Now Serving: OTTO Ale by Magic Hat Brewery

OTTO is proud to begin serving OTTO Ale, a medium bodied golden beer produced by our friends at Magic Hat. The brew is an all-barley malt ale made with the German Hallertau hop – known for its fruity and mildly spicy character.OTTO Ale

OTTO serves wine and alcohol in all locations except for our Harvard Square slice shop. (Beer and wine sales at our BU location are imminent!)

OTTO Ale will be available for a limited time and availability may vary, so ask for it by name and give it a try while you can. It goes down great with a mashed potato, bacon, and scallion pie.

OTTO Ale is a great reason for guests to pay a visit to our new 574 Congress Street expansion in Portland, which sports a beautiful, spacious, but cozy bar crafted from salvaged wood. It will soon be a great opportunity for Bostonians to break in the taps at our BU location.

At OTTO, we pride ourselves on being the prime destination for discerning New England pizza aficionados. We also happen to think OTTO makes for a pretty great bar.

Boston Startup School Sings OTTO’s Praises

On Friday, November 30, OTTO provided lunch for 70 at the Boston Startup School, a “six-week program designed to transform recent college grads into high-impact hires for startup companies” (Boston Globe).

If there’s one cause OTTO believes in, it’s education. While we have supported many educational causes in the past, including elementary reading incentive programs and after-school initiatives, this is the first time we have donated to a group of tech-savvy startup-bound professionals.

OTTO recognizes that early education provides the foundation for life-long learning and development. By the same token, we believe in supporting regional programs which help strengthen the economy and create jobs for the next generation of young professionals.

We were thrilled to be a part of the day at Boston Startup School. And by the looks of our Twitter feed, they thought the day was alright, too.

  1. kmcdizzle
    Today the @BOStartupSchool sales team got us @OTTO_Pizza donated for lunch, which means it was the BEST DAY EVER! #ricottatomyface
  2. ryanmdonnelly
    Thanks to @Otto_Pizza for providing @BOStartupSchool lunch. If you haven’t tried their pies, you’re missing out. Run, don’t walk.
  3. LucyRosie
    So appreciative of @otto_pizza for feeding @BOStartupSchool! The fresh tomato/basil tastes like love.
  4. erikagord
    @OTTO_Pizza YUM! I just ate pizza with ricotta & sweet potato & cranberries… deliciously creative! Great lunch today @BOStartupschool
  5. taste_of_mind
    @otto_pizza bacon and apple on a pizza?? You are gods in my eyes. Thanks for feeding us @BOStartupSchool
  6. onwithsean
    We’ve had a lot of pizza this week at @BOStartupSchool and @OTTO_Pizza is by far THE BEST! #LearnToDo
  7. carolynheard
    Ricotta, sweet potato, craisin pizza? #yesplease @Otto_Pizza thanks for supplying today’s lunch for #Boston #Startup School !!
  8. kathyasi
    I’m dying over how good @Otto_pizza is, honestly some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. Thanks so much for providing the #noms to BSS!
  9. adamsigel
    Deeeelicious slices from @Otto_Pizza today! Thanks so much for feeding our stomaches so we can keep feeding our minds. #LearnToDo
  10. twedmid
    Thank you @Otto_Pizza for the first excellent pizza I’ve had in Boston! Super creative and tasty!
  11. LucyRosie
    So appreciative of @otto_pizza for feeding @BOStartupSchool! The fresh tomato/basil tastes like love.

OTTO’s Portland Expansion at 574 Congress Street Is Now Open For Dining!

OTTO 574 Congress StreetOTTO is pleased to announce that our new expansion to our 574 Congress Street slice shop is now open for dining.

While remodling of the former Wild Burrito storefront was underway this year, curious Portlanders peeked in as they strolled past, wondering what exactly was being done. After taking in the repurposed mahogany, subway tiles, and minimalist lighting, It didn’t take folks too long to realize that OTTO was simply becoming more symmetrical.

In April 2010, the original OTTO slice shop opened a sister shop, Enzo, directly next door. While Enzo had its own storefront entry, internally she and OTTO were conjoined. Enzo provided OTTO with much needed seating, and more importantly, an intimate bar setting with an array of fine wines and craft beer.

