Stuff to Eat in the Suburbs: Cambridge—Stone Hearth Pizza

Sometimes it can be hard to take a gluten-free friend out to lunch or dinner. Pubs usually deal in foods that are fried with some sort of flour-based batter, any kind of sandwich is automatically off the menu, even salad dressings can sometimes be a dicey prospect and almost all Italian food is right out. Yet this Bostonist recently accompanied her gluten-free friend to a little pizzeria in Cambridge called Stone Hearth Pizza and discovered a new world of deliciousness, with a side of tasty gluten-free fare. Stone Hearth Pizza has locations in Cambridge, Belmont, and Needham; and is dedicated to providing customers with organic and local fare whenever possible. If you download a menu from their website you can see all the local farms they support, even their beers and wines are local.

Their dedication to local businesses spills over to their customers. What originally brought us to their door was the promise of their gluten-free pizza crust, which it turns out is crispy and light, without a hint of the grittiness that can sometimes accompany gluten-free bread products. Clearly, someone worked hard to get the consistency of this crust just right.

The restaurant's Neapolitan style fire-grilled pizzas are both inventive and well put together without an overabundance of any one ingredient, which creates a nice balance of flavors. The cheeses are fresh and well blended, and in this Bostonist’s opinion, their sauce is just right: not too sweet and not too salty.

There are several pre-imagined options available on their menu, or if you’re in the mood to be creative, just go ahead and make your own concoction from their extensive ingredient list.

The sandwiches at Stone Hearth are just as noteworthy as their pizzas. While the restaurant does not carry gluten-free sandwich bread, these sandwiches really prove that a good sandwich is all about the ingredients. Wraps are not normally this Bostonist’s thing, but it looked so delicious that she had to give it a try, and the chefs were very accommodating when we wanted to add fresh mozzarella to our California wrap. And wow, was it worth the risk!

The California wrap is a simple enough sandwich with romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, avocado, shaved red onions, and lemon Dijon dressing. Somehow the food artists at Stone Hearth Pizza managed to make this simple sandwich into something spectacular; all of the ingredients were chopped very finely and then mixed together with the dressing so that every bite contained a little bit of everything. The wrap was fresh and chewy; it (thankfully) lacked that slightly stale taste and texture that often afflict wraps. The most amazing thing was the avocado, clearly cut fresh as the sandwich was being made because it didn’t exhibit any of the watery loss of flavor that can happen with a pre-cut fruit. Somehow they managed to mush it just enough so that it still maintained enough integrity to not dribble out of the wrap but instead to cling perfectly to every other ingredient to hold the sandwich together. Every bite of this huge wrap was a joy and we kept eating it long after we were full just for the flavor of it.

Stone Hearth Pizza also offers baked pastas, both standard and gluten-free, and some very tasty salads with amazingly good homemade dressings.

The Stone Hearth Pizza in Cambridge delivers to areas of Cambridge and Somerville, so check in with your local Stone Hearth Pizza to see if they deliver to you. We highly recommend this gem to everyone and are happy to be able to suggest a gluten-free pizza option to our gluten intolerant friends who are missing their pizza fix.

This post originally appeared on the Bostonist

Stuff to Eat in the Suburbs: Needham—Pizzapalooza

Finding good pizza in Boston can be a complicated business. While some pizzerias focus solely on baking a good pie, others provide more well-rounded fare in the form of tasty sandwiches, paninis and pasta. From greasy to gourmet, you can find almost anything if you know where to look.

Pizzapalooza in Newton has a lot to offer the hungry diner. Their pizza is fairly good, if a little too heavy on the sweet sauce and light on the cheese for this Bostonist’s taste. Not quite deep dish and not quite thin-crust, Pizzapalooza’s pies come across almost like the best French bread pizza you’ve ever had, with a crunchy base topped by lots of chewy dough. You can order a whole pizza or get it by the slice. One of the best (if worst for your health...) things about ordering in the shop is that each slice is a quarter of a pizza!

Individual slices tend to be available in classic flavors, like cheese and pepperoni. However, their pizzas really shine when the chefs get creative in the kitchen. On our most recent visit, we sampled the Hawaiian (pineapple and prosciutto) as well as a creative concoction involving Italian sausage, ricotta, and caramelized onions. The Hawaiian is a perfect balance of sweet pineapple and salty prosciutto, with neither overpowering the other as can often be the case. The Italian sausage, ricotta and caramelized onions combine to create a really complex flavor; the sweet and salty Italian sausage is complimented by the sweetness of the onions and both are surprisingly well accompanied by the creaminess of the ricotta.

But pizza isn’t the only tasty treat you can find at Pizzapalooza. In fact, this Bostonist first fell in love with the restaurant's Panini sandwiches. The Panino Pollo is a simple Panini containing fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and a balsamic marinated grilled chicken breast. But the first bite tells you that this is no ordinary sandwich; the sliced Italian ciabatta bread is clearly fresh-cut for each sandwich. And all of the ingredients perfectly complement one another, right down to the sprinkle of Pecorino Romano that adds a salty, tangy accent to the sandwich and gives it the final nudge from good to great. Finally, the toasting method leaves the sandwiches a perfect combination of crunchy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. The Pollo is, in this Bostonist’s opinion, one of the best paninis in the area.

Another notable menu item is the “Pizzapalooza Cruiser.” This on-the-go option is like a rolled-up piece of pizza but without all the mess. Pizzapalooza uses its regular pizza dough, wraps it around a variety of ingredients, and then bakes them to perfection. The Maserati is a portable collection of complimentary yet complex flavors. Sweet Italian sausage, salty pepperoni, and melty mozzarella cheese are well accented here by Pizzapalooza’s sweet tomato sauce; and best of all this treat is wrapped up and ready to eat!

Though Pizzapalooza is not this Bostonist’s favorite spot for pizza every day, the pizza is good enough to keep us interested. However, the thing that keeps us coming back is the paninis. If you are a fan of crunchy bread and high-quality, high-taste ingredients, then you might want to give the Panini Sandwiches over at Pizzapalooza a try. For your first time we highly recommend eating on their patio instead of getting take out. This sandwich experience is worth savoring!

Originally posted on the Bostonist.