Dining Out Boston

Harvard Square isn't known for cheap food, but Crazy Dough's creative pizzas are a welcome exception. Last night I met my friend Andrew for dinner, and with less than six dollars in each of our pockets, we decided slices of pizza were probably the only way to go. (Parismony does have such a wonderful way of simplifying dining.)

Crazy Dough's is difficult to find if you're not native to the Square as it's located in a rather ghetto interior mall monstrosity known as "The Garage" on JFK street. Follow the stairs at Ben & Jerry's up one level and you'll reach an enclave with a small number of semi-clean plastic booths and tables. More importantly, you'll come face to face with trays of slices from Crazy Dough's zany pizzas like the Nacho (beef, tortilla chips, scallions, banana peppers, sour cream) or the Reuben (pastrami, Russian dressing, sauerkraut). All pizzas, by the way, are topped with premium, low-fat mozzarella, a smart choice considering there are plenty of other toppings to contribute to the grease.

Andrew was not up for adventure last night and ordered two slices of plain cheese, which came to $4 and included a free small soda. I went for two large gourmet slices, one of Tuscan Mediterranean and one of the Tomato Basil (total bill $5.50). Like any self-respecting pizza place, Crazy Dough's warms your slices before slapping them on paper plates for messy, delicious consumption. The crust of both slices was crispy, not too thin, and dispelled little puffs of steam as I tore it apart. Toppings were plentiful and evenly distributed: nothing worse than getting a slice of pepperoni pizza with 1 lone pepperoni. Overall, the quality of the vegetables and mozzarella was very good, although it probably suffered from sitting under hot lights for most of the day.

Crazy Dough's is also credited with creating The Nutty Tuscan, the "Best Pizza in America" (as voted by Pizza Magazine), a sauceless pie with roasted garlic and plum tomatoes, carmelized onions, pine nuts, gorgonzola, basil, and pesto. The Boylston street location has a larger menu and serves beer (cha-CHING!), so I recommend you try that branch before trekking out to Cambridge. Crazy Dough's also delivers all of their wacky varieties of pizza. Small pizzas are around $11 while larges are $15-17.

Crazy Dough's pizza certainly isn't the best in Boston, but it is the most unique, and a fun break from plain old margherita.

The Info
Crazy Dough's
35 JFK St., Cambridge
or
1124 Boyleston St., Boston
www.crazydoughs.com