In the spirit of OTTO and Enzo, the 574 Congress expansion maintains the same cozy, minimalist aesthetic, while adding enough dining space (approximately 40 seats) to accomodate families and large parties, and a spacious, gorgeous bar perfect for dining, unwinding after work, or meeting up with friends and family.2012-11-28_18-38-09_999

The 574 Congress location not only expands OTTO’s capacity, it expands its menu. Guests will notice an expanded wine list, six additional taps of delicious craft brews, as well as OTTO’s signature salads and desserts.

Hours are 11:30am to 11pm Sunday through Thursday and 11:30am to 12am Friday and Saturday.

Come by. We’d love to see you.

Boston’s ‘Chronicle’ Showcases OTTO’s Coolidge Corner Location

Chronicle, the long-running Boston newsmagazine featured OTTO last night in its showcase of several new choices in the Boston restaurant scene.

OTTO was featured alongside Empire, City Landing, 75 On Liberty Wharf, and others. Chronicle host Shayna Seymour and her crew spent some time at the Coolidge Corner OTTO, speaking with co-owners Mike Keon and Anthony Allen, and sampling some of our signature pies.

If you missed the show’s original airing, you can view the OTTO segment here (sorry, no embedded video available yet).

(Note: The OTTO segment begins at the 2:12 mark — following the segment on Prime Roast Beef & Seafood)

OTTO To Deliver 5,000 Slices Of Pizza To NY Residents Affected By Hurricane

Upon seeing the images of damaged homes and businesses in New York in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, OTTO co-owners Anthony Allen and Mike Keon made a decision to do what they could do to help.
otto delivery to nyc

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, OTTO employees will begin cranking out over 600 pizzas from multiple shops to be transported directly to New York City. The OTTO crew will also be hauling water and other essentials, along with a mobile kitchen to aid in the preparation and serving of approximately 5,000 hot slices of pizza.

While we at OTTO realize that hot pizza only goes so far in helping those in need, we believe in looking out for each other, and in doing what we can to aid our neighbors.

OTTO co-owner Anthony Allen stated, “We heard and saw that New Yorkers were in dire straits, and hungry to boot. We can’t rebuild houses but we can, at least, feed a few thousand people some hot pizza. That’s why we’re doing it: because we can.”

Updates will be posted to OTTO’s Twitter and Facebook feeds along the way so that followers can help direct area residents to us as we close in on a precise location.

Hot Stove Report: OTTO Provides Catering To Red Sox Twice In Two Weeks

red sox ottoThe season may have come and gone with little fanfare, but The Red Sox organization never stops working. (They call it the Hot Stove season for a reason.)

Today OTTO will be serving up a delicious array of 18 large pies to Baseball Operations at Fenway Park. Now, we all know the Sox are a quality organization, and this marks their second OTTO catering order in two weeks. It doesn’t take a statistician to make an inference here.

We’ve often said that OTTO is brain food, so if the stats-crunchers help assemble a comeback team for the 2013 season, OTTO will be happy to take some credit.

If you’d like OTTO to cater your next event, call our catering manager at (207) 807-6426 in Portland or (617) 947-8517 in Boston.

Pizza In Music: From The Classics to The Inexplicable

Perhaps more than any other food item, pizza has found its way into they lyrics of countless songs. Sometimes, pizza serves to elicit a sensory response — to bring a setting to life. In this way, pizza is poetry. Other times, pizza serves as the entire reason for the song’s existence. (Some bands really, really like pizza.)

Whether it’s an elegant staple of Italian dining, or a raucous celebration of everyone’s favorite party food, the consensus is unanimous: pizza is awesome.

We have selected a wide array of pizza songs for your your enjoyment. A few of these are transcendent. One or two of them will never be forgotten. And several of them are simply inexplicable.

Feel free to add your entries in the comments section.

