All Aboard the South Shore Bar Pizza Train

At this point, we no longer need to explain to you the culinary magic that is South Shore Bar Pizza. You’ve read plenty of our articles and heard lots of talk on social media about it, and you know how crazy some people get for it.

You’re also probably tired of hearing about South Coast Rail. After a 30-plus-year odyssey, the SouthCoast finally has commuter rail service connecting New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton to Boston.

You might be asking, what do these two things have to do with each other? We're here to tell you, the answer is everything.

All aboard the South Shore Bar Pizza Express. That’s right, we're using the train to experience bar pizzas. It’ll save you money on gas – but you’re still going to get gas, if you get what we mean.

Tim Weisberg/Townsquare Media

We’ve already told you about all the great free or discounted things you can do after taking a train ride into Boston. However, you don’t have to go that far for an adventure. We're going to show you how you can take a gastrointestinal journey into the world of South Shore Bar Pizza by using the train to connect you to some of the best-loved (and some of the more obscure) SSBP locations.

How We Selected Our South Shore Bar Pizza Spots

We limited it to a 30-minute walk or less from a train station on the South Coast Rail line, so spots like Canned Heat Craft Brewing in Fall River just missed the cut (it’s only 1.7 miles, but a 40-minute walk). Some South Shore Bar Pizza spots may not seem like they’re that far from a train station, but because of the geographical layout, a short mile or two walk could take 45 minutes or even over an hour. You should definitely still check out those spots, but just do it in a car. The Everything South Shore Bar Pizza website has a great interactive map.

It’s also important to note that some of these locations may not be the best neighborhoods to go walking alone in (we're looking at you, Brockton) if you don’t know where you’re going. Buddy up if you’re not exactly sure.

Oh, and They’re “Pizzas,” Not “Pies,” “Za,” or (Ugh) “Zar”

We probably owe Dave Portnoy a debt of gratitude for bringing South Shore Bar Pizza into the mainstream, but we're never going to forgive him for making it acceptable to call them “pies.” It’s almost as ridiculous as those who call pizza “za.”

However, there is a movement afoot to refer to bar pizzas as “bar zar,” and that we cannot abide in any fashion.

via Imgflip

Anyway, open up your MBA mTicket app, we’re riding the rails to bar pizza paradise.

All Aboard the South Shore Bar Pizza Train

One of the benefits of the new South Coast Rail commuter train connection New Bedford to Boston is that there are 11 good South Shore Bar Pizza stops en route.

Gallery Credit: Tim Weisberg

The Best of South Shore Bar Pizza

There's pizza, and then there's South Shore Bar Pizza. Birthed in Brockton (and to this writer, perfected in Randolph – Lynwood Café is the true G.O.A.T.), it must meet certain qualifications to be considered "SSBP," which include: it's a 10-inch pie; it has a thin, cracker-like crust with minimal "flop;" the cheese is a blend that features more cheddar than mozzarella; and bonus points if you take it home between two carboard-type plates wrapped in flat brown paper bag. They also usually come with "laced" or "burnt" edges (terminology depends on where you are ordering), which is when the sauce and cheese are extended all the way to the edge of the pan, creating a crispy, flavorful coating to the crust. We reached out to the hugely popular South Shore Bar Pizza Social Club Facebook group to ask the experts to share the best of the best (in no particular order).

Gallery Credit: Tim Weisberg