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I agree UC is no longer so special. The first pizza I had at Hingham site was excellent. Since that first one others have been average. I ordered a large to go late one afternoon from Hingham and I think they reheated one that had been previously cooked. I have not been to UC in over a year. They should focus on quality since it is an expensive pizza.
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I blame myself because I know better. I have already chimed in twice on this... Last night I needed to bring a pizza to my Dad. I was closer to Waltham so I figured I would just go to UC and get it over with. It was late for me and I was tired. I called in my order. Remember when I told you how the staff is always fooling around and that they forget my toppings? So I figured maybe things will have changed since this post went up and that the owners would REALIZE that there was a problem in that location. No such luck for me last night. I ordered two small pizza's. One was just pepperoni and the other was sausage, ricotta and basil. I was charged 30.00 for two small pizza's. I get to my Dad's house open up the pizza and no pepperoni on one pizza and no fresh basil on the other. I looked at my receipt and I was charged for them both. I could only laugh instead of getting mad because I KNEW BETTER!! Same staff was there, same problems. I guess I will be back to Sweet Tomatoes again.
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re: macadamianut
Bob Dobalina
Feb 26, 2009 07:01 AM
Just remember to check before you walk off.
Then you can glare at them!-
re: Bob Dobalina
galleygirl
Feb 26, 2009 08:25 AM
Or refuse to take them, BEFORE paying.....Or pay for what you're ACTUALLY getting....
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re: galleygirl
I am now done with Upper Crust. My husband told me to call and complain that I had paid for it and not gotten it but for what? I mean am I going to look for my three dollars back? Were they going to give me free toppings next time? There will not be a next time. If the owners ever care to read these posts and react to the poor poor service in the Waltham location. The one whom I saw taking shots of booze from the bar was still there last night making pizza. Obviously they don't care about quality and service.
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re: macadamianut
Science Chick
Feb 26, 2009 12:28 PM
One time I ordered a WW crust and got home to find a white one. They were very nice and gave me my next pizza free. That was ~ a year ago, and I haven't been in a while.....still, way too expensive in my book.
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I've never been but clients of mine commented the other day that they don't like the one in Watertown and consider it waaay too expensive for the quality. They figure the Watertown one will close when some other new less expensive pizza place opening near there gets up and running, particularly in these economic times.
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re: lgss
galleygirl
Feb 23, 2009 04:44 PM
Bummer. Get them to try Stella's. (near Little Armenia on Mt.Auburn)I always get my car inspected at the service station next door so I have an excuse to have pizza while I wait...
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re: lgss
Let's see, within 1 mile of there, we have:
Napoli Pizza
Watertown House of Pizza
Boston House of Pizza
Bertuccis
Stella's
Pleasant Pizza and Subs
Main Street Pizza
Vito's Pizza Plus
Pizza RomaI'd say Upper Crust is holding their own at this point. Personally, I think their slices are not particularly expensive for the size (they're big)
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I was also excited when they opened an UC in Salem, MA. Tried it three times and all three times was disapointed by the pizza. Another huge turn off was how dirty the sitting area was. I also despise any establishment that serves warm salad dressing packets from Ken's. Is it me or should bleu cheese dressing be refrigerated? I will stick with the local mom and pop types of places to keep the little guy in business.
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I've noticed that the key is to ask for the pizza to be cooked well-done. It makes a world of difference. The demand is so high (at least in brookline) that they tend to take the pizzas out too early.
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re: hlerm2
ScubaSteve
Feb 19, 2009 05:54 AM
had ours well done last Sunday (in Coolidge Corner) and it was perfect, just a touch of carbon, but not overdone, held a point to the very last slice.
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re: cheesehead in recovery
I think the theft is well documented, and has led to a lawsuit from the Sweet Basil people against UC. But from what I heard that was years ago, and it has obviously not stopped UC from expanding all over the place. Mangia delivers in Brookline, give them a try next time. I make my own most of the time now, it just tastes better.
