Tag Archives: massachusetts

OTTO To Provide Gluten-Free Crust Option

Posted on by
8

On Thursday, February 28, OTTO will begin providing a gluten-free crust option appropriate for guests with mild gluten sensitivities. Guests will also be able to wash their pizza down with a bottle of Estrella Damm, voted the World’s Best Gluten-Free Lager at the World Beer Awards.

glutenfree1Thousands of Portland- and Boston-area gluten-sensitive eaters have been dying to try OTTO’s mashed potato, scallion, and bacon pie, or the butternut squash, ricotta, and cranberry option. Starting Feb. 28, they can dig in.

Every pizza on OTTO’s menu, with the exception of the three-cheese tortellini (which is gluten-based) will be available on the new gluten-free crust.  Gluten-free pizzas will be available as 10″ pies.

OTTO’s gluten-free pizza is appropriate for guests with mild gluten sensitivity. However, it is not recommended to guests with celiac disease. While the crust is prepared off-site in a 100% gluten-free production facility, current store operations cannot guarantee that each hand-tossed pizza does not contain trace amounts of gluten.

OTTO realizes that the launch of gluten-free pizza will not only be music to the ears of gluten-sensitive eaters throughout New England, but to their families and friends as well, as families and friends often limit their dining choices to restaurants that are appropriate for the whole party.

OTTO looks forward to winning over a whole new wave of pizza aficionados.

OTTO Fundraiser Calendar: Good Food, Good Causes

Posted on by
Reply

Several great reasons to eat an entire pizza without feeling guilty.

PrintOTTO is pleased to be hosting an ongoing series of fundraiser nights to benefit regional charities and community organizations. At each event, a portion of sales will be donated to the dedicated organization.

The series will run in both Maine and Massachusetts, with Maine fundraisers taking place at OTTO’s new 574 Congress Street expansion, and the Massachusetts fundraisers taking place at OTTO’s BU location at 888 Commonwealth Avenue.

OTTO looks forward to partnering with area charities, schools, and non-profit organizations. The fundraiser series further extends OTTO’s philanthropic initiatives – the restaurant has been actively supporting charities and non-profits since opening its doors in 2009.

rmhcIn addition to raising funds, OTTO owners and staff hope the events will help raise awareness, encourage dialogue, and provide a venue for networking, brainstorming, and speaking with potential volunteers. OTTO also looks forward to working more closely with organizations and becoming better acquainted with those who dedicate their time to these causes.

The series is still in its infancy, and OTTO encourages charities, schools, and organizations to reach out to discuss opportunities. Those interested should send an email to contactus@ottoportland.com.

As of this writing the schedule is as follows (all dates are subject to change):

OTTO 574 Congress St. Portland (Arts District)salt
March 12 – Casco Bay High School Model UN
March 19 – Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
March 26 – Ronald McDonald House
April 2 – Portland Veterans’ Acupuncture Clinic
April 9 – American Liver Foundation’s Run For Research
April 16 – Portland Ballet
April 23 – LearningWorks

Grubstreet_logo_tshirtOTTO 888 Comm Ave, Boston (across from BU)
March 18 – The Lawrence School
March 19 – Project Mailbox
March 25 – Grub Street Writers
April 1 – Boston Marathon fundraiser to support the Boston Bruins Foundation
April 8 – BU Center for Gender, Sexuality & Activism
April 15 – Project Mailbox
April 22 – OnStage Dance Co.
April 29 – Children’s Center of Brookline
May 6 – Brookline Arts Center

Please consider supporting these organizations by stopping by OTTO during their events. A percentage of each purchase will go directly to the organization. It’s a great opportunity to eat an entire pizza without the guilt!

Who is Elliott Brood? And Why Should You Care?

Posted on by
Reply

Elliott Brood is on tour and playing a bunch of shows in the northeast before heading over to Europe.

Music is an important ingredient at OTTO Pizza – we listen to it all the time. We listen to music while we’re setting up shop in the morning; it’s playing during the day when we’re taking care of our customers, and we crank it up at night while we’re cleaning up the shop to do it all over again the next day.

Some of the folks who work at OTTO Pizza are musicians themselves, and there are a ton of local bands that we love as well, but every once in a while, a band comes along that really grabs us and maybe we go a little crazy.

Elliott Brood is such a band. These guys are amazing. But don’t take our word for it. Check ’em out for yourself.

And apparently, Elliott Brood is on tour right now, which is great. Anybody else really like Elliott Brood? Why don’t you drop us a line at ottopizza668@gmail.com?

OTTO Pizza Serves up 2,200 Free Slices at New BU Location

Posted on by
Reply

To mark the opening of the new Boston University location, OTTO Pizza gave away 2,200 slices of their award-winning pizza on Monday between 2pm and 6pm.
OTTO Pizza Free Slice Day

(And they say there’s no such thing as a free lunch.)

It was a smashing success any way you slice it. (Sorry, that was irresistible, like the pizza.)

