Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately.
[Photographs: Meredith Smith]
The lean slices at The Village Kitchen in Huron Village are deceptively heft free. Toppings make up most of the substance here in terms of weight and flavor. Light and airy as a slice of white bread on the inside, the crusts stiffen into a firm base from the tip to bones. The endcrust has a crunch at the outer most rim that is reminiscent of the ubiquitous crunchy breadsticks that jut out of tabletop jars at red sauce restaurants.
This ricotta, mozzarella, olive, spinach, and Roma tomato topped slice ($3) struck a great flavor balance when all the components made it into the same bite. Those bites that lacked the olive's salty punch fell a little flat. On this late lunch, last piece of the pie, the ricotta suffered, turning a bit rubbery. And the reheat may have had a hand in that. (Which raises the question: Can ricotta ever maintain its best qualities when it undergoes a reheat?) The Roma tomatoes made for a good stand in for sauce, though on the cheese slice ($2.50) I sampled, the herb-spiked homemade sauce was the best element. While not a destination slice, these pies hold topping appeal. And with not a trace of grease on either of the slices sampled, the pizza here invites sampling more than one of the thin crust daily slice varieties they offer.
The Village Kitchen
359 Huron Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138 (map)
617-419-3133; no website
About the author: Meredith Smith is the Slice editor. You can follow her on Twitter: @mertsmith.