The 1880

Oh man, pizza is so good. I need that shit. I could eat a whole pie after wasting my night at the many terrible parties Emerson College students have to offer. In fact, I have, and I’m sure you could too, probably. Depending on how much energy you wasted bar-hopping or running after the cab you left your purse in, your hunger could end up plaguing you for the duration of your evening, even after you extricate yourself from that cool theme party where you had to dress up as your favorite Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee. If you’re like me (and you are), you know that the only way to satisfy that late-night starvation is via a hot and cheesy slice of pizza; accept no substitutes. Unfortunately for us, the Midnight Snackers of New England, most food joints in Boston close up shop early, making it difficult to locate those fiercely sought-after slices. With this handy guide, however, you’ll be armed with coveted information used to locate the few pizzerias open past midnight. That way, you’ll be able to find some of that glorious pizza pie no matter what neighborhood you’re in, sparing yourself of having to aimlessly wander around the streets until sunrise, like I did before I made this guide.

Back Bay: Right past the intersection of Mass Ave and Boylston St is Little Stevie’s House of Pizza (1114 Boylston St). Within earshot of the that dive bar TC’s where I once spent an entire evening playing Big Buck Hunter, you’ll recognize Little Stevie’s instantly by the swarm of Berklee kids (who are starving from a week of playing classical guitar or xylophone for school) filtering constantly in and out of the place, as it’s less than a minute from their dorms on Mass Ave. Open until 3am daily, Little Stevie’s offers big, sloppy slices of pizza at a relative low cost. This pizza won’t win any taste awards, but at this time of night, it’s all about quantity, not quality. A few words of advice: if you try washing your hands in the bathroom, they may become dirtier.
Little Stevie’s (Back Bay) - (617) 266-5576

Beacon Hill: Right across from Mass General Hospital is Pizzetta Pizzeria (280 Cambridge St), open until 3:30am on Thursday-Saturday nights. A block from Harvard Gardens Bar, Pizzetta can get pretty packed past midnight, which can make things cramped within its small square footage. In the line that leads out the door you’ll usually find a mix of people ranging from the Beacon Hill business crowd, doctors and nurses on break from MGH, and wayward Suffolk University students who’ve wandered in from the Somerset Street dorms. It’s a little on the pricey side at over $3 bucks per slice, but the portions are fair and the selection is usually quite diverse, catering to both meat and veggie lover. Best Slice: Bruschetta, with juicy and well-portioned tomatoes. For the shallow-pocketed, there’s always the smaller-sized Sicilian slice of cheese that’ll run you under 2 dollars. Note: My roommate once stole no less than 4 bottles of soda from this establishment. Something to consider.
Pizzetta (Beacon Hill) - 617-742-0011

Brighton/Brookline: If you catch the last train to Cleveland Circle, chances are you probably won’t get there for a little while. No need to fret, riders of the C-train: Pino’s Pizza (1920 Beacon St Ste A) is open until 1am daily, giving you just enough time to catch a slice of its thin crust, New York-style pizza before they shut down for the night. You’ll have to deal with the BC students, who relish their role as Division-I fans by drinking more than any other group of college athletics enthusiast in Boston, but hey, Pino’s have a great staff, so it evens out. Inexpensive, too, which is always a plus. If you’re a real BC Eagles Superfan, you’d probably opt for Roggie’s Pizzeria (356 Chestnut Hill Ave Ste B). Why’s that? Well, the pizza’s inferior to Pino’s, for sure, but Roggie’s trump card comes in the form the other essential college food: beer. You and your new bros can toss a few back over a slice and complain about how BC QB Matt Ryan should have been at least nominated for the Heisman trophy.
Pino’s Pizza (Cleveland Circle) – 617-566-6468
Roggie’s Pizzeria (Brighton) (617) 713-0555

Cambridge: If you’re marooned in Harvard Square, amidst the thousands of Harvard students who will earn a starting salary worth your combined four years of tuition, fear not: Tommy’s House of Pizza (49 Mount Auburn St) is your Ivy League salvation. Serving daily until 3am, the service at Tommy’s is lightning quick, which is good because the place could take a good mopping or two (or ten). No matter though, you’d take a quicker line and cheaper pizza over good hygiene any day, right? …Right?
Tommy’s House of Pizza (Cambridge) - (617) 497-4849

North End: So you’re pretty high-class, eh? Well, good for you, you smug asshole, because you can head right on over to the North End’s Bricco (241 Hanover St) and get your Mercedes (or Geo) parked by a valet for $20. Head on over to the lounge, where Bricco serves wood-oven pizza from 11pm until 2am, and if you’ve got some dough on you at this time of night, you can dine at what Esquire Magazine called one of the “Top 10 Restaurants in America.” You’re not doing too bad for yourself, chief! Which is why I resent you.
Bricco (North End) – 617-248-6800

Allston: And if you’re really in a bind, and have to get a slice no matter what, and you just happen to be in Allston, nicknamed “The Shittiest Place on Earth” by me everytime I go there, then you can probably justify going to Rednecks’ Roast Beef (140 Brighton Ave). Customers are generally unhappy with the service, seemingly due to a language barrier between them and the Rednecks’ staff (surprisingly, very little actual rednecks work here. In fact, none do. How terribly disappointing). There also seems to be a pervading attitude problem going on, as if the kitchen staff truly detests making people pizza pies. Nevertheless, the pizza isn’t as horrible as so many make it out to be, but at over $4 dollars a slice, it can only be worth it as a last resort. That’s a lot of money to be throwing around, people! Especially in a shit-town like Allston! God I hate that place.
Rednecks’ Roast Beef (Allston) - (617) 782-9444