Mattapoisett Man Brings SouthCoast Taste to Florida

Here's a "small world" local story for you.

When three SouthCoast guys – Kyle DeSousa, Chris Brasells and Dan Stoddard – took a boys' trip to Florida, they had one mission: find real South Shore Bar Pizza. Their search led them to an unexpected yet familiar place: The Grill at Morris Bridge in Tampa.

A quick scan of the South Shore Bar Pizza Facebook group pointed them in the right direction. Typing in "Florida" brought up just one result: The Grill at Morris Bridge, owned by Frank Gouveia, a Mattapoisett native.

A Taste of Home, 1,300 Miles Away

“The Grill at Morris Bridge is a little slice of South Shore Bar Pizza heaven right here in Florida,” DeSousa told Fun 107. “Crispy, cheesy, and cooked to perfection. Frank Gouveia brought a taste of home down south. This is legit bar pizza, no doubt about it.”

Courtesy Frank Gouveia

From Mattapoisett to Tampa

Gouveia, now 58, has called Florida home for 30 years, but his Massachusetts roots still run deep.

A Bishop Stang graduate who later attended Springfield College, he made the move south after a friend from the old Sullivan Brothers Clothing Store in New Bedford convinced him to relocate to Boca Raton.

Fast-forward to today, and Frank runs The Grill at Morris Bridge, a high-end restaurant that serves everything from $120 tomahawk steaks to black grouper and seafood risotto.

Despite its upscale menu, Frank couldn’t resist sneaking in a little piece of home: South Shore Bar Pizza.

“I started making it here because I was just sick of the pizzas down here (in Florida),” he said. “Even though we opened this high-end restaurant, I was like, I’m putting these pizzas on the menu.”

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The SouthCoast on the Menu

Gouveia’s Massachusetts ties are front and center on his menu.

The pizzas are named after SouthCoast and North Shore highways, including Route 24, Route 3 and Route 140, plus a New Bedford special.

Courtesy Kyle DeSousa

Even his go-to pizza is a nod to home: linguiça with green peppers and onions.

Each of the guys put the menu to the test. Brasells ordered the New Bedford pizza, DeSousa the Route 140 and Stoddard just a plain cheese.

The Grill at Morris Bridge isn’t just a bar pizza joint; it’s an upscale dining experience.

“The inside is a nice restaurant with a huge selection of wine on display,” they noted. “This is far from the ordinary when sitting down to eat a bar pizza.”

Beyond the pizza, Gouveia’s menu is loaded with New England classics, from clam chowder to Rhode Island-style calamari and Italian favorites like shrimp scampi and chicken parmigiana.

The Last Hot Dog Stand Connection

Gouveia’s SouthCoast ties go even deeper than pizza.

Courtesy Frank Gouveia

His family ran Jimmy’s Hot Dogs in New Bedford for over 50 years. His father opened the stand in 1961, operating in multiple locations – including one that burned down in the Arcade Theater fire of 1977 – before settling on Purchase Street, where it remained until 2012.

Calling Out Portnoy

Gouveia hopes to get Dave Portnoy, the man behind Barstool Sports’ One Bite Pizza Reviews, to visit and rate his pizza.

“We have people who used to go to Poopsies, Town Spa, Cape Cod Café, and Lynwood – the places that started the South Shore bar pizza craze – who now drive two hours to eat our pizza,” he said. “We’ve had people tell us our pizza is better than Town Spa.”

That’s a bold claim, but one that SouthCoast visitors like Kyle, Chris and Dan seem to agree with.

So Portnoy, if you're reading this, Frank's got a pan with your name on it.

The Best of South Shore Bar Pizza

There's pizza, and then there's South Shore Bar Pizza. Birthed in Brockton (and to this writer, perfected in Randolph – Lynwood Café is the true G.O.A.T.), it must meet certain qualifications to be considered "SSBP," which include: it's a 10-inch pie; it has a thin, cracker-like crust with minimal "flop;" the cheese is a blend that features more cheddar than mozzarella; and bonus points if you take it home between two carboard-type plates wrapped in flat brown paper bag. They also usually come with "laced" or "burnt" edges (terminology depends on where you are ordering), which is when the sauce and cheese are extended all the way to the edge of the pan, creating a crispy, flavorful coating to the crust. We reached out to the hugely popular South Shore Bar Pizza Social Club Facebook group to ask the experts to share the best of the best (in no particular order).

Gallery Credit: Tim Weisberg

25 of the Best Pizza Spots on the SouthCoast

Not all pizza is created equal, but the SouthCoast has plenty of options for a high-quality slice. Choose from any of these 25 spots to fully take advantage of National Pizza Day.

Gallery Credit: Maddie Levine

Here's What $600,000 Buys You In New Bedford, New Hampshire and Florida

The average price for a home in Massachusetts has soared to around $600,000 recently, an all-time record high for sure. So, what exactly do you get for that price? It varies from city to city and state to state, but here's how New Bedford homes compare to those in some of the area's favorite vacation spots.

Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall

Filed Under: Mattapoisett, south shore bar pizza

Categories: Articles, Food, Local Stuff