Here are the stats:

  • Number of slices served: 2,200
  • Number of pizzas served: 367 (six slices per pie)
  • Slices per hour: 550
  • Slices per minute: 9 (one slice every 7 seconds)

OTTO employees worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone who descended upon the 888 Commonwealth Avenue location was given the opportunity to give OTTO a try.

Otto Pizza Free Slice Day in BostonCo-owner Anthony Allen said that the shop’s ovens were continuously to capacity during the four hour stretch to meet the demand.

“We’re really proud of our employees, who did a great job under extraordinary conditions yesterday, and we had a great time meeting all the people who came through the door,” Allen said. “It was an amazing experience.”

If you were at the event, feel free to check all the photos at our Facebook page. Be sure to tag yourself or your friends.

Don’t forget that in approximately 30 days the BU location will be serving beer & wine. (Don’t count on a free beer day, though.)

Monday, Oct. 1 is Free Slice Day at OTTO Pizza’s New Location at 888 Commonwealth Ave.

Posted on by
1

Claim a Free Slice on Monday, Oct. 1 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at OTTO Pizza’s BU Shop by Texting OTTO to 33938

Send a text message and grab a free slice of OTTO Pizza’s award-winning pie pizza, any variety, at OTTO Pizza’s newest location at 888 Commonwealth Ave. on Monday, Oct. 1, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

“Our newest shop opened in the heart of the Boston University campus about a month ago and the response has been great,” OTTO Pizza co-owner Anthony Allen said. “This is our way of saying thank-you to our new friends and neighbors, who have been so welcoming. We’re glad to be here, and we’re looking forward to being a part of this neighborhood and the BU community for years to come.”

Customers who would like a free slice should text the key word OTTO to 33938, OTTO Pizza co-owner Mike Keon said. People who send the text message will receive a brief message in return, which they can show the counter person on Monday, Oct. 1, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to claim the free slice.

OTTO Pizza is owned by Allen and Keon, both veteran restaurateurs with decades of experience between them. OTTO Pizza currently has six locations: two full-service restaurants and a delivery-only outlet in Portland, Maine; and three shops in the Boston metro area: a Harvard Square location in Cambridge, Mass., that offers take-out service, a full-service restaurant in Coolidge Corner and the new full-service location at 888 Commonwealth Ave.

Beer and Wine to Flow at OTTO’s BU Location in Brookline

Posted on by
2

OTTO Pizza is happy to report that customers at the BU location in Brookline will soon be able to wash down their pie with a glass of their favorite brew. Prefer wine? You’re in luck, too.

beer & wine at otto pizzaBrookline selectmen have approved a beer and wine license for our 888 Commonwealth Avenue location at Boston University.

With OTTO’s late hours, this should be welcome news to students looking to unwind with a late-night slice and a cold draft. OTTO is open until midnight on weeknights, and 1am on weekends.

While this news is certainly worthy of a toast, customers should expect the taps to start flowing in about 30 days. Stay tuned. We’ll be sure to get the word out.

In the meantime, we’d like to know which beers you’d like to see featured at OTTO. Are you a fan of craft beers, local brews, imports? While we have some great beers in mind, we would love to hear from you.

Take a moment to suggest a brew in the comments below, or hop over to our Facebook page and let us know.

Play Mini-Golf to Beat Cancer at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston Tonight

Posted on by
Reply

Gillian Hurwitz, who is helping to organize a mini-golf tournament to benefit the Jimmy Fund, stops by the OTTO Pizza shop in Brookline, MA, to pick up a contribution to the event: a $100 gift card and an OTTO Pizza hat – prizes you can win if you attend the event tonight at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

If you’re looking for something to do tonight in the Boston, might we suggest you drop by Longwood area and take part in the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Mini-Golf Tournament to benefit the Jimmy Fund?

There’s a $20 admission, and all the money goes directly to the Jimmy Fund, which supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. You couldn’t think of a more worthy cause.

Beyond the obvious mini-golf action, you can win fabulous prizes, donated by area restaurants and merchants. OTTO Pizza’s kicked in a $100 gift card and an OTTO Pizza hat. Georgetown Cupcake, JP Licks, Boston Boxing, The Liberty Hotel, Paris Creperie, The Isabella Gardner Museum, Life Alive and Flour Bakery have also contributed merchandise that will be given away in a raffle.

Here’s the deal: the event starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Dana Farber Institute, located at 420 Brookline Ave. in Boston’s Longwood district.

See you there.

WooHoo! It’s National Cheese Pizza Day!

Posted on by
Reply

OTTO Pizza owners Anthony Allen and Mike Keon show the hosts at Fox’s “Good Morning Maine” how they make their award-winning cheese pizza. Sept. 5 is National Cheese Pizza Day. To see the full video of the spot, click on the link in the post.

Yep, that’s right! Today, Sept. 5, 2012, is National Cheese Pizza Day.

How it became National Cheese Pizza Day in America is something of a debate. There’s no Presidential or Congressional proclamation declaring National Cheese Pizza Day, if the historians are to be believed, but it seems to have evolved by virtue of widespread common belief. If everyone believes Sept. 5 is National Cheese Pizza Day, then ipso facto, Sept. 5 is National Cheese Pizza Day.