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re: chefboyardee
I heard the UC and ST were owned by the same people, but I guess this is not true. The pizzas are awfully similar which speaks to your post, Chef. Don't love UC or ST. We've been going to Stone Hearth pizza in Needham. They do a really nice job on our special order pizza. Don't know how well it would travel, but in the restaurant, it's quite good. Glad to hear about Mangia as we live in Brookline and don't always feel like schlepping out to Needham! This could be a new pizza find. Thanks, everyone for the recommendation. We'll check it out real soon!!
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fillefield
Feb 18, 2009 01:59 PM
I live right near the Brookline Upper Crust and pass by it every day. For the past week (at least) the lights have been off and the chairs pushed in the corner, during dinner hours when they used to be open. Perhaps their mediocre pizza is the cause.
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I was in the Watertown area for an appointment and tried that too and it was not as good as others I have tried. The waltham one is poorly run. Last time I was there waiting for a pizza to bring to a friend, the employees were all flirting with each other and pinching each others behind. Then I saw one of the cooks take a red bull and open it at the small bar area and then he proceeded to add booze to it and drink it. No wonder my toppings were missing.
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re: macadamianut
hiddenboston
Feb 18, 2009 12:22 PM
Based on your post, perhaps those weren't the only toppings that were potentially missing in there! :-b Butt-pinching? Egads, at least I hope they were wearing gloves while they were doing it.
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I was so excited when one opened up in Lexington. I've been there several times, tried many styles and always wake up in the night dying of thirst. It's way too salty. For my health I just can't go there anymore. I have to admit I haven't yet tried asking if they could hold the salt.
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hiddenboston
Feb 18, 2009 05:23 AM
So we went to the one in Watertown Square last night, and I have to say, I was not all that impressed. I used to go to the one in Lexington a lot, and thought that the pizza last night had noticeably less flavor than the ones I had there. It almost seems like the ingredients were different, but maybe it was the oven, cooking method, whatever. But it was pretty average stuff, and most of the people in our group had comments that ranged from "so-so" to "pretty good."
One side note: Those ultra-light aluminum chairs they have there are a hazard. Not one but two folks with us crashed to the ground when the chairs shifted and flipped due to their light weight. After the second incident, one of the workers came over, looking a bit horrified and asking if he was ok.
We did had a great time last night (lots of laughs, etc.), but I'm not sure we'll be going back there anytime soon...
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re: hiddenboston
Science Chick
Feb 26, 2009 06:30 AM
Upper crust can be alright...but dreadfully expensive and a bit stingy with the toppings IMHO. I don't want it loaded and soggy, but give me more than 6 eggplant pieces on a large! If I were in Watertown, I would go to Stellas in a heartbeat. Their extra large is incredibly delicious. They use the same amount of dough as the large, but roll it thinner.
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re: Science Chick
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re: galleygirl
Science Chick
Feb 26, 2009 09:04 AM
Yes, exactly! They use the extra large ones to make the slices. I didn't realize this, and ordered a regular "large". I was confused to find a thicker crust. They were so nice about it and insisted on making me another one (extra large....18" I think?), and they explained about the thinner crust 18" size. Who knew?
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re: Science Chick
galleygirl
Feb 26, 2009 09:22 AM
Well, a few other places do that, as I found out when i wondered why their pies weren't as thin as their slices. Some have it on the menu, some you have to ask, like the Brookline Spa, and Andrea's in Framingham. But neither of those is Stella's quality...
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SpicyTea
Feb 17, 2009 05:35 PM
I had a slice in Brookline last week, and it was just fine -- for me, it's B to B+ pizza. For better pizza, I go home to New Haven. But, you want bad delivery, try moving to Dorchester. We resorted to Domino's a few days ago, and sadly, it was the best entry after three years of trying. The stuff UC throws out at the end of a shift would've been better.
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ScubaSteve
Feb 17, 2009 04:34 PM
The Kid and i are fans of UC. we always hit it after a film at the CCT. we always get a large 1/2 cheese, 1/2 sausage mushroom, extra sauce, well done and we eat it there. went last Sunday and it was Perfect.
