Restaurant Review: Upper Crust Pizzeria

Lately, it seems that no matter where I go, there's an Upper Crust Pizzeria opening up (there was one in Waltham when I visited that city last week, one in Harvard Sq. one in Fenway, etc.). With their slick, modern signs and interior decor and the self-congratulatory name, these restaurants promise an above-average pizza experience. With ingredients such as gorgonzola and the option of having any pie made with whole wheat crust, I thought this was going to be my kinda place. Besides, I happen to really like Neapolitan-style pizza. So, I stopped in at the new location on Centre St. in West Roxbury to see if this pizza place would live up to its name.

I found the pizza here to be disappointing. I ordered two slices -- a cheese and a slice-of-the-day, which was spinach, fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers. Granted, slices are never exactly as tasty as a fresh pie, but I felt that my expectations could adequately compensate for this. Also, with some small pies coming in at $14, I thought I'd save my money for, oh, I don't know, anything else.

The pizza simply should have tasted better. The crust seemed fine, but there was something lacking from the sauce and cheese. The flavor just wasn't fresh and zesty enough for me. On the spinach pizza, there was an attempt to dress it up with some black pepper, which almost worked. But the toppings tasted limp and flat. 

Maybe I'm just so old-school it's sickening, but I don't know if I trust a shop that is run by kids. Where's the meaty Italian uncle with the hairy arms and tatoos, who doesn't really speak much English but manages to know exactly what I want (and how to make it)? Prettifying the restaurant with wood floors and cute college students doesn't improve the flavor of the food. 

There are so many other gourmet (and not gourmet but still good) pizza shops in town -- Woody's comes to mind. 

So, Upper Crust is simply crusty. And though its prices ($3.15 - $3.57 per slice!) are upper class, Upper Crust is a food snob-wannabe.

Reviews with Views: Masao's Kitchen

Masao's Kitchen, 581 Moody St., Waltham, MA 02453. 

I stopped in at Masao's Kitchen before heading over to the Embassy to see Food, Inc. It's kinda funny: I was going to go to Watch City Brewery and see if their beef is grass-fed and all that, and then I remembered that I had never tried Masao's. Since I was there in Waltham to see a movie about the industrialization of our food supply, it seemed to be a better choice to go with the wholesomeness of the Japanese buffet.

Masao's is the Boston area's only vegan-macrobiotic restaurant. I've been wanting to try this place for a long time, since it has been receiving rave reviews from friends and others. 

At Masao's, diners select items from a buffet of fresh vegetables, rice, beans and tofu. There's also salad, soup, and desserts (like an oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie) available. You can drink water for free, or try a Knudsen's spritzer -- 100% juice with light carbonation. 

I ate the meal pictured here: (clockwise from left) butternut squash, broccoli, brown rice, carrot and green bean medley, kidney beans in a savory sauce, a complimentary tempeh sandwich, and sauteed tofu. The food tasted very fresh, was only lightly seasoned, allowing the real flavors of the food to come through. For those who want to add seasoning, there is a bar of seasonings with more choices than I would even know what to do with. The light seasoning is great for people who are watching their salt intake or for anyone who wants to re-experience what real food tastes like. 

I enjoyed my meal and felt very satisfied. I actually think I took a little too much food. I think my favorites were the squash and the tofu: the squash was bright and sweet, well-cooked but not mushy, and the savory sauce on the tofu was rich and satisfying. The only food I wasn't sure about was the sandwich -- it was good, but it had that "vegan" mayonnaise on it. I could have dealt with a drizzle of olive oil instead.

At $8 per lb. you can eat a very wholesome and satisfying meal for not too much. It's almost as convenient and fast as fast food (just can't eat this one in the car so easily) and much better for you. 

Side note: in the back of the restaurant is a book shelf with vegan, macro and holistic health info that folks can browse through or purchase. There's a real intention to the cuisine at Masao's that diners may find inspirational, "cute" or perhaps annoying. I'm somewhere in the middle of this list. Here's what was on the wall in the bathroom:

****

If you're not sure about vegan or macrobiotic food, the first thing I would say is that all the food I ate on the macro cleanse and here at Masao's was real food -- no processed food and lots of fresh veggies and fruit. Whole grains, beans, tofu, tempeh as well. So, you can go macro and still recognize everything on your plate.

Secondly, I would say that there are lots of spices and flavorings that are in alignment with macrobiotic eating (and not all macrobiotic eaters are vegan, btw) that you can experiment with: dulse, Bragg's amino acids (tastes like soy sauce), sesame seeds and much more. I have only just begun to experiment in this way.  My favorite is Sriracha, a Korean chili sauce that is unbelievably hot but also tasty. It goes well on lots of things: eggs, greens, corn, beans, meats. Use it in a stir-fry or anytime you would use tabasco sauce (I use it in tacos and burritos). 

Today's Lunch Spot: City Feed in JP

The Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain is a funky, artsy, conscious community with a vibrant ethnic presence and a real sense for what is now in food trends. And nothing is more now than the push to "get to know your farmer." City Feed and Supply (now in two locations in JP) is part corner grocery store, part coffee-sandwich shop. But the place proves Aristotle's assertion of holism . . . the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If you're a vegetarian, a flexitarian, if you've read Pollan's books and you're afraid to eat meat or produce from the big, Gigantaursarus Mart, shop here. If you want red quinoa from a local grower, heirloom tomatoes grown in EASTERN Massachusetts, local, raw honey, shop here. If you want old school candy for a quarter -- Mary Janes, for example -- shop here. Most of the food is sourced locally and is sustainably or humanely produced. The retail store is so small that it defies the current "wisdom" that says consumers want endless variety. Conveniently located on Centre St. in the middle of all the action, it's easy to just pop in for a coffee and a poke about the store. It's the kind of shopping where you aren't planning for the week. More likely, picking up some fresh herbs to top off a pasta dish or a delicious bread, or, "Oops, forgot to get canned tomatoes, so thank god they have it here and I don't have to go to that other place." It's amazing what they do have in such a small space (But, it's probably the same size as the grocery stores our grandparents and great grandparents remember). It seems like it would be a good place to go if you actually cook, not reheat/microwave/assemble, your food.

Or, you can eat from the cafe. Today, I had an amazing, hearty sandwich, the Farmer's Lunch: extra sharp cheddar with whole grain mustard and mayo, granny smith apple, small-batch pickles, and romaine on a delicious baguette. I eat bread rarely, so I was pleased that the bread was so good. I also ordered a cup of chipotle sweet potato soup which was outstanding -- a smokey-spicy kick really stands up to the sweetness of the potato, and the use of (I'm guessing) thyme and tarragon really brightened it up. I loved this lunch, but it was way more food than even a very hungry girl could eat -- so I get to finish it later, either tonight or tomorrow. Yum.