Andrea’s Pizza
2014 Boston Street SEFunny how things work out. When J and I first started dating, we never had days off together. We made it work any way we could. I worked during the week, 9-5. She worked two days during the week, 16 hours on Saturday and a normal Sunday. We do dinner after work. We’d go to shows during the week. Whatever we could do to spend time together.
Things are pretty similar now, but the opposite. J has the somewhat normal Monday thru Friday job. I’m scheduled to work one day during the week, 12 hours on Saturday (plus two hours drive time) and a normal Sunday. We’re back to almost never seeing each other.
Saturday’s are long days for me. At least when J was doing it, she could run home for an hour or so for dinner. I don’t have that luxury. Since I pretty much miss lunch too, I’ve been grabbing a sandwich before I leave the house to eat on the drive. Dinner, I’ve been eating out.
Things were pretty hectic at work today and I once again was driving all over West Michigan running down leads. When I finally got some downtown a little after six, I decided to order a pizza.
A few weeks ago when I blogged about Grand Rapids Pizza Delivery, I got a tip about another place in G.R. that I was told may be one of the best kept pizza secrets in Kent County.
Andrea’s Pizza is on Boston Street in a little strip mall just east of Plymouth Avenue. At first glance, this development looks a little out of place in what appears to be a neighborhood, but Metro Health Hospital is right across the street.
One of the reasons I chose Andrea’s, other than the recommendation, was online ordering. Man, do I love that feature. I pulled up their website and started browsing. After a quick registration, I was ready to order.
The default, like it is at most pizza places, is for the regular crust. Most of what I saw while I was in the store was the regular crust and I’m glad I didn’t go that way. It looked like a pretty typical hand tossed crust which puffed up to a couple inches. A lot more bread than I like on my pizzas.
Instead, I ordered a 12″ thin crust with pepperoni and bacon. My favorite kind of pizza.
After the order was placed, I got an e-mail saying it would be 20-25 minutes. I hung around and checked my Facebook page for a few minutes then headed out.
I pulled into the parking lot about 20 minutes after I ordered. I went inside to find a small, but very busy shop. There are only a few tables, but all were full of people waiting for pizzas. Pizzas were being cranked out of the pizza oven and set down on a marble counter top to cool slightly before cutting.
I stepped up to the counter and gave my name. My pizza was all boxed up and ready to go. The cost for the 12″ inch, 2-topping pizza was a little over $11.
I headed back to work and went into hiding in the break room so I didn’t have to share. I didn’t look at the pizza before I left and I was really hoping that the pizza I was seeing coming out of the ovens was not the thin crust. Not that there was anything wrong with it. It’s just not my style. I was very pleased to open the box and see a paper thin crust that was just shy of being burnt around the edges.
The pizza was cut into wedges and the easiest way I found to eat them was to do it NY Style. The edge of the pizza was nice and crispy, but the majority of the crust was still pretty soft. It folded over really well
Toppings were plentiful and the cheese was a nice golden brown color. The bacon added a little bit of saltiness to the pizza which added a nice touch to the sweet sauce. The sauce was ladled on pretty thick so I made a pretty good mess as I tried to hurriedly to scarf down my dinner.
So far, I’ve tried two pizza places in Grand Rapids and both have exceeded my expectations. Andrea’s was a great recommendation and not a place I probably would have found on my own. Standing out in the pizza market is not always easy, but Andrea’s offers up a memorable slice of pizza.
12" Thin Crust Pepperoni and Bacon Pizza
12" Thin Crust Pepperoni and Bacon Pizza
SW Michigan Dining 
No need to ramble on and on. Andrea’s is simply the best. I have been a customer for all of the forty years and Mario has maintained the quality since the beginning.