Joanie's Pizza Chelmsford, Mass

Ever since December 2023, when Dave Portnoy dropped his review of Joanie's Pizza in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, things have turned upside down (in the good way) for Joanie's, and maybe in a frustrating way for customers.

With Dave calling Joanie's the best pizza place in the Bay State -- something regular customers of Joanie's for years have already known -- obviously other New Englanders have rushed to see if it's worth the hype.

And that even includes local celebrities, like New Hampshire's Favorite Son and Chef, Bobby Marcotte.

Bobby Marcotte / Google Maps
Bobby Marcotte / Google Maps
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Chef Bobby Marcotte

Bobby "The Butcher" really needs no introduction, since he's been all over the Food Network collecting championships on mostly every single Guy Fieri-based show ever (and has even become good friends with Guy, his son Hunter, and other Food Network regulars.)

Even without the Food Network recognition, Bobby became a legend in the 603 on his own just by his pure excellence, as experience first-hand by Granite Staters, Mainers, and everyone else from away at any of his barrage of top tier restaurants -- Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery, hop + grind, rise + grind, and his newest endeavor, The Barn at Merry Hill.

Bobby Marcotte / Google Maps
Bobby Marcotte / Google Maps
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And while people obviously put a lot of stock into what Dave Portnoy has to say about pizza joints both in New England and across the country, at the end of the day, even though Dave does a lot of good for local businesses and is a savvy businessman in his own right with what he's done with Barstool Sports, he's not in the restaurant business (and, for clarity, that's not smack talk, just a piece of factual information.)

So, with that said, what does a super successful chef and multi-restaurant owner have to say about Joanie's? Does Bobby think it's worth all the hype it's been getting?

The place is pretty bad @$$. Love the simplicity of the place, love the head down, beast mode mentality of the entire staff, know that they're going to go through several more hours of the same mental and physical efforts not only today, but for weeks, months, probably years to come.

Not only did Chef compliment the business in general, but praised the extra veggie ranch salad, calling it "an absolute sleeper," and said that "Portnoy got it VERY right."

And Bobby's full review had a lot more to say.

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