Solid Slice
For Matt Lenardo, pizza is a matter of taste, and everyone’s got one.
“There's so many different styles of pizza. It's kind of like getting a car. You might think this is the best car in the world, but somebody else is like, I hate that car. So pizza is kind of the same way. It's to each their own. And we've got a lot of people telling me that this is the best pizza they've ever had.”
And with just one bite, you’ll agree that’s one Solid Slice.
Set just off I-93 in Haverhill, Solid Slice is a come-as-you-are spot with a welcoming vibe created by owners Matt and Emily Lenardo.
“When you walk into Solid Slice, we got a little bit of everything for everybody. So we've got the TVs for sports fans. We've got a great bar that if you're here by yourself, you can come sit at the bar. If it's your first time or you've been here a hundred times, you're going to get the same treatment every single time. The staff is going to greet you warmly. You're going to feel like you belong here.”
And that love is also found in the kitchen, where the passion is put into every plate.
“You know that food is cooked here with passion and anything made with passion or love. You want to eat that because you know that you're getting the best meal you're going to have that week. And that’s especially true when you order a pizza, a recipe Matt spent years tweaking and testing to get just right.
A lot of people don't understand that making pizza dough is a science. The dough is a three-day fermentation dough. We use Caputo flour imported from Italy. All hand tossed. It comes out really, really nice.
We use a homemade sauce that I blend three different tomatoes with. We use a Grande cheese. They call it the Cadillac of cheeses. So it's really good. It's nice, thin, crispy. Dough is chewy yet crispy at the same time, which is perfect.
I pick up that slice and I see the undercarriage. First off, nice and crispy. You fold that pizza. There's zero flop to it. You bite into it. You get the crisp, but yet also the chewiness of it. That's the best part about the pizza.”
And the top seller at Solid Slice is their Roni Hot Honey Ricotta Pizza.
“We have old world pepperoni, which is the cup and char pepperoni. And then we have the dollops of the Italian ice cream we call it, the Grande ricotta cheese. And it's so thick we can't even put it in a piping bag because it's too thick to push out. So we have to dollop it on the pizza.
It's got a nice little spice to it. Then you get the creaminess of the ricotta cheese, and then you get that sweet, spicy tanginess from the hot honey. And it is just everything you're looking for in a pizza.”
There’s a Chicken Parmesan Pizza, made with a garlic butter base so it eats more like garlic bread topped with parm.
And the Spicy Hawaiian Pizza, made with ham, jalapeños, hot honey, and that historically polarizing pizza topping, pineapple.
“So pineapple on pizza. It's a huge debate. I've been on record saying I would fight people that say that it doesn't belong on pizza. It gives it that perfect combination with the sweet and salty ham. You got the salty ham there, then you got the sweet pineapple. I don't think you can get a better combination on a pizza.”
Beyond pizza, Solid Slice also has a solid selection of starters. From robust French Onion Soup topped with plenty of cheese to ultra-crispy twice-cooked wings slathered in a variety of sauces.
But for something completely unique, you need to lay your lips on their Thanksgiving Balls.
“The Thanksgiving Day balls are a Thanksgiving dinner wrapped up into a deep fried golden delicious ball. We take the sweet potatoes, the roasted turkey, the stuffing, the craisins. We mix it all together, roll it in breadcrumbs, and then deep fry it. We top it with a hot gravy. It's just unbelievable.”
Handhelds include the French Dip, piled with slow-roasted prime rib and Swiss on a toasted baguette with plenty of au jus. Or the ultra-crispy Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich.
And when it comes to burgers, Matt keeps it thin, crispy, and smashed to perfection.
“I used to love a big burger. And now that I've had smash burgers, I will not go back to the big burger. You get the Wagyu beef. It gets that nice char, the crisp from its own fat that it cooks in. You bite into that and it's heaven.”
Entrées run the gamut, with options like mac and cheese. Great on its own, but even better with buffalo chicken. And if you’re really hungry, try the absolutely enormous Chicken Parm.
“We use a chicken breader for ours. So it comes out a little bit more crispy. Huge portion of it. I feel like you get way more chicken. More pasta. You're bringing home leftovers for that.”
Taking home leftovers is recommended so you can save room for the S’mores Lava Cake.
“The s'mores lava cake is a graham cracker cake. It's got a nice chocolate ganache in the middle, and then it's topped with a marshmallow, and we drizzle some chocolate on top. It's like being out on the campfire.”
And no matter what you order, when it's made with this much passion, flavor, and pride, every slice is a Solid Slice.
