Nashoba Club
I'm in the mood for some bar pizza, a steak and cheese sub, and some crispy, hand-cut fries. And you're not going to believe where I found it. We are in Ayer, Massachusetts, at a legendary restaurant called the Nashoba Club, and this place has a long history and some seriously delicious bar food.
This place is really a trip back in time. The building was built back in 1901. It was turned into a restaurant and pizzeria in 1950, and they still have the great old-school neon pizza sign out front. A few years ago, a new owner came in and completely refurbished the place. What was once a dive bar is now a cool, family-friendly dining and drinking establishment.
The bar is always packed. There are families, people coming in for a drink, watching a game, playing keno, and enjoying incredible comfort food. They've been making the same style of pizza here for over 75 years. The pizzas are cooked in a pan, and the cheese and toppings stretch all the way to the edge. They have all kinds of signature pizzas with unique toppings—even blueberry pizza.
This is the unofficial book club's number one selling pizza: The Angry Beekeeper. It has hot Capitola pepperoni, sliced red onion, and a drizzle of hot honey. This pizza is picture-perfect with crispy, laced edges all around. Cheesy, crunchy, greasy—in the best possible way. It's addictive.
Another popular pie for longtime customers is the Spin Ball Parm, a twist on classic meatball pizza. The meatballs are made in-house and come with spinach and parmesan cheese. Classic Italian flavors executed perfectly.
For buffalo chicken pizza lovers, try the Ranch Hand. Big chunks of white meat chicken with homemade buffalo sauce, bacon, and diced tomatoes, finished with a drizzle of homemade ranch dressing. The spiciness of the buffalo chicken, smoky bacon, and creamy ranch make this pizza irresistible—you'll probably want extra ranch on the side.
On the sandwich side, check out the short rib melt, which is like a grilled cheese on steroids. House-braised short ribs, cheddar and American cheeses, and pickled onions are served on thick-cut sourdough. But the number one sandwich at the Nashoba Club has to be the steak and cheese sub.
They make their own bread, which is a rarity these days. Lean sirloin steak with peppers and onions is cooked on the grill, topped with gooey American cheese, and placed on a split-top bun so the filling overflows. It's hefty, cheesy, and seriously delicious.
On the side, you definitely need some fries. They offer hand-cut fries and frozen fries. The hand-cut fries are made fresh every day—perfectly dark brown, piping hot, and ultra-crispy. The frozen fries remain for longtime customers or kids who want plain fries, but honestly, the hand-cut fries are the star.
For dessert, try something unorthodox: the blueberry party pizza. It has a blueberry base, chopped bacon, gorgonzola cheese, and locally sourced maple syrup drizzled on top. The combination of flavors is surprising yet perfect—sweet, savory, sharp, and funky all at once. It’s a pizza that makes no sense on paper but makes total sense in your mouth.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “I don’t want to join a club that would have somebody like me as a member”? Well, if the Nashoba Club had memberships, I’d want to be a member. This might be my new favorite restaurant, and I’m not kidding.
