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Pupatella, a Local Neapolitan Pizza Chain Undergoing Expansion


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I have mixed feelings about the Pupatella that recently opened in Springfield at 8434 Old Keene Mill Rd, in the Whole Foods Plaza (although Whole Foods will move to the Springfield Plaza down Old Keene Mill to a large renovated space formerly occupied by Giant, and Trader Joe's will move from that plaza to where the Whole Foods is now located.)

My daughter has checked it out and says it's pretty good, but we all know that it will simultaneously be not as good as the original yet still probably the best pizza in Springfield.

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I was right about the Springfield location. Yes, it's the best pizza in Springfield, but that's faint praise. The Classico was pretty good, the Diavolo was very good, and the Sausage with Onion was not good -- it was limp and soggy. The Burrata was passable and the Caprese salad was just OK, but the Arancini sampler was very good. The wine list was mostly mass market swill, some of which had Pupatella labels. Overall, maybe a C+, but again, it's the best pizza in Springfield.

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On 10/18/2022 at 5:30 PM, Mark Dedrick said:

I take the bus by here every day, and the progress has been so slow. 

The building has been left to deteriorate for so long, I think it's going to take them a while.

It's like the old Park Cafe space has been under construction by Paccis for an extremely long time now and while I don't know exactly why it's taken so long, a big part of it has to be the incredibly degraded quality of the physical space.

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I have one go-to at Pupatella, and it’s the Veggie Panino ($12.75), making sure to get it with Fresh (not smoked) Mozzarella (50-cent supplement).

This panino is *always* good (even better with a drizzle of good balsamico), and it reheats beautifully in the oven, both day-of and day-after.

Try it, and let me know what you think.

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On 10/26/2022 at 6:31 AM, naxos said:

The price of the veggie panino is now $12.75!!

I got one last night - it has always been $12.75 (and worth it: It’s enough for two light lunches (or one person who’s really hungry)).

I don’t know what afflicted me when I wrote $8 up above - sorry about that (I corrected it).

One thing I like about this panino is that it’s a lot of food, but you don’t feel like a Denebian slime devil after you finish it - the same feeling you have after loading up on sushi as opposed to Five Guys.

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We've been spoiled with good Pizza nearby from 2 Amys and Vace but I recently got my kids to try Pupatella as our new delivery pizza option instead of boring Angelico's. The Dupont Pupatella store is good and fast with delivery up to Cleveland Park. Glad to say I've converted the family after 4 or so orders in the past couple of months. The pizza is very good and similar to 2 Amys. I still like 2 Amys topping combos better (not to mention the non-pizza side dishes which rock) but it is hard to compare as I almost always eat that fresh from the oven in the restaurant vs. Pupatella has been solely delivery so far. The kids like the plain bimbis and wife is happy with the Margherita. I've been trying different ones and I like the pesto although I think I'll leave off the walnuts next time. The eggplant combo and the calabrese with salty briny anchovies and olives was good. I customized my calabrese and added cararmelized onions for a sweet/salty combo that hit the spot last night. I also have enjoyed their fried aranchini/suppli with roasted eggplant.  Now I just need to remember to preheat the oven while waiting for the delivery instead of almost every time getting the pizza and then waiting for my oven to preheat with the pizza stone to reheat the thin pizza that does get cold during the delivery drive.

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24 minutes ago, KeithA said:

We've been spoiled with good Pizza nearby from 2 Amys and Vace but I recently got my kids to try Pupatella as our new delivery pizza option instead of boring Angelico's. The Dupont Pupatella store is good and fast with delivery up to Cleveland Park. Glad to say I've converted the family after 4 or so orders in the past couple of months. The pizza is very good and similar to 2 Amys. I still like 2 Amys topping combos better (not to mention the non-pizza side dishes which rock) but it is hard to compare as I almost always eat that fresh from the oven in the restaurant vs. Pupatella has been solely delivery so far. The kids like the plain bimbis and wife is happy with the Margherita. I've been trying different ones and I like the pesto although I think I'll leave off the walnuts next time. The eggplant combo and the calabrese with salty briny anchovies and olives was good. I customized my calabrese and added cararmelized onions for a sweet/salty combo that hit the spot last night. I also have enjoyed their fried aranchini/suppli with roasted eggplant.  Now I just need to remember to preheat the oven while waiting for the delivery instead of almost every time getting the pizza and then waiting for my oven to preheat with the pizza stone to reheat the thin pizza that does get cold during the delivery drive.

As someone who’s had carryout from Pupatella more times than I can remember, I’ve learned from experience:

Always specify “Please cook well-done” on your online order, then when it arrives, have the oven, along with your best All-Clad baking sheet, preheated to 500, and then heat it for 8 minutes (depending on your oven - mine is pretty lame). It comes out about as good as it can be every time.

My build-your-own is fresh (not smoked) mozzarella, caramelized onion, sausage, and either pepperoni or sautéed mushrooms depending on preference - the pepperoni is small, crispy when reheated, and pretty mild.

Their Veggie Panini is good, keeps nicely overnight, reheats the same way (wrap it in foil), and *greatly* benefits from a drizzle of your best balsamico. I usually get fresh (not smoked) mozzarella on this also, but once I forgot, and noticed that their smoked mozzarella is nowhere near as aggressively (I would say inedibly) smoked as it was a few years back, so this is also a preference thing.

Don’t sleep on their Panzarotti either. They retain their heat during delivery, and will instantly silence young, hungry stomachs while the rest is reheating.

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On 2/22/2024 at 10:26 AM, Josh Radigan said:

Had Pupatella two weeks ago- not good at all. Dough was undercooked- pizza was as bland as they come. Looks like a new Pupatella is coming to slaters lane and GW parkway where a dry cleaner was housed.

I had it last night, and it was the wettest, soggiest pizza I’ve ever had (from anywhere, if memory serves me). The panzarotti, however, are consistently good.

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Can everyone start mentioning specific locations? I’ve been happy with the south Arlington  location, and I’d be interested to know if these problems are location specific or not.

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6 hours ago, noamb said:

Can everyone start mentioning specific locations? I’ve been happy with the south Arlington  location, and I’d be interested to know if these problems are location specific or not.

This is an important point (FWIW, every Pupatella post I’ve written in the past couple of years would have been from South Arlington).

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