Have a craving for a PB&J? Read on to find out where to get the very best of Boston's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
7. Clover– Overall: 3.9/10
Bread choice and structural integrity: 2/10 Odd pita-style bread, stuffed with PB&J. By far the worst bread choice on this list. Also very awkward eating experience. Did not enjoy.
PB quality: 8.5/10 Great crunchy peanut butter, slightly roasted tasting. Overpowered the “jelly” in the sandwich, though.
“J” choice: 2/10 Seasonal house-made apple cinnamon spread. Spread very thin, was an odd choice for a PB&J, didn’t feel satisfied and wouldn’t get it again.
Bread to PBJ ratio: 2/10 Good ratio of bread to peanut butter, but far too little “jelly.” Not sure if this was because the choice of “jelly” wasn’t flavorful enough or if there wasn’t enough on the sandwich, but it tasted more like a peanut butter sandwich to both of us.
Temperature: 5/10 Pita seemed to be toasted a little bit, which made the peanut butter heat up a little as well. Jelly was colder, though. It made for a bit of an odd temperature combination while eating.
6. Flour Bakery– Overall: 4.8/10 (Kid’s menu)
Price: $6.00
Bread choice and structural integrity: 4/10 Thick cut, untoasted white bread. Both of us felt this was a weird choice and would’ve been much better toasted (in this instance). Though the structural integrity was decent, we did not enjoy this bread choice.
PB quality: 5/10 Smooth PB, pretty basic choice. Didn’t benefit nor did it harm the sandwich. Was a safe, neutral option, but it did not impress us.
“J” choice: 7/10 Raspberry jam, slightly tart and not too sweet. We both really liked this jam but didn’t feel it was the right choice for a pb&j sandwich. Would’ve been much better on a piece of plain toast or in our morning oatmeal.
Bread to PBJ ratio: 6/10 Solid ratio, we didn’t have any complaints. Possibly a little too much jam, but the PB still pulled its weight.
Temperature: 2/10 Again, the untoasted bread really harmed this sandwich. It was very cold and not at all comforting.
5. Café Bonjour– Overall: 6.6/10
Price: $12.95 (Our most expensive PB&J on the list!)
Bread choice and structural integrity: 7/10 Unconventional crepe-style PB&J. Topped with powdered sugar and a few strawberry slices. Though innovative, it didn’t give us the same feeling as a pb&j sandwich. Nice for a special occasion, maybe.
PB quality: 5/10 Neither of us remembers much about the peanut butter in this crepe as we’re writing this, if that tells you anything about the quality. It was a basic, smooth PB choice.
“J” choice: 6/10 Very middle-of-the-road strawberry jam. The pieces of strawberry in the jam were nice, but overall the jam did not stand out.
Bread to PBJ ratio: 8/10 Surprisingly really nice! Though less bread than usual, we did not mind and the ratio held up nicely.
Temperature: 7/10 Homemade crepe, heated up the PB&J inside, and was a pleasantly warm temperature to enjoy for breakfast.
4. South End Buttery– Overall: 6.8/10
Price: $10.95 Way too expensive for us to get this again. And we are both confident we could make it ourselves at home.
Bread choice and structural integrity: 6/10 One slice of toasted whole-grain bread, open style. (we felt a little cheated out of a pb&j “sandwich” though)
PB quality: 7/10 Tasted like nice “natural” smooth peanut butter from the grocery. Both of us really enjoyed this peanut butter, though it was not our favorite on the list.
“J” choice: 7/10 Berry jelly topped with a sprinkling of blueberries. We thought this was a very cute pb&j toast and enjoyed the addition of the fruit on top.
Bread to PBJ ratio: 7/10 Though it was lacking a little jam, the blueberries evened out the ratio.
Temperature: 7/10 No true complaints, the toasted bread made the PB a little warm and the jelly and blueberries added a refreshing colder temperature in contrast.
3. Which Wich– Overall: 7.4/10
Price: $7.45 We both agreed that we could easily make this sandwich ourselves at home and that we likely wouldn’t get it again, even though it was a surprisingly inoffensive PB&J.
Bread choice and structural integrity: 7/10 Whole wheat sub bread, toasted. Made for an easy, transportable sandwich. Perfect for the on-the-go PB&J lover.
PB quality: 7/10 Your basic, sweet, smooth peanut butter. Spread unevenly, some bites were too peanut butter heavy.
“J” choice: 7/10 Standard grape jelly. Also spread unevenly, which made for a less enjoyable eating experience.
Bread to PBJ ratio: 7/10 Good enough ratio had it been spread properly.
Temperature: 9/10 Toasted sub, room temperature PB&J. This sandwich felt a lot like something you’d be able to make at home.
2. Kupel’s– Overall: 8.6/10
Price: $4.98
Bread choice and structural integrity: 6/10 The bagel was good, but a bagel is not the best base for a pb&j. It was slipping and sliding in our hands while trying to eat it, which made the overall PB&J experience suffer. We thoroughly made a mess of ourselves while trying to enjoy this sandwich, so we give it a 6.
PB quality: - 8/10 Slightly crunchy, just the right size of peanut chunks mixed throughout, very good PB.
“J” choice: 9.5/10 Strawberry jam. Even though jam is not the traditional “j,” this strawberry jam really worked in the sandwich and provided just the right amount of sweetness and tartness. There were small chunks of real strawberry dispersed in the jam that made up for the fact that it was not the traditional jelly.
Bread to PBJ ratio: 10/10 The perfect amount of PB&J to bread in the bagel. We wouldn’t have wanted any more or any less.
Temperature: 9.5/10 This was a happy medium of temperature. Neither the PB nor the J was too cold or too hot and the bagel acted as a good transporter for the ingredients.
1. Pressed Cafe– Overall: 9.2/10 (Children’s menu PB&J meal.)
Our favorite PB&J on the list and our choice for best Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich in Boston!
Price: $9.00 Although one of the more pricey sandwiches on our list, we both agreed we’d buy this again. (plus it came with a kid’s drink and side!)
Bread choice and structural integrity: 9.5/10 Toasted multi-grain bread. Near-perfect bread in our opinion: crunchy, toasted, and flavorful.
PB quality: 8.5/10 Crunchy PB, had a nice roasted flavor. Not the absolute best peanut butter we tried, but no complaints whatsoever.
“J” choice: 9/10 Strawberry jelly, nice and smooth and flavorful. Sweet but not overly so. We both enjoyed this jelly a lot.
Bread to PBJ ratio: 10/10 Perfect ratio, just enough peanut butter and jelly without being too much.
Temperature: 9/10 Nice and warm. Felt like a hug and was the perfect choice for a cozy winter PB&J.