Wizard Needs Food Badly: Crust Pizza For Two

  • Tuesday, June 21, 2016
  • Paquita Maria Sanchez
After the well-worth-the-wait breakfast at Aretha Frankenstein’s, Lionel and I decided to try out Crust Pizza on Signal Mountain Road.

The restaurant is owned by the same people who own Aretha Frankenstein’s and Sofa King Juicy Burger, so we had to give it a try.

The website says Crust is the home of the “super famous cracker thin” crust, and they definitely make good on that promise.

We felt like eating in to get the vibe of the place, though it probably wasn’t necessary.
The building was small, just one room, and though it was decorated in a similar way as Aretha Frankenstein’s (framed, eclectic posters and old photos on the brightly colored walls), it didn’t have quite as much spunk.

Judging by the number of people who came through the front door, it seems popular to order in ahead and carry-out. Like Lupi’s Pizza, as well as many other small pizza joints, Crust even has an option to take-and-bake your pizza at home.

We ordered a Build-Your-Own 12 inch pizza, which starts at $11.00. Toppings at our size were $1.00 each for veggies and $1.95 each for meat and cheese.

There was a pretty nice selection to choose from, as well. All the standards were available, along with a few different cheeses and sauces, but you could also get a little creative with options like rosemary chicken, capers, basil pesto sauce, blue cheese, and sardines.

They even had roasted corn, which reminded Lionel and I of the years we lived in Japan. Over there, corn and mayonnaise were the preferred pizza toppings, more popular than pepperoni!

Though we agreed to veto the corn—no reason to relive those particular memories too vividly—Lionel and I are not physically capable of agreeing on the same pizza toppings. We go halfsies 100 percent of the time.

On his side, Lionel got pepperoni, Italian sausage, and tomato. On mine, I got tomato, spinach, and roasted garlic. We also ordered ½ of a Pizza Cioccolato, a dessert S’mores pizza ($7.00).

Our server was training a new employee, and since it was early Monday evening, they didn’t appear to have a lot of extra staff on hand. With a few other tables already seated, we did wait a bit to get a menu and refills, and to have our dessert cooked and brought out when we finished our dinner, but everyone was extra friendly, and it appeared not to be the normal speed of things.

Besides that, the food was good, the portions were satisfying, and it was the right price—my favorite kind of meal.

The ingredients were super fresh. The mozzarella was good quality, and the sauce was delicious, things that are a must for me when it comes to pizza.

Though I’ve always preferred a hand-tossed, thicker pizza crust, Lionel’s favorite is thin and crunchy, and he said Crust Pizza served some of the best he’s had in a while.

I’m a big fan of S’mores pizza—the mix of sweet and salty is just so tantalizing—and I have a recipe I’ve used for many years at home. Crust’s take on the dessert was pretty good, and honestly, I was just excited to see a restaurant offering it. If you’ve never tried a S’mores pizza, make sure to give it a shot.

(Tip: A half order comes with four slices, and the dish is rich enough that one person per slice—if everyone isn’t still really hungry—might be just enough!)

Overall, I think we still like Lupi’s better. To be fair, though, Crust is a bit cheaper. Lupi’s 12 inch pizzas start at $11.75 with toppings at $1.95, no matter what kind. For veggie lovers like me, how frustrating! I know I’m a penny-pincher, but two dollars for a couple leaves of spinach?

We’ll definitely have Crust Pizza again, and we might even check out their lunch buffet, which runs from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. every day ($8.00).

Location: 100 Signal Mountain Road, Chattanooga, Tn 37405

Hours: M – Sun 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

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