Turnpike Market
If you need to pick up a bottle of wine or some bourbon, you head to your local liquor store. But have you ever gone to the liquor store to get something to eat? Well, you can do it here. We are on Middlesex Turnpike in the town of Billerica, Massachusetts at a place called Turnpike Market. And this is one of the only places I've ever been to where you can grab a six pack along with some pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and incredible seafood.
Turnpike Market has been here in Billerica next to Nutting lake for almost 100 years. It's the oldest business in town and they still have a full service liquor store right here on site. And they've always served sandwiches here but a few years back they decided to go all in on the food menu and these guys are crushing it. This place is owned by Sam Patel and his family and this guy used to work in software sales. So he's very analytical and when he decided he wanted to get into the pizza game, he researched it for years and now they are making some of the finest pizzas you can get north of Boston.
They do Neapolitan style pizza here which means they make their dough fresh every single day. The sauce, a beautiful fresh San Marzano tomato, throw on some cheese fresh toppings, and it goes into their pizza oven which is custom made. This is a beautiful imported dome pizza oven. It's fired up with gas, the deck of the oven actually rotates, that's to make sure you get the proper cook on every single pie. The number one seller of course is the cheese pizza or they call it the Miami cheese. The dough is so absolutely incredible. This is the kind of pizza where you might want to eat the crust first. I love how crispy this pizza is. The crust just has that perfect char around the edges. Not burnt, not lightly toasted. Just that perfect crispiness.
You want a pizza with a little bit more going on? You should get the Amalfi. The Almalfi pizza is Turnpike’s answer to a meat lovers pizza. So this is made with Grande mozzarella cheese, some cup and char pepperoni, andouille smoked sausage, and some prosciutto di parma right over the top. You have so many meats that basically covers the entire pie. You also have some nice fluffy dollops of ricotta cheese on top for a little extra creaminess. So when you take a bite into the Amalfi, you're going to experience a whole different range of textures and tastes. I’m going in for the Amalfi. You get the spice from the pepperoni, you get the saltiness from the prosciutto, this is the next best thing to actually go into the Amalfi Coast.
Sandwiches have always been a big seller here at the Turnpike Market and their sandwiches now are better than they've ever been before. If you like a nice chicken parm sandwich you are going to love their version. It's called the Chicken Parm Loaded. The chicken cutlets are smothered with their homemade tomato sauce. Throw on the mozzarella cheese. They add in some roasted red peppers which really brings a whole different dimension and flavor. So once this baby is baked AND it comes out of the oven it is cheesy and melty and gooey that is loaded up the right way.
On the lighter side of things. You might want to get the avocado chicken sandwich. But if you're in the know, you know that this is the place to go for a great Italian sub. This baby is fully stacked up with mortadella, salami, ham, prosciutto di Parma, some fresh sliced buffalo mozzarella, you got the diced pickles and onions and tomato, some hots, little bit of Italian seasoning and you end up with a beautiful looking Italian sub that tastes even better than it looks. Don't ever change the thing about this sub. There is no substitute.
Now if you ever told me that I'd be going to a liquor store to eat salmon, I would say you're probably crazy. And yet I think it's crazy I've never tried this before. It is a salmon bowl. And this baby is beautiful. It starts with some greens as a base. Then they throw in some quinoa, pineapple. tomatoes, pickled red cabbage, avocado, and then right on top some seared salmon. Finished off with some sesame seeds and balsamic vinaigrette so it is colorful, it is tasty. It is healthy, and it's served very affordably.
This is the most unexpected find on the menu, the Louisiana Chicken Pasta. This dish really has it all - jalapeno peppers, roasted tomatoes, roasted corn, the spicy Cajun free range grilled chicken, and a little bit of bacon in there. Throw in some fresh al dente pasta and then a whole lot of thick and creamy Alfredo sauce. So it's basically a New Orleans meets Italian style dish. I gotta say it's weird this dish is even on the menu but it might have the biggest cult following of everything out there.
The menu here is big, but the store itself is actually pretty small. There are no tables, there's no place to eat at a counter. You just come in here, you order, you take it out, but when the weather gets nice, they do have a pretty sweet outdoor dining option. Take a look around the outdoor patio here at Turnpike Market and tell me this isn't the most surprising thing you've ever seen in the town of Billerica. For 30 years the Phantom Gourmet has been devoted to finding the best food in the most unlikely places and this might be the ultimate example: Turnpike Market in Billerica, Massachusetts.