So in honor of National Cheese Pizza Day, we put together a few fun facts:

  • Americans eat 350 slices of pizza per second.
  • The average American eats 23 pounds of pizza each year.
  • 93 percent of Americans eat at least one slice of pizza each month.

In celebration of National Cheese Pizza Day, OTTO Pizza owners Mike Keon and Anthony Allen paid a visit to Good Day Maine, the Fox Network morning show in Portland, Maine, to show everyone exactly how OTTO Pizza makes a cheese pizza, which serves as the foundation for many of the OTTO Pizza flavor combinations.

Watch Mike and Anthony work their magic.

And you can bet we’ll be checking in with one of our favorite bloggers later today to see how she marks the special occasion.

Let Us Know What You Think Of The New OTTO Pizza Shop On Commonwealth Ave. in Boston

Posted on by
3

The new OTTO Pizza shop at 888 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston hasn’t been open for a week yet, but we want to know what you think. If you’ve got a minute or two, leave a review on Yelp! We’d be forever thankful. Here’s the link: http://www.yelp.com/biz/otto-pizza-brookline-2

By now, you’ve probably heard that there’s a new OTTO Pizza shop in Boston, located at 888 Commonwealth Ave., near the center of the Boston University Campus.

The new shop’s gotten some great coverage from local media, including Boston Eater and the Brookline Patch.com, and the word of mouth is building, but now we want to know what you think of the new OTTO Pizza location.

If you’ve been to the new shop, and you’ve got a moment and Yelp! account, we’d be forever grateful if you would tell us what you thought of the new shop at 888 Comm Ave.

Here’s the link. Let us know how we’re doing. If there’s something that can be improved, let us know so we can fix it … and if there’s something that was truly awesome, we’d like to know that too, so we can hand out kudos to our staffers who are doing a great job.

Some shops would try and game the system, by either paying for good reviews or getting employees to write some, but at OTTO Pizza, that’s not how we roll. Everything you read on Yelp! about OTTO Pizza was written by actual customers. No shills.

Your input is what counts, and it’s you we want to hear from … so come on, tell us how we’re doing. We can take it.

OTTO Pizza Opens New Store on Commonwealth Ave. In the Heart of Boston University Campus

Posted on by
Reply

A shot of the interior at the new OTTO Pizza shop, located at 888 Commonwealth Ave. (in the heart of the Boston University campus) looking in toward the kitchen.

If you follow us on Twitter, you may have already heard the news: OTTO Pizza just opened a new store — our fifth overall, and the third in the Boston metro market — on Commonwealth Ave, right in the heart of the Boston University campus.

@BostonTweet tweeted a great shot of the new space, but it’s something that you really should check out in person.

The new shop, a beautiful space at 888 Commonwealth Ave., emerged in a location that used to be occupied by The Upper Crust. Of course, it’s been completely reimagined by OTTO Pizza owners Mike Keon and Anthony Allen and the vibe now is thoroughly OTTO Pizza, through and through: clean lines, an open kitchen and an understated elegance create a comfortable and inviting atmosphere where you can either linger in casual conversation with a few friends over a whole pie or two, or grab some slices to go quickstyle if you’re in a hurry.

The new OTTO PIzza shop at 888 Commonwealth Ave. seats about 50 people and features the full range of pizzas that are available at each of the other OTTO Pizza locations, including our signature pie, The Masher (Mashed Potato, Bacon and Scallion), recently named by the Food Network Magazine as one of the Fifty Best Pizzas in the United States. We also feature a great selection of vegetarian pies for our friends who don’t eat meat and we’ll have at least eight different varieties available by the slice at any one time, with at least three vegetarian offerings among those eight.

An OTTO Pizza patron enjoys a slice at our newest location at 888 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston.

And if you’re so inclined, you can also enjoy a pint of your favorite beer to go with your slice – we’ve got seven craft beers on tap at 888 Comm Ave. — or select a glass of wine from our carefully selected wine list.

 

UPDATE: As our beer & wine license is still pending, you can’t enjoy a pint or a glass of wine … yet. As soon as we’ve gotten the licenses, we’ll open the taps and pop the cork. It shouldn’t be too much longer. Stay tuned.

The best part is, the new OTTO Pizza at 888 Comm Ave. is open now! We rolled out a “soft” opening on Saturday, Aug. 25, after making sure that the i’s were dotted and the t’s were crossed on all the necessary permits. With the proper paperwork in hand, we opened the doors at 11:30 a.m., and word of mouth has been building a steadily growing clientele since then.

If you want to check out the new shop for yourself, you’ll find it open from 11:30 a.m. to midnight from Sunday through Thursday each week, and from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Or you can call ahead by dialing (617) 232-0447.

And while we don’t offer delivery from the new, 888 Commonwealth Ave. location yet, take heart! We’re working on it, and we hope to have delivery service up and running there soon. We’ll put the word out here as soon as delivery is available, so stay tuned to the OTTO blog, or follow us on Twitter (@otto_pizza) for the latest updates on all things OTTO.

Peace … out.