Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Bedford, MA: Flatbread Company

So here I am in Bedford on a Monday night, craving pizza after checking in to the hotel in an area where there is nothing visible around in terms of food [or anything, for that matter]. The front desk person vaguely pointed in a direction that there were restaurants and off I drove into the night. Random, really, that I found Flatbread, its in an office park kind of place with two other restaurants and barely visible from the road, but find it I did and went inside. They had actually closed for the evening, the ovens weren't hot enough to bake a pie, but the manager set me up with a great salad and I went back to the hotel happy. The next evening I went back for pizza [you can see that I was focused] and it was a great decision.

The restaurant is large, sleek in a funky kind of way, with an open kitchen and wood fired ovens. The ingredients are organic and locally sourced when possible, and the beers on tap from the area as well. Casual, but not without thought to both food and service, this was a very cool local place and popular with the community. The pizza was great, thin and crispy crusts on the pizzas [my favorite] and well balanced, housemade topping. I had a sausage pie with caramelized onions and it was close to perfect. The sausage was excellent and the portion not stingy. There is a nice selection of salads as well, organic greens with with goat cheese and vegetables, and a very nice berry vinaigrette to top things off. And some not-to-bad brownies as well, a great casual dinner on a midweek evening.

The focus here is on not only the food, but the community, and its very cool. The night I was there they were doing a benefit for a local high school, and the place was packed with happy pizza munchers. Good energy for a Tuesday night. Of course, regardless of how good the food may be, it is the staff who can make or break an establishment and on this count it is definitely a 'make'. The manager, Sean, was personable and welcoming, even in the heat of a very busy evening, making sure that everyone was taken care of an included. He has an infectious energy that kept the staff smiling and the pizzas flying out of the kitchen. The only negative thing that I can say is that the place isn't well marked, if you don't know what you're looking for you could easily drive right by .. . a sign please? Great place for a casual evening, go in and tell Sean that I sent you.

EatHereOrNot: EAT HERE

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