Holden Sandwich Shop’s ‘Specialty’ is Brick Oven Pizza

Friday, December 05, 2014

Patrick Sargent, GoLocal Worcester Contributor

This past summer, Specialty Sandwiches of Holden expanded into Specialty Sandwiches Bar and Grill.

"The opportunity came up at the end of last year. Edible Arrangement ended their business in this location and the space became available. My dream was always to build a sports bar and family style restaurant, where families would come watch a game, enjoy good food, and spend some quality time away from home, but feel like home at the same time. The reputation that we built over the years infused the decision making process of the innovation and change to follow," said Billy Gjinis, owner of the Specialty Sandwich Bar and Grill.

Brick Oven Pizza Brings the Customers In

The pizza crust is sweet sour dough and was created by Elaine Pusateri Cowan, Writer and Contributor to Foodies of New England Magazine and her son Charles W. Cowan. The ingredients used are GMO free, high quality oils, such as pure imported olive oil from family farms in Greece, honey, high quality salts, yeast, and well aged sour dough mix. The process of preparing the dough involves an aging-process preparation. "In other words, from the time the dough is done it sits to age for at least 24 hours. The longer it ages the sweeter it tastes. The toppings on the pizzas are all prepared from scratch in their unique way and always high quality products," said Gjinis.

The menu is made up of gourmet specialties that are carefully picked by Gjinis."Everything on the menu is delicious, and when customers try one thing they can't wait to come back and try the next thing. We specialize in home made high peeled roast beef, marinated grilled chicken, top rounded home made pastrami, roasted turkey, and Greek specialties such us gyro, souvlaki, dolmades (grape leaves), spanakopita (spinach pies), and tiropita(cheesepies).We also have made to order fresh salads and addicting salad dressing. Also, in the new section we added a state of the art brick oven where all the flat breads are prepared from scratch," said Gjinis.

A Family Bar and Grill

The idea started as Gjinis was completing his Masters of Business Administration at Nichols College. "I wanted to do something different where people would appreciate high quality food, priced right, with excellent and personable customer service. While I was having a cup of coffee right across from our store, and talking with the owner of the coffee shop, he mentioned that the location across the street was available. Right at that moment, I jumped up and came here to check it out. It was the perfect set up and location of what I wanted to do. The rest is history," said Gjinis.

Gjinis said, "The main goal is to service the community the best we can, and do our job everyday and improve upon feedback that we get from our customers. If you take care all of the above consistently, all financial and personal goals will take care of itself. If you are hungry, and looking for something delicious in a laid-back family environment, please come to our place where pizza is just the beginning."

Related Slideshow: The 12 Best Pizzas In New England 2013

According to the Daily Meal, twelve of the America's101 best pizzas can be found right here in New England. Take a look, and find out where you can get your next tasty pie.

Prev Next

#12 Galleria Umberto Rosticceria (Boston)

Cheese Pizza

Overall Rank: #85

A North End staple, Galleria Umberto is a by-the-slice pizza place that often features lines extending around the block. The interior features no frills, the menu is quite simple, but their cheese pizza has long been been considered to be Boston's best.

Prev Next

#11 Picco (Boston)

Margherita Pizza

Overall Rank: 76

Located next to Boston Center for the Arts, Picco is a full-service restaurant featuring a wide selection of Mediterranean cuisine. Though the margherita pizza is the reason they made the list, they also have several inventive pie options such as Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash & Fontina, or Roasted Eggplant & Cauliflower.

Prev Next

#10 Al Forno (Old Saybrook, CT)

Margherita Pizza

Overall Rank: 68

Established in 1992, Al Forno (Not the one in Providence) uses a brick oven heated to over 600 degrees to create some of the best pizzas on the New Haven shoreline. They have received favorable reviews in the New York Times and Hartford Courant, and were named as one of Zagat's "Top 1000 Italian Restauants in America" in 2008.

Prev Next

#9 Coppa (Boston)

Salsiccia Pizza

Overall Rank: 54

The wood-fired pizza at Coppa compliments a full menu of traditional italian dishes crafted by owner-chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette. Early in his culinary career, Oringer worked as pastry chef at Providence's Al Forno, which also made this list.

Prev Next

#8 Scampo (Boston)

Lamb Pizza

Overall Rank: 41

Scampo, the first-floor restaurant within the famous prison-turned-hotel, Liberty Hotel, features a full menu of inventive italian-inspired cuisine, which also draws on Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern flavors. The Lamb pizza, which makes the list, is only one of several unique pie options on their menu.

Prev Next

#7 Santarpio's (East Boston)

Mozzarella, Sausage, and Garlic Pizza

Overall Rank: 29

Established in 1903, the East Boston-based Santarpio's is the three-time defending award winner of "Best Traditional Pizza" by Boston Magazine. The family-owned features New York-style pizza and has become a landmark in the Boston area.

Prev Next

#6 Colony Grill (Stamford, CT)

Sausage Pizza

Overall Rank:27

Colony Grill, established in Stamford's largest Irish neighborhood in 1935, features thin-crust style pizza. Their menu is very simple, including only the staple pizza ingredients, allowing the restaurant to offer "a one-of-a-kind thin-crust pizza that is served simply."

Prev Next

#5 Regina Pizzeria (Boston)

Melanzane Pizza

Overall Rank: 22

Though they have more than a dozen locations, Regina Pizzeria's original location in Boston's North End serves as a neighborhood staple and landmark. Many of the pizzeria's menu items are old family recipes dating back to its establishment in 1926.

Prev Next

#4 Modern Apizza (New Haven, CT)

Italian Bomb Pizza

Overall Rank: 11

Founded in 1934, Modern Apizza features brick oven-style pizzas. Their traditional Italian menu features many great pies and specialty items, but are on this list due to the "Italian Bomb," a pizza covered in bacon, sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, onion, pepper, and garlic.

Prev Next

#3 Al Forno (Providence, RI)

Margarita Pizza

Overall Rank: 10

Chef-owners Johanne Killeen and George Germon established Al Forno in 1980 to bring simple renditions of food rooted in various Italian regions to Providence. Their signature margarita pizza has been named to several "best pizza" lists in recent years, such as Food and Wine magazine.

Prev Next

#2 Sally's Apizza (New Haven, CT)

Tomato Pie

Overall Rank: 7

Sally's, established in 1938 by Salvatore Consiglio, is renown for its thin crust pizza which has been made in the same coal-fired oven for more than 60 years. Salvatore was the nephew of Frank Pepe, whose pizza also made the list.

Prev Next

#1 Frank Pepe's (New Haven, CT)

White Clam Pizza

Overall Rank:1

Established in 1925, Frank Pepe's Pizzeria's white clam pizza is rated as not only the best pizza in New England, but also best in all of America. The pizzeria uses coal-fired brick ovens, and uses only fresh clams in their most famous pie. Frank Pepe's has been a favorite for many celebrities over the years, including Ronald Regan and Frank Sinatra.