Penguin Pizza: A Post-Fenway Treat
April 4, 2008
It’s spring, and soon enough students will be heading to the Kenmore area to watch their beloved Red Sox play. After attending a Sox game at Fenway, it’s not uncommon to leave hungry for a victory dinner. Around Fenway, it’s easy to just settle for the overly convenient chain restaurants or the overpriced baseball-themed bars that overrun Yawkey Way and Landsdowne St. While there’s something to dining beneath the Green Monster, there’s more around the area for the =adventurous diners. If you’re up for a walk (no more than five minutes), you’ll find Penguin Pizza.
Penguin Pizza is located on Huntington Ave., just down the street from the Museum of Fine Arts and Northeastern. On the corner of Huntington and Francis Street, this restaurant is rather inconspicuous in passing by. The interior is brick painted bright yellow and green, with red and navy ceilings. The kitchen is open, with a red backlit glass countertop. It’s funky without trying to be too trendy or indie. The walls feature art from students at Massachusetts College of Art a block away. Additionally, all the plates are different, contributing to the laid-back feeling of the place.
Penguin Pizza is easily one of the more unique pizza places of the Boston area. While there will always be a place in my heart for 2 a.m. cheese pizzas from Pizza Days, the occasional gourmet pizza is greatly appreciated. This restaurant and bar’s lime-green “Penu” features 14 different specialty pizzas, from the typical (but still delicious) Margherita and “classic” (pepperoni) to the Duck Confit (white pizza with slow-cooked duck leg, roasted potatoes, and roasted red onions), Caribbean Jerk Shrimp (white pizza with Jerk shrimp and topped with mango and pineapple salsa), and Seasonal (butternut squash sauce, four cheese blend, goat cheese, braised leeks, and fried sage leaves). If none of those appeal to you, you can create your own unusual pie with toppings such as capers, prosciutto, shrimp, artichoke, linguica (Portuguese sausage), and smoked salmon. All of the pizzas (medium is 14” and the large 18”) are less than $16.99 (the most expensive features nine toppings), but most of their large pizzas are around $13. Any pizza can be made with whole-wheat dough at no extra charge and all are made with Penguin’s own homemade tomato sauce.
If you’re not in the mood for pizza, Penguin Pizza also offers pasta dishes, panini tostadas, and wraps. The pastas tend to be typical Italian dishes such as spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmigiana, and lasagna “penguini.” They are all served with fresh French bread and available with whole wheat pasta. The paninis and wraps are also less unique than the pizza selection, with choices like meatball sub, chicken pesto panini, and buffalo chicken wrap, but still good. And they certainly fit a limited budget — they’re all less than seven dollars, and include a small house salad.
If you arrive with an empty stomach, you may need something to hold you over while your pizza cooks (the service at Penguin Pizza is good, but it’s a small place, so it can slow down with a crowd). Appetizers include Emperor Penguin Wings (served with their own spicy buffalo sauce), Penguin Fries, and bruschetta. There are also four different simple salads available.
For the over-21 crowd, beer-lovers should flock to Penguin Pizza. The bar features hundreds of types of domestic and imported beers. Even for the experienced drinker, the list may be somewhat daunting. The restaurant also holds Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie nights, featuring Holy Grail Ale in Penguin’s own ceramic drinking goblets.
Penguin Pizza is a great place for something different after a Sox game or even just a place to go after visiting the MFA, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, or a concert at the Avalon. It’s open until 1 a.m. seven days a week, so it’s a great late-night stop. Everyone can easily eat more than his or her fill for less than $15 (my friend and I paid only $30 in total and left stuffed with more than an entire medium pizza left over). It’s a unique place with a distinctive atmosphere where anyone from the most adventurous to the pickiest eaters can find something for a reasonable price — just what one might need after spending on Sox tickets.
Penguin Pizza is located on Huntington Ave. in Boston. Call (617) 277-9200 to make reservations for groups of six or more. It is open Mon-Fri from 11 a.m.–1 a.m. and Sat and Sun from 12 p.m.–1 a.m. Delivery is also available. Visit www.thepenguinpizza.com for more information.