When one thinks of the typical Boston slice, the mind wanders to none other than Boston’s Upper Crust Pizzeria. Creating that addictive taste, a little heavy on the secret red sauce and a well-made thinner crust, the Upper Crust Pizzeria has been serving their award-winning pizzas to Boston residents since 2001. Using a simple flavorful crust, the Upper Crust Pizzeria prides itself in inventing new ways to tease the taste buds. In terms of thickness, choice of toppings or sauces, preferences may differ here in Kuwait, yet as a market conditioned to taste only the most sophisticated flavors, the opening of this pizzeria is happily received. One who is schooled in the art of food by Kuwait’s myriad of gastronomic delights, and is granted bonafide foodie status by experience, can’t argue with the way pizza is supposed to be, and should there be an argument, we can daringly rebut that one bite of the Upper Crust slice will convince you otherwise.
Taking a break from the usual thicker pizza pie, the pie artisans at the Upper Crust Pizzeria have expertly perfected the art of the thinner crust, crisped on the outside edges and soft towards the center, this crust is craftily balanced to carry the promiscuously delicious chosen toppings. Incorporating only the freshest ingredients, the menu has grown from classical favorites to include more daring toppings. Located at the glitzy new restaurant complex that is The Village in Abu Al Hasaniya, the award-winning interior design alone is worth the visit. Pizza-tin decorated high ceilings emit a designer loft-like appeal, sleek white tables and floor to ceiling windows, Flat-screen TVs to watch your favorite game, and the open kitchen plans make for an entertaining dining experience. The outdoor seating area is equally pleasant; with stylish, flaring gas heaters to keep you warm in the chillier winter months, we decided to sit outside to enjoy the pleasant weather.
Although we’ve fallen in love with the daily-prepared dough, flavorful tomato sauces, and that special blend of Mozzarella that has been perfected for over twenty years, the starters at the Upper Crust Pizzeria are equally delicious. With mouth-watering Buffalo wings, or the Antipasto platter, even the light White Spinach pizza makes for an ideal appetizer. Choosing a selection of salads, we opted for the Caesar and strawberry and feta salads, along with the Antipasto platter. With a selection of grilled vegetables, green and red peppers, eggplants, mushrooms, artichokes, peppered salami and an Italian cheese assortment atop crunchy Rocca leaves, this platter is more than ideal for sharing, the delicious cheeses leave a tempting hint for what’s to come.
Lasagna for starters, why not? Having the option to choose our fillings of chicken, beef, or vegetable, we chose the beefy lasagna to nibble on until the main event of our meal, the award-winning pizzas, arrived. As we continuously dove with our forks into the piping hot dish, we notice the recurrent tantalizing tastes of the cheeses and spiced beef. Refined flavors and quality ingredients are apparent throughout every dish. Glancing around, we also were surprised to see that the Calzones are also popular choices. Prepared with mozzarella, ricotta, and asiago cheese, these are hand-rolled in the signature Upper Crust Pizza dough and baked to perfection.
Speaking of that delicious dough, we should give our readers a heads up; when ordering your pizza, the small size makes for a whopping 14-inch pie, and the larger size is 18 inches. One might think that these sizes are indestructible, yet because of the signature thinner crust, slightly crisped on the edges after a generous dash of olive oil completes the pie; the pizza is much lighter than most renditions seen in K-town. You can also order your regular or large pizza in halves, yet we were too greedy (and hungry) to think otherwise. We started off with the Swellesley, Upper Crust’s ‘Arabiatta’ rendition, with Parmigiano Reggiano, red sauce, pepperoni, crushed red pepper, garlic, olive oil and basil. Perfectly balancing out the edgy spiced pepperoni, we dove right into the Spinach Leaf pizza, with its famous red sauce topped with fresh spinach, ricotta, and fresh garlic. The ricotta cheese expertly spread across the surface created a heavenly balance of textures while complimenting the spinach. That deliciously crusted dough is a winner in our books; we could truly consume it on its own!
Renowned for their daring toppings, we opted to experiment with new flavors, including Bubs’ BBQ chicken, the traditional white pizza with BBQ breaded chicken (you can also order the chicken grilled), sliced onion and mozzarella. The contrasting flavors are divine, as the flavors of the white cheese are completely brought out with the tanginess of the BBQ sauce, and with the chunks of breaded chicken, we were absolutely sold. For spicy, buffalo chicken lovers, we also recommend Brendan’s Buffalo chicken pizza, with blue cheese and mozzarella. We also sampled the Patata Rossa, which could easily be ordered as an appetizer, another light, white pizza creation with rosemary and garlic-roasted red bliss potatoes, caramelized onions, Fontina and mozzarella cheeses.
After slice upon slice of the heavenly pizza pies, we were pleasantly surprised when we realized we did have room for dessert. Ordering the house specialty that is the Nutella Calzone with bananas and strawberries is a must when paying the Upper Crust Pizzeria a fanciful visit. The homemade Gelatos are perfectly light yet flavorful, and we guarantee that the Strawberry and Mascarpone Gelato is a delight worth saving room for. If the Nutella Calzone didn’t hit the spot for you, have it in the Gelato form, and mix it up with the Strawberry Mascarpone gelato for that addictive marriage between fruit and chocolate.
The Upper Crust Pizzeria is located in The Village restaurant complex in Abu Al Hasaneya and KIPCO tower. Please call 182 1872 for delivery, or head to www.talabat.com. For more information, please find them on Facebook at Uppercrust , Instagram @uppercrustkwt and Twitter @uppercrustkwt.
