I Tried Maine’s Iconic Pat’s Pizza for the First Time and I’m Forever Changed
New to Maine
I decided to pull the trigger on what's sounded like the most iconic pizza place in Maine.
It's been just over a month since I moved into my new house and became an official Mainer. But even though I've been in my new area for over 30 days, it wasn't until this past weekend when my college roommate, Mike, visited that I actually ventured out and tried some local eats in the area. So, after hearing about this spot for weeks and weeks (probably more like months and months, honestly), I decided to pull the trigger on what's sounded like the most iconic pizza place in Maine.
Pat's Pizza
The closest Pat's location to me is the one on Pleasant Street in Brunswick, so that's the one Mike and I ordered from. Figuring we'd have it last throughout the entire weekend for us, we ordered a couple of easy-peasy pies -- a plain cheese and a plain pepperoni. Nothing fancy.
We did step it up a bit though and decided to order a side, too (it didn't help that neither of us had eaten all day on Friday by the time he got to the area).
Pat's Pizza Buffalo Chicken Dip
I'm not even going to bury one of the headlines on this -- hands down, throughout my entire life, whether I've made a batch of buffalo chicken dip myself or a close friend or family member has -- there is no buffalo chicken dip that exists that's better than the one we had at Pat's Pizza. It's literally all we could talk about all night, and even into the next day.
And the pizzas themselves? FORGET ABOUT IT!
Pat's Pizza's secret?
Make no mistake, this isn't spreading rumors or anything, but I did hear that Pat's possibly includes something in their crust that makes it next level delicious and could be considered their "secret ingredient," although odds are it's just simply straight up deliciousness, no secrets at all.
But if I had to pick a secret for them, it'd hands down be their sauce. If you've been to Salisbury Beach in Mass or Hampton Beach in NH, then you know all about what "beach pizza" is -- squared off pieces of pizza with a sweet sauce and topped with provolone if you're looking for some extra cheese.
Pat's sauce takes almost exactly like the sauce you get on "beach pizza," and they even mention on their website when you order online that they use provolone cheese as opposed to mozzarella cheese. So, essentially, you're getting a slice of "beach pizza" in your normal long, triangular form at any of the Pat's locations in Maine.
Pat's Pizza verdict
...and very well may be the best pizza place I've ever experienced in my entire life.
I mentioned that I went into this with high hopes. I've heard about Pat's for months, even before I started looking at properties to eventually purchase and become a full-time, for-the-rest-of-my-life Mainer. But even with that high expectation bar that I set from the get-go based off their word of mouth reputation -- Pat's Pizza still crushed my high expectations and very well may be the best pizza place I've ever experienced in my entire life.