We Found A Slice Of Detroit Right Here In Massachusetts And It Comes With Crispy Cheese Edges

There is something about a corner slice with caramelized cheese that makes people forget all about thin crust. Detroit style pizza has its own personality, with a thick, airy base, sauce on top, and those crispy cheese edges that steal the show.

Massachusetts now has a spot serving that same Motor City style, and it is easy to see why this pizza gets people talking. The crust stays soft inside while the edges turn deeply golden in the pan.

Every square feels hearty without being heavy, and the corner pieces are the ones everyone seems to reach for first.

It is the kind of pizza that looks simple until you take a bite and realize how much texture is packed into one slice. If you have never tried Detroit style pizza before, this is a pretty convincing place to start.

The Frico Crown That Started All The Fuss

Cheese fried against hot metal is the whole point here. In Detroit-style pizza, shredded cheese gets pushed all the way to the pan walls.

As it bakes, it melts, then crisps into a crunchy golden rim.

Pizza people call that rim a frico crown. It tastes a little like the browned cheese stuck to a grilled cheese pan, only thicker and more satisfying.

The contrast is the magic: crackly outside, pillowy inside.

Chef and owner Kenny Schweizer built this menu around that exact craving. He has a personal soft spot for pizzas with burnt cheese edges, and it shows in every pan that leaves the kitchen.

The pans matter more than most people realize. Traditional Detroit pizza bakes in rectangular blue steel pans, originally borrowed from auto factory parts trays back in the 1940s.

Oil in the pan bottom helps the base crisp up too.

So you get crunch on the bottom, crunch on the sides, and a soft, focaccia-like middle. Few pizzas manage all three textures at once.

Order a corner piece if you can. Corners have two crispy sides instead of one, which makes them the unofficial prize of the table.

Regulars know this, so speak up early. It is a small detail, but it explains why people drive across Massachusetts for a square.

Finding The Place On Boston Avenue In Ball Square

Blink while driving and you will sail right past it. The address is 158 Boston Ave, Somerville, MA 02144, in the Ball Square neighborhood, and the storefront is modest by design.

Avenue kitchen + bar opened in June 2019 in the former Pescatore space. The team kept the corner-restaurant feel and gave the interior a brighter look with white surfaces and natural wood details.

Parking is street parking, so bring coins or use a parking app. That is normal for this part of Somerville, and it keeps the block feeling like a real neighborhood rather than a strip of lots.

The location sits near the Medford line, which means plenty of people simply walk over from home. Others come from Cambridge and beyond after hunting for good food in the area.

Hours are worth checking before you go. Weekdays open at 4 PM, Friday runs until 10:30 PM, Saturday starts at 11:30 AM, and Sunday opens at 10 AM for the morning crowd.

There is also outdoor seating, plus takeout and delivery. Massachusetts weather decides which one you want on any given evening.

The Reg, Where Simple Beats Fancy

Sometimes the plainest option is the smartest test. The Reg is the house red sauce pizza, and it strips Detroit style down to its bones: dough, cheese, sauce on top, crispy edges.

With nothing extra to hide behind, you taste the crust for what it is. High-hydration dough gives it that light, airy crumb, closer to focaccia than to a thin New York slice.

Sauce goes over the cheese, not under it. That order is traditional and practical, since it keeps the crust from turning soggy under all that moisture.

Those parallel sauce lines have a nickname in Detroit: racing stripes. The name nods to the city’s car-building history, which is a fun bit of trivia to drop at the table.

A small pizza comes as four slices and handles one or two people comfortably. Larger sizes exist when the group grows.

Vegan cheese is available on request, so plant-based eaters get in on the crispy-edge fun too. Just mention it when ordering.

Pepperoni fans also have options, and the kitchen keeps a rotating cast of toppings. But if it is your first time at Avenue kitchen + bar, the red sauce version tells you everything about how this kitchen works.

Start simple. Escalate later.

Mushroom Rabe, The Sleeper Favorite

Not every pizza needs tomato sauce to be great. Mushroom Rabe is a white pizza built with sauteed mushrooms and broccoli rabe, and it has quietly become one of the most requested squares on the board.

Broccoli rabe brings a pleasant bitterness. Paired with earthy mushrooms and rich cheese, it balances out the richness instead of piling on more of it.

The crust still does its crunchy thing at the edges, which keeps the whole thing from feeling too soft. Texture is the backbone of this style.

Broccoli rabe is an Italian-American staple in New England kitchens, so this combination feels right at home in Massachusetts even though the pizza format came from the Midwest.

It travels reasonably well for takeout, though pizza of any kind is happiest fresh from the oven. Eat it soon after pickup if you can.

Vegetarians get a real main course here rather than an afterthought. That matters when you are the one person at the table not eating meat.

