A Crispy Crust That Isn't Too Bad If You Close Your Eyes
Spiritus Pizza is best late a night after drinking too much, but we went sober in the daylight
Welcome to Pizza Tasting Chronicles, my take on the pizza review. I eat a lot of pizza. I have a lot of opinions about pizza. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Spiritus Pizza in Provincetown is notorious as a late night snack spot for after the bars are closing down. It’s drunk food in a town without too many late night options. We happened to drop in late in the afternoon, stone-cold sober with a hungry five-year-old.
The cash-only shop has been around since 1971, but until last weekend, I’d never been. In the height of summer, there are always crowds of people lingering around the front of the shop chomping on slices.
But pizza, on Cape Cod? Look, it’s never going to be great. Spiritus was passable.
The regular slice was good enough to please a picky five-year-old. That’s a plus. But it’s also a slice that’s good enough — I’m not going out of my way to grab one of these, but I’d eat it again. This is never going to actually compare favorably to a slice of pizza from a local pizza parlor in Brooklyn, but its not bad when you’re 300 miles for an actual pizzeria.
The slice folded well and held its shape without falling apart. That’s hard to do anywhere, and the flavor was, if not remarkable, good enough.
The crust has some whole wheat flour added to it, enough that you can see that its darker and browner than white flour dust. Its enough to feel like you are eating something healthy without detracting from the flavor.
The Greek Slice topped with feta, black olives, onions, and spinach, was better than expected. This is not to be confused with Greek-style pizza (aka New London style pizza) common around the New England, and referred simply to the toppings. The flavor combination was good, sort of like eating a Greek salad without lettuce and a slice of pizza underneath it.
The Greek, regular, and pepperoni are the only pies available regularly as slices, but the shop has other pie combinations that include chicken, pesto, artichokes, and linguica. If there’s any place that epitomizes the spirit of Cape Cod, its the flavors of 1980s America combined with Portuguese influences. Every bite tastes like nostalgia, which is incredible considering I’ve only eaten this pizza as an adult.
Spiritus Pizza
190 Commercial Street
Provincetown, MA