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re: ScubaSteve
I think the key to UC is getting extra sauce. It isn't a wet sauce, so it doesn't make the crust too soggy but really adds to the flavor. My husband likes the bacon, jalapeno and fresh pineapple, and I like artichoke with pesto splash, so we get a large half and half. with extra sauce We usually eat in, though, so we don't have the delivery issue. Leftovers make a nice lunch.
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Totally agree that it has declined, but I always thought it was mediocre at best. We wind up ordering from there more than I want b/c its its the only pizza delivery programmed into our cell phone. I think Sweet Basil in Newton and Mangia near brookline village are much better, particularly Mangia, which does whole wheat crusts.
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re: chefboyardee
galleygirl
Feb 17, 2009 06:36 AM
I'm on record, over and over, for never "getting" the whole Upper crust popularity, and being a huge Mangia fan....That crust looks like white whole wheat flour, becasue it sure doesn't taste like any whole wheat crust I remember( which is a positive, trust me!) But after MC pointed it out, I did go in and ask, and it is, indeed, whole wheat...
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re: chefboyardee
Sweet Tomatoes is very good and has a new location in Needham, as well as two in Newton. For me, a big advantage of Upper Crust is that slices are available all day whereas Sweet Tomatoes stops serving them at 4 or 5. Though not generally as fresh as a made-to-order pie, it's nice to have good slices available when a whole pizza is too much.
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re: Velda Mae
Maybe it's just me, but I have always found Sweet Tomatoes and Upper Crust to be pretty similar, indistinguishable and very bland and boring. I am a big fan of the original Regina's but the North End is just not convenient. I find that there are no outstanding pizzas in the suburbs, it's either Greek style, bar style, chains, etc.
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MC Slim JB
Feb 17, 2009 05:52 AM
Thin crust pizzas in general seem to really suffer more with delivery. I'm trying to hold to an "only at the restaurant" policy, but sometimes you just need delivery. In the South End, I think Mangia does a better job of getting the pizza delivered quickly than Upper Crust, though I like them both.
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hiddenboston
Feb 17, 2009 05:40 AM
I like their pizza, but am not ga-ga over it as some people are. This place had so much hype when they first opened that I felt a bit let down when I first tried it. But I do think it's good pizza overall.
I actually haven't been to an Upper Crust in awhile, but a large group of us (possibly as many as 15 or 20 folks) will be hitting one of them tonight. I'll definitely report back tomorrow...
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In general I think Upper Crust is good not great but I suspect there is a systemic problem at the Brookline store. The slices are always on the B side of life there no matter how busy they are or the time of day. I've had consistently good slices at the Watertown and Harvard Square locations. As for the price, did you have any toppings? If so, that's about what small costs these days at Sweet Tomatoes, which is comparable in style and quality in my book. I've found that Upper Crust is quite generous with its toppings, which is better than charging high prices and then giving you one or two mushrooms on a slice.
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I’ll bite.
There is no such thing as ‘pizza’, our American English fails to allow us to make important distinctions. Cachetes, the pizza you are eating in upstate NY is an entirely different food and I am not surprised you were disappointed.
The Upper Crust makes a very stylized pizza. Very thin crust cooked quickly at high heat. A good assortment of high quality toppings provides for a huge number of pizzas very different from each other.
The thin, crisp crust is flavorful not doughy and bloating. The ratio of bread to toppings is, to my palette, perfect.
Time (including delivery by bicycle in the winter) is the enemy of the UC pizza. That thin, crispy crust rapidly becomes soggy. Our friends at Domino’s understand that there’s nothing like a huge oil-soaked sponge of bread to facilitate slow cooling.
This is ironic as my closest UC is on Beacon Hill and has almost non-existing seating. We still opt for delivery from time to time. Our current favorite (I accept full credit for its design) Gorgonzola, caramelized onions, and spinach. Ain’t gonna find that in Troy.
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The AAs at my company have ordered pizzas delivered from Upper Crust a few times and I have been appalled at how bad they were. They may be better when served at the restaurant, but they were definitely not worth the price when delivered- they were on par with eating the cardboard boxes they came in. Give me Bertucci's delivery anytime!
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