Pair it with something bright, like a chopped salad, and the meal balances nicely. Heavy and light together is the trick.

Anyone convinced white pizza is boring should try this square once. It tends to change minds fast, and then it becomes the regular order.

Beef Barbacoa And The Bolder Squares

Here is where the kitchen stops playing it safe. Beef Barbacoa layers braised short rib over the dough, then adds pico de gallo and a cilantro almond pesto for brightness.

Short rib cooked low and slow turns tender and deeply savory. Fresh salsa cuts through it, and the pesto adds a nutty, herby lift that keeps every bite interesting.

It is a pizza that eats almost like a plated dish. Fork optional, but nobody will judge you.

The Meatball square takes a different route with red sauce, sliced meatball, green peppers, and dollops of ricotta. Comfort food logic, executed neatly.

Chicken Bacon and Ranch shows up for people who want something familiar and crowd-pleasing. It is the peacemaker of the menu.

Then there is Chef’s Choice: red sauce, pepperoni, sausage, broccoli rabe, and ricotta all on one pan. It is the maximalist pick, and it earns its spot.

Ordering two different squares for the table is the move. Detroit style slices are hearty, so a couple of pizzas stretch further than you expect.

Avenue kitchen + bar treats these pans as a playground rather than a fixed recipe. That willingness to experiment is exactly why the pizza section keeps pulling people back.

Duck Wings, Zucchini Frites, And Other Starters Worth Your Attention

The appetizer list refuses to sit in the background. Maple Chili Duck Wings arrive sticky and sweet with a little heat, and they have a devoted following.

Togarashi Fries come dusted with Japanese chili spice and served with truffle mayo. Shishito peppers get blistered and hit with furikake seasoning, which adds a savory, seaweedy crunch.

Caesar Deviled Eggs are a clever mashup, borrowing the garlicky punch of Caesar dressing and dropping it into a classic party snack.

Zucchini Frites give you something crisp and green-ish to feel good about. Chicken Bites stay tender inside with a shattering crust outside.

Plant-based eaters have Veggie Potstickers, Cauliflower Tacos, and Seitan Wings to work with. The cauliflower tacos in particular pull their weight as a full snack.

Two or three starters plus one pizza makes a comfortable dinner for a small group. That combination also lets you sample more of what the kitchen does well.

Chef Kenny Schweizer and General Manager Gino DeLuca run the operation, with Joshua Foley and Jon Thibodeau also on the culinary team. Menus lean on simple, seasonal ingredients prepped daily.

None of it feels like filler. Every plate here seems designed to be ordered on purpose, not just to fill out a page.

Sandwiches, Bowls, And Dinner Plates For The Non-Pizza Crowd

Somebody in every group does not want pizza. The kitchen has a plan for that person.

The Crispy Chicken Sandwich has become a signature in its own right, crunchy outside and juicy within. The Avenue Grilled Cheese layers slow-cooked pork into melted cheese and toasted bread, which is exactly as good as it sounds.

A Beyond Burger Deluxe covers the plant-based side without treating it as a compromise.

Salads punch above their weight. There is a traditional Caesar, a Greek chopped salad, and an Avenue Cobb that can come with salmon on top.

Grain bowls fill out the lighter end of the menu. They are useful when you want a real meal that will not slow you down afterward.

Dinner plates go further still. Chicken Chasseur, Steak Frites, Grilled Salmon, Pasta Jambalaya, Spicy Rigatoni, and a Soy Curl Bowl all live on the list.

That range is the reason this spot works as a regular stop rather than an occasional treat. One menu, many appetites, no negotiating required.

The gastropub label fits, but the cooking is more chef-driven than the phrase suggests. Ingredients are chosen carefully and local inspiration shows up throughout, which lifts everything above standard pub fare in this part of Massachusetts.

Weekend Brunch, Events, And Planning Your Trip

Sunday mornings shift the whole mood of the room. Doors open at 10 AM, and the brunch menu brings breakfast bowls and a lineup of Benedicts, including a fried chicken version.

Saturday service starts at 11:30 AM, which gives you a long window for a late breakfast that quietly turns into lunch. Nobody will rush you out.

Brunch here is popular enough that a reservation saves you waiting.

The space also handles private events. Baby showers, birthdays, and small parties have all been hosted in the dining room, with the team helping shape menus around the occasion.

Catering is available too, and yes, the Detroit squares can travel to your event as an appetizer. Cut into small pieces, they disappear quickly.

The room itself stays casual and easygoing, with a neighborhood feel that makes solo seating at the bar perfectly comfortable.

Best plan: book a table, order one classic square and one adventurous one, add a starter, and leave room for dessert. The skillet chocolate chip cookie with gelato is the finish line.

Avenue kitchen + bar proves you do not need a flight to Michigan for crispy cheese edges. Somerville has been handling it all along.