If you’re from the South Shore, you know a good bar pizza.

“I grew up in Sharon, I live right around the corner from Town Spa, so that was my bar pizza.

“Town Spa, Lynwood, Cape Cod in Brockton.”

“My mom grew up in Brockton. So she grew up on Cape Cod Cafe.”

“It’s funny, though, because.  If you didn’t grow up on Route three, or route 24, you probably don’t even know what bar pizza is. But everyone on the South Shore is… fiercely loyal to their favorite place. “

And with just one bite, you’re gonna get hooked on the Bar Pizza and Salad Company.

Located at Mansfield Crossing, Bar Pizza and Salad Company is the brainchild of owners Marc O’Brien and Jasson Cohen, who created a comfortable, fast casual spot to bring that tasty nostalgic South Shore slice to Mansfield, Massachusetts.

“My mom grew up in Brockton. And so I grew up eating Cape Cod pizza lot.  So we’ve always eaten a lot of bar pizza. And then as we got older whichever town we’re in, would try to grab pizza there. And now I do the same thing with my kids.”

But what exactly is a bar pizza?

“So bar pizza is a 10 inch pizza. It’s cooked in a 10 inch pan with sauce and cheese right to the edge with a nice and crispy.”

“It’s crispy. The important thing the cheese goes right up to the edge. Some of the cheese gets a little bit sort of burnt or caramelized on the edge.

“I think those are sort of the key things you need to call it a bar pizza. And then, you know, from there, you sort of make it your own.”

Making the perfect bar pizza is something in which Marc takes great pride.

“First put oil in the pan. And then we’d stretch the dough right to the edge, spread the sauce right to the edge so it goes over the crust and then make sure the cheese goes all the way to the edge as well.  Then we throw it in the oven. Wait til’ it’s nice and crispy. The cheese is bubbling cut it up and out it goes.”

While the base of sauce, cheese and dough are the essence of a bar pizza, it’s the toppings that make each one unique.

“The beauty of the bar pizza is it’s 10 inches, so it’s not a huge commitment. So people get a bunch of different kinds.”

And there are many kinds available, whether you just want a plain ol’ cheese,  a veggie piled up with mushrooms,  peppers, onions, broccoli and black olives, or this overloaded Meatlovers pizza.

“We do pepperoni, Hamburg. sweet Italian sausage, bacon. And then you have to do the linguica for the South Shore, so we do ground linguicia. There’s a ton of meat on there.”

The BBQ Chicken is truly a palate pleaser, topped with crispy bacon and red onion and drizzled with creamy ranch. And for something zesty and zippy, try the Buffalo Chicken.

“The buffalo chicken we do with the garlic cream sauce. We take shredded chicken with buffalo sauce, mix in some crumbled blue cheese, and then we do a ranch drizzle on top. It’s kind of like eating a wing. It’s just great.”

Bacon lovers will want to save room for the Alsatian Pizza.

“It’s got creme fraiche base, bacon, caramelized onions, and then we do some dollops of ricotta cheese on the top. It’s great. It’s almost like a potato skin.”

And burger lovers will want a slice of the Bacon Cheeseburger pie topped with ground beef, bacon, and pickles with a thousand island drizzle.

“It kind of hits all at once. The 1000 island, the pickles and then the crunchy bacon. It’s it’s like a perfect combination of a pizza and a burger.”

But if you want something truly different, try Bar Pizza and Salad’s Birria Pizza.

“So birria is a street taco and our spin on it is we put it on a pizza with red onion, cilantro, shredded beef and then a broth that you dip the pizza.”

“The dipping sauce really adds a lot people have a lot of fun with it.”

Of course, what would bar pizza be without a crispy, fresh Greek salad.

“Greek salad and bar pizza going together for 70 years and so Greek salad always came with bar pizza. We have Romaine tomato, cucumber, red onion, Kalamata olives, a little bit of hot pepper, and then a whole bunch of feta with our homemade Greek dressing. It’s delicious.”

Other salads include this classic caprese which pairs perfectly with a Caprese Pizza and an outstanding house salad that goes well with just about any of the pies.

“This isn’t your typical house salad that’s just thrown together. It’s really made with a lot of love.”

And whether you’re new to bar pizza, or you’ve been having it all of your life, you’ll be in good company, at Bar Pizza and Salad Company.