The Upper Crust Pizza does it big and, oh, so very good

BACKGROUND

John English isn't an Italian, but he sure knows how to cook like one. This Mt. Washington resident strives to provide the Pittsburgh area with a quality menu of more than 15 specialty pizzas.

He owns The Upper Crust Pizza in Fox Chapel, which he opened in 2007 after learning the business while working at a friend's pizza shop.

“We make our dough fresh every day,” English says. “Each batch is about 80 pounds, and on weekends we make around 240 pounds.

“Making fresh dough and spinning it out by hand for each order is what sets us apart,” he says. “It takes longer, but I feel it is worth the wait.”

He prides himself on using homemade, fresh ingredients.

“Each week, I go to the restaurant depot in the Strip District,” he says. “I purchase fresh veggies, and that's why our products stand out.”

Another tasty secret? English says his shop brushes its pizza dough with a special garlic-butter sauce.

“Also, we use high-end cheese by Grande,” he says. “This cheese is only sold to independent pizza shops and not to the chains, so you can taste the difference.”

Upper Crust uses sausage from Labriola's and makes signature in-house meatballs.

“Our salads are made fresh, and our Greek homemade dressing is popular,” English says.

In 2010, Upper Crust's Buffalo Chicken Pizza took first place in a best-pizza contest sponsored by WPXI-TV.

“Our Hawaiian pizza also has won awards,” English says. “It features the salty-sweet combination of ham and pineapple.”

ATMOSPHERE

Located in the heart of residential Fox Chapel, the building is unassuming, but walk inside and get ready for authentic Italian fare.

Only three small tables sit in the compact restaurant at the corner of Hart's Run and Dorseyville roads, so this isn't a place for your traditional sit-down meal with waitstaff. It's clean and airy, with large windows.

Take-out and delivery are the norm, but on a recent visit we did settle down for a leisurely lunch. The service was friendly and attentive. The kitchen is open, and the staff was busy prepping fresh dough balls for their pizza crusts and sandwiches.

MENU

The Upper Crust is a world of homemade crusts and just about any topping you could imagine.

Home of the Three Foot Party Pizza ($50), this huge creation will feed an army, and requires a 48-hour notice to deliver or have ready for pick-up.

“Last summer, we sold about 30 of those giant pizzas,” English says. “When one of those pizzas comes through the door at a party, everyone wants to know where it came from.

Choose from 24 fresh toppings such as roasted red peppers, chopped garlic, capicola, Labriola's sausage, hot-pepper rings and countless others to build the pizza of your tastebud's wildest dreams.

Pizza is available by the slice from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, with specials featured daily.

Specialty pizzas, thin-crust and traditional hand-tossed pizza, hot hoagies, salads and oven-roasted jumbo wings are on the menu.

Some popular specialty pizzas include Cheese Steak, the Everything, Greek, Chicken Ranchero, and Turkey, Bacon and Ranch.

New to the menu are gyros, with gyro meat or chicken. A kids menu offers staples such as chicken tenders and a kids-sized pizza.

After perusing the extensive menu and choices, we ordered a small veggie pizza ($12.99), which included cheese, spinach, mushrooms, black olives, onion, green peppers, tomatoes and roasted red peppers.

The veggies were fresh and generously sliced. The crust was flavorful and indulgent. This is pizza you can use a knife and fork to devour.

Two rolls were ordered: the chicken spinach feta ($11.99) and the Italian ($10.99).

“Our rolls are something we created instead of a calzone,” English says. “They are folded-over pizza dough generously stuffed with your favorite toppings.”

The rolls arrived, and they were the size of Texas: big — no, huge, really — and enough for three people. The crust was crispy and soft, seasoned just right, and a box of leftovers went home with one diner who just couldn't finish the large portion.

The baked-fish sandwich ($6.99) was on a fresh hoagie bun from Cellone's Italian Bread Co. Topped with lettuce, tomato and onion, it was flavorful and hearty, not greasy like a fried counterpart.

A meatball dinner ($7.50) was smothered in homemade sauce and provolone cheese and accompanied by a side salad. The feedback was positive: the meatballs had a distinctive homemade taste and spiced just right with a hint of oregano.

So, keep your kitchen clean and call on the Upper Crust to do the cooking tonight — just be prepared to have leftovers.

Joyce Hanz is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.