Stone Hearth Pizza Co. - Local, Sustainable, and Delicious

Last night, I had the opportunity to sit down to a true local dining experience at Stone Hearth Pizza Co. in Porter Square.  I had definitely heard about Stone Hearth Pizza before but I never thought of it as anything more than just another pizza company in the Boston area.  But I was surprisingly happy to find that Stone Hearth Pizza is so much more than that.

I arrived at the Cambridge location a little after 6:30 PM to dine with nine other fabulous food bloggers and social media whizzes courtesy of Citysearch Boston.  The restaurant is small with about forty seats available that were kept full throughout the evening.

We were greeted by the Stone Hearth Pizza Chef Michael Ehlenfeldt who spoke to us at length about Stone Hearth Pizza's menu and direction, which includes:

• An ever evolving menu that incorporates a healthy blend of premium organic and sustainable ingredients that are locally produced, whenever possible;
• Staying local by working with over fifty New England vendors and producers;
• Featuring a seasonal, rotating list of local, craft beers, including some of my favorite Allagash and Cisco Brewery beers; and
• Offering gluten free pizza and pasta.

I really liked how Michael explained his focus on using local and sustainable ingredients but mindfully balancing that with the extra costs that come from purchasing ingredients that aren't out of season or mass-produced.  His ideology really resonated with me and I was eager to learn more from him throughout the evening.  While a restaurant's mission is important, we can't forget about focusing on what the food tastes like and Stone Hearth Pizza was definitely a success on this front too.

We started out with a glass of Original Sin Hard Cider as we were happily bombarded with some tasty starters that included a roasted eggplant dip, mozzarella-stuffed beef meatballs, the most divine ricotta and pickled asparagus and ramps.  The Parmesan flatbread, made with organic dough in an oven-fired grill, was addictive.  The picture below shows about half of what was remaining of just one of the plates at our table. None of the diners could get enough of it!

And the marinated olives were gorgeously plump and briney.

Although I'm not a huge fan of gazpacho, this traditional tomato gazpacho was a welcome relief with yesterday's high temperatures.

And the gazpacho went well with the light Allagash White, which is one of my favorite beers from Maine.

We were then onto the salads, which included a traditional Caesar and a mixed field greens salad featuring asparagus (from Michael Ehlenfeldt's own garden in New Hampshire) and some delightful radishes.  But my favorite was by far the arugula and portobello salad topped with thin slices of a locally-sourced Parmesan-like cheese.  I especially enjoyed the salad while sipping on Nantucket's Cisco Brewers' Whale's Tale Pale Ale.  I visited Cisco Brewery a few summers back and I am always thrilled when a local restaurant or bar carries their beer.

But of course, the main attraction were the pizzas and we tried almost all of them with our family-style dining!  Some of my dining companions loved the Bean (garlic oil, white bean spread, fresh mozzarella, sauteed red onion topped with a spinach salad) and the Farm Fresh (garlic oil, roasted cherry tomatoes, charred peppers, Yukon gold potatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, mozzarella topped with prosciutto).

But I was distracted by the Prosciutto Pineapple pizza which made up half a pie with the BBQ Chicken.

And I could NOT stop raving about the pesto pizza that had huge dollops of pesto and ricotta cheese.  This was by far my most favorite slice of the night!

The pizzas were all served on thin whole wheat crusts and went down smoothly went some additional fabulous local beers that I have never tried before.  First up was Pretty Things' Jack D'Or, which had a gorgeous label.

And our last beer was the dessert-like Allagah Curieux, which is barrel-aged with a hint of bourbon flavor in it.

As if the evening wasn't fabulous enough, Michael Ehlenfeldt provided us with our own basil plants to take home.  I couldn't think of a more perfect way to send the message that Stone Hearth Pizza Co. is about staying local and sustainable.  I think we were all in agreement that this was the best swag party favor ever.

Thanks Citysearch Boston for a fabulous evening and for introducing me to Stone Hearth Pizza Co..  I couldn't fall in love more with Stone Hearth Pizza for it's message and mission, while never compromising in taste or flavor.  Although there are no locations in my neighborhood, I know that this won't deter me from becoming a repeat customer for years to come.

Stone Hearth Pizza has three locations in the Boston area, including Belmont, Needham and Cambridge.  The Cambridge location is at 1782 Massachusetts Avenue, located a short walk from Porter Square T Station.