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Hilltown Hot Pies (Egremont, MA)

GETAWAYS • The Berkshires

The Skinny: The brick-and-mortar manifestation of Hilltown Hot Pies has been a long time coming. The phenomenon started in 2019 as a pizza pop-up in the Berkshires. In 2023, pizza-maker and proprietor Rafi Bildner bought a restaurant called John Andrews Farmhouse in Egremont, MA, and took it down to the studs. Over the last two years, he renovated, chronicling every nail and beam on Instagram as fans and locals waited for the pies to return. This fall, when Bildner finally opened the doors, the Resy pages were fully booked, the parking lot packed, and the lines out the door.

The Vibe: Casual, with booths as well as a large communal table down the middle. A new pizza oven pulls attention from almost all sides of the dining room. It’s loud inside, especially when every table’s full, but the staff is laid back, taking the time to joke with customers and give thoughtful explanations of the seasonal pizza (with roasted honeynut squash cream), despite the compounding tables of families and couples of all ages.

The Food: They describe the pizza as “Neopolian-ish” sourdough. It’s, for my money, a perfect recipe. The base is thin without being soggy, and there’s a snap in the crust. The list of pies includes some piled high with ingredients like local pork sausage, and others with housemade sauces like hot honey and giardiniera (not on the same pie). The Festa Dei Fungi is served with a generous helping of Hudson Valley mushrooms over a base of porcino cream sauce. Despite the cream, the mozz, and the grana, the chewy meatiness of mushrooms shine through.

Appetizers are as cheese-heavy as the pizzas, including housemade mozzarella sticks, thick and decadently breaded, and cheese-stuffed cabbages baked in a tomato sauce. The kale Caesar’s dressing is textbook, and it’s topped with copious amounts of grana and not-too-hard sourdough croutons, a necessity since the kale itself still had quite a crunch.

Surprisingly, there are a variety of gluten and dairy-free alternatives, a generous offer for a place where the smell of cheese and semolina wafts.

The Drink: The wine list is nearly 100% southern Italian-focused. There’s also an extensive list of Amaros and digestifs available neat or “spritz style,” as well as cocktails from a full bar.

The Verdict: Two years makes for a lot of expectations, but if you can stand the higher than average noise for a country restaurant, Hilltown Hot Pies delivers, even if the only reservation you can manage is 5p at the communal table. –Sylvie Florman

→ Hilltown Hot Pies (Egremont, MA) • 224 Hillsdale Rd • Wed-Thu 5-9p, Fri-Sat 5-10p, Sun 5-9p • Reserve.