“That’s Amore” – Dean Martin


“The Pizza Song” – Bouncing Souls


“Eat To The Beat” – Blondie


“Pizza Day” – Jonathan Coulton


“Pizza Pie” – System of a Down


“Krusty Krab Pizza” – SpongeBob SquarePants


“Pizza Nif” – Horse The Band


“Pizza Song” – Brak (Space Ghost)


“Pizza Girl” – Jonas Brothers


“Imagine (There’s No Pizza)” – Herman Cain


“Gimme Pizza” – Olsen Twins

Who is Elliott Brood? And Why Should You Care?

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?

In Case You Missed It: OTTO on The Phantom Gourmet

This weekend, The Phantom Gourmet re-aired their segment on OTTO Pizza. If you didn’t get a chance to see it, we’ve got you covered.

The segment was filmed in July at our Coolidge Corner location, and features OTTO co-founders Mike Keon and Anthony Allen, who dish out some pizza secrets, including the origin story for our beloved Butternut Squash, Ricotta and Cranberry pie.

WARNING: The footage is ridiculously hunger-inducing.

Watch:

The Best Lines From OTTO Pizza Online Customer Reviews

One of the greatest things about the internet is the ability to cut through the crap and read actual first-hand comments about the food you’re thinking about eating. We can think of many times we’ve dodged a potential bullet by checking Yelp!, UrbanSpoon, etc., and learned first-hand about awful culinary experiences.

Here at OTTO, where we strive to always provide our customers with uniquely delicious pizza, a clean and cozy atmosphere, and great service, we make a point to monitor our online reviews. We’re pleased to report that they are overwhelmingly positive.

Some of these reviews are so great, that it seems criminal to not showcase them elsewhere.

Here are some snippets from the many wonderful online reviews of the OTTO experience:

From Steff, at UrbanSpoon (there is no best line — the whole thing is tremendous):

Dear Boyfriend,

I think you know this, but I’m having a love affair. With Otto’s. Oh, I know the three of us (you, me, and Otto’s) have had many randez-vous (sometimes multiple times a night), but you should know that when I leave your place . . . I stop for a quickie at Otto’s. When we’re kissing . . . I wish your beard had Otto’s crumbs in it. While you seasonally change your facial hair . . . they hourly change their options. They please me in a deep, thrilling way that no other man . . . or pizza joint . . . ever has. When I feel like I need to be loved safely and reliably, it’s their tomato-basil pizza that comforts me. When I desire that earthy, gritty kind of affection, I turn to their mushroom-cauliflower pizza. When I’m craving something a little more daring, a little more exotic and sexy, I have the white bean, roasted tomato, herb, and red flake (which is a mouthful . . . if you know what I mean). Yes, sometimes you are the more consistent lover; and, Otto’s has the tendency of teasing me so (oh, butternut-squash-cranberry, why can’t you always be there for me like I want to be for you?!). But it’s a small sin when their huge, heaping triangles of love are so reasonably priced. With their prices, it’s like they’re telling me: “from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish ’till death do us part, I hereby pledge you my faithfulness.”

I do, too, Ottos. I do, too.

Oh, boyfriend, it was only a matter of time before you realized with them it’s never forced. It’s never fake. It’s always the real deal: they are one of the best mouthgasm’s I have.

Please don’t be jealous,

Steff

From Rachel at Yelp!:

The ricotta, butternut & cranberry slice at Otto is merely a flatbread mechanism used to transport holiday cheer to my mouth, and that’s not pizza. That’s revolutionary. A $3.50 hit of “Thanksgiving essence” is now available during all seasons, forever.

From Sharkey at UrbanSpoon:

Just to be able to walk down Congress and grab a slice makes living here even sweeter. I love seeing smiley, happy faces walking the street, noshing on a slice from Otto’s. Best advertising there is!

From Matt at Yelp!:

When we get the call that there’s a meteor headed for Earth, many people will choose to be with family I’m sure.

I’ll be at Ottos Brookline (maybe I’ll invite the family along).

From Emily at Yelp!:

I need to find this Otto and have a talk with him. Who is he? What makes him tick? Most importantly, how did he become so awesome at making delicious slices of pizza?

From Christine at Yelp!:

I live in the North End of Boston and I am considering going to Harvard Square in the snow to get a slice. Its THAT GOOD.