From the dining room, decorated with posters for olive oil, organic vegetables, and a map of nearby farms, you can look out on a mall parking lot and see the sign for McDonald’s. Coincidence? Or by design? Because if ever there was an anti-McDonald’s, this Vermont-based pizzeria franchise is it. Virtually all of the produce and most of the meat come from nearby farms, and the place almost descends into preachy earnestness in touting its message. The pies are worth the fuss. The marvelously hillocked crusts—cooked in an earthenware oven in the center of the room—have the right amount of chew and crispness, plus a welcome bit of char on the underside. Toppings are thoughtfully deployed, melding into a unified whole.
Signature pie: New Virginia Sausage (with nitrate-free maple fennel sausage from Wood Trail farms).
