AJ’s Kitchen

There are a million pizza and sub shops scattered all over the region. So how do you know which ones are really good? Well, in this case, this place is all about freshness, huge portions and incredible value. And that's the key to the success of AJ’s kitchen in Wilmington, Massachusetts. AJ’s is a tiny little Italian takeout spot right off the road and this place may not have a lot of seating inside and yet they serve hundreds of customers every day. There's usually a line outside the door because the flavors are big and the portions are even bigger.

Not surprisingly, pizza is definitely the backbone of AJ’s business. That's what most of the people are coming here for and for good reason. They definitely serve some of the best slices north of Boston. This oven has a massive capacity, they can cook almost 100 pizzas in an hour and they come out perfectly uniform and perfectly crispy every single time. I would consider this a New York style kind of pizza so it's large, it's thin crust, you have a nice defined crust around the edges. The pepperoni pizza is a great example. The pepperonis themselves are nice and big and they do kind of curl up as they crisp in the oven so they get a little burnt around the edges.

When you want to get a little bit funky go for the Western pizza. The western pizza is one of their most popular options. And this is something I would never have considered ordering like 5-10 years ago. Now everyone is getting the Western.

So this starts with a ranch dressing base. Then comes the cheese. Then comes some bacon and then comes some chicken, so it's a classic chicken bacon ranch. But you know what they do to make it even better, they throw on some of their signature barbecue sauce as well. I honestly don't know if I will ever order a chicken bacon ranch pizza anywhere but AJ’s. It is that good.

Now let's talk about sandwiches because seriously the subs here at AJ’s are some of the finest you will get anywhere. I mean literally anywhere. How many sub shops have you ever been to that make their own bread every single day. Well they do it right here at AJ’s. The owner Dave Erickson. He gets here every day at 5:30 in the morning, and he starts baking the bread.

The Italian subs at AJ’s are beautiful to look at and they are a mouthful to eat. This is only half of the Imported Italian sub. Let me tell you something. This thing is heavy. It is hefty, and it is insanely delicious.  So this has all the premium Italian meats that you want. Sopressata, mortadella, provolone, and even a little Genoa salami with a natural casing, that's the good stuff. Throw on some of those fresh chopped veggies, some oil, some vinegar. And you’re gonna end up with a sub that looks like this. And tastes so good, it makes you do this.

Now my favorite sandwich here is actually a chicken cutlet sub, specifically the Chicken, Mozzarella, and Roasted Red Pepper sandwich. Now I know how seriously Italians take their chicken cutlets and this place does them right. They're fried up fresh so they're nice and crispy and golden on the outside but they do remain super juicy on the inside. It's big. Might be bigger than my mouth. But there's only one way to find out. Yes, yes yes!

The meatballs sub at AJs is executing on every single level flawlessly. That bread. The braided seated roll puffy, golden, absolutely beautifully designed and cooked and baked so it's airy in the inside and crusty on the outside. And it can really hold up to a lot of ingredients. I mean they stuff meatball after meatball after meatball. They just keep jamming more meatballs inside of this thing. Cover that up with some provolone cheese, throw it in the oven so it gets nice and gooey and extra toasty.  And you end up with an enormously satisfying meatball sandwich. Molto bene!

The portions are universally big here at AJ’s but nothing is bigger than the calzones. They do have regular sized calzones but then they have these, the big boys: a two foot long calzone and you can stuff them with whatever you want to stuff it with. The steak and cheese Calzone is absolutely super popular. The steak is made fresh on the grill, seasoned up nice, tons and tons of cheese in there. They come out of the oven piping hot and then they get a nice little bath into some garlic butter, so it is shiny and shimmering. And just absolutely dying for you to sink your teeth into it.  Dip it into some marinara sauce and you are in heaven. Check this out. They even do a two foot long family size chicken parm calzone. It's packed with tons of chicken and cheese and the tomato sauce. Now this thing might cost between $30 and $35. But here's the thing. It's actually an incredible meal deal. A family of four could eat this thing for lunch and dinner.

Now this whole menu was designed by chef owner Dave Erickson. He opened this place back in 2007. And he named the restaurant after his son, who is also the inspiration behind their dedication to Autism Awareness.  If you look up at the walls, you will see dozens if not hundreds of police patches that have been sent in for Autism Awareness from precincts across Massachusetts and all over the country. Everyone here always has a smile on their face. The service is fantastic. They really care about community just as much as they care about putting out some really good food. From the pizza and sandwiches to the calzones and the breads everything at AJ’s is an A plus.