Stone Hearth Pizza Company
Liz and I were out for a walk when we realized that we were hungry for some dinner. At that moment, we happened to be passing Stone Hearth Pizza Company in
The crowded café buzzed with chatter and kitchen sounds. In front of us were maybe 10 tables, a counter, and an open kitchen with pizza flying everywhere. It was truly something to behold, and it spoke to the business that this place was doing. Boxes of pizza to go were stacking up on the counter as those who ordered takeout paid at the register. Meanwhile, we were instructed to sit anywhere, and we grabbed a seat near the lively kitchen. Liz was immediately concerned with the level of gluten-free that we would encounter, as there was flour everywhere in the kitchen. However, her fears were put to rest, as the gluten-free options were prepared in the morning away from the other pizzas and stored separately, cooked to order on separate trays.
Liz had some artisan root beer and I enjoyed a beer while our pizzas were fired up. The service was ok, but rushed due to the volume of pizza and the multiple roles that all the servers played. Our pies came out pretty quickly, and we dug in. They were about plate-sized, which means personal pan pizza to me.
My pizza had sausage and caramelized onions, while hers was the gluten-free pepperoni. The style of pizza is more of a thin crust, as the crust gets crispy and bubbly in the stone hearths. The pizzas were hot and crispy, and the toppings were very good as well. I thought that the toppings could have been a little more flavorful, as could have the sauce and crust, but the texture and temperature were great for this style of pizza. Liz agreed with me, wishing her sauce was a bit more flavorful, but she enjoyed her pizza too.
While we ate, we watched a lot of gluten-free pizzas leave the building as take out. It goes to show how the gluten-free market is getting really hot as more and more people realize that they too are afflicted with Celiac disease. Starved for new restaurants and good quality, these restaurateurs ran en masse to Stone Hearth for their stone oven fired pies, and I think that they are not being disappointed. The quality is good, the ingredients are quality, and the pies are made safely to avoid cross-contamination. Kudos to Stone Hearth for helping to fill the fairly stark, though growing, landscape of gluten-free dining.
- Connoisseur Jon