Dear Naked Pizza,
I’m sorry it has to end this way. It’s not you, it’s me.
Sincerely,
Lauren
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Last night I took the plunge and ordered Naked Pizza for the first time. My boyfriend and I drove over to the store to look at the menu in person and order from there. Inside was bright, crisp, clean, green, and awesome. We checked out the menu, ordered the “Cajun” pizza and a salad on the side. They only had one type of salad to order, which I was slightly disappointed by, but my disappointment was tempered by the fact that, Hey! We spent more then $20, and so get a free medium 2-topping pizza. Yay for (free) pizza. They also had iPads for us to fiddle with while we waited for our food which definitely made the wait go faster.
So we brought the pizza home, opened it up, and to be honest, I wasn’t impressed. I paid $16.99 for the large Cajun thin crust pizza and the pizza was pretty small. It definitely wasn’t what I think of when I think of a “normal” large pizza. I understand that all of their ingredients are super fresh, no preservatives, etc, which probably increases their operating costs which raises the price for me as a customer, but I was still a little taken aback by what I saw.
BUT, what does not make sense to me is that with the salad, they gave us a packet of Ken’s dressing (like so). I feel like giving out these packets of dressing REALLY goes against their whole brand identity and everything they say about only serving fresh, natural products with no preservatives or chemicals. I feel like it would not be very hard for them to make a homemade vinaigrette to serve with their salads. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, maybe a hint of lemon juice. Not to mention the absurd amount of calories in those packets when they pride themselves on the low calorie, natural crust of their pizzas.
The Cajun pizza was delicious, however small it might have been. [To really give you a sense of how small these pizzas were, my boyfriend and I finished all but three tiny slices of BOTH the large and medium sized pizzas.] The medium pizza that we got for free was a regular crust with pepperoni and garlic. I really enjoyed the way they prepared the garlic, almost burned and crisp, but still tasty.
Overall, the thin crust was MUCH better than the regular crust. These pizzas have great flavor but are not pizzas you want to order when you’re in a “typical” pizza mood, or if you want to get a cheap pizza. These pizzas are light, airy, and leave you wanting to eat 10 slices. They are not the average saucy, cheesy pizza that you might find at any of a number of the local pizza shops I’ve been to around Brighton (and even in New York and LA).
Main takeaway from Naked Pizza: It did not leave me with a food coma (which was good), but it did leave me with a much emptier wallet and guilt over eating probably 7 slices because I could not get full off these teeny tiny pizzas.
And that’s why I have to break up with you, Naked Pizza.
It’s not you, it’s me.
Now, where’s the number for Pino’s?
Despite my obvious bias, The Butcher Shop is one of my favorite restaurants in Boston. There’s just something about the bold red wines, rare meats, and the deep red and black interior that make me feel at home. Andrew and I shared this spectacular charcuterie platter this past afternoon. Nothing is more perfect than a chilly, windy fall day, charcuterie, and lambrusco. I guess that’s why I live in Boston.
