sauce, are unique. But the pie singled out by Regina as their most popular was the Melanzane, which features homemade ricotta, a light, yet spicy marinara (seasoned with a hint of aged Romano), red onions, basil, Pecorino Romano, eggplant, oregano, and their aged whole-milk mozzarella, which Regina’s claims gives their cheese factor its distinctive flair.”

The Daily Mail put Umberto’s Cheese Pie also on its list.

“Galleria Umberto in Boston’s North End is generally lost among Boston’s more well-known pies like Santarpio’s and Regina,” wrote the magazine. “That’s probably fine as far as most locals are concerned, because there’s usually a line outside for these thick, over-the-edge-of-the-pan cheesy, saucy, completely over-the-top and enjoyably so Sicilian slices anyway. That’s right, that’s the only pizza option, the Sicilian. And while they open at 11 a.m., they close at 2:30 p.m. (or whenever they run out of dough), so don’t delay.”

To compile the list the Daily Meal said it turned to a panel of experts to narrow the list down to America’s 101 best.

“A formidable task, which is why we invited more panelists than last year, enlisting twice as many experts from across America. This panel included 46 American chefs, restaurant critics, bloggers, writers, and pizza authorities,” they said.