What good is a quick pizza delivery if the result is not even worth the (allegedly) short wait?

At Stone Hearth Pizza Co., Executive Chef Iván Millan-Pulecio and his talented team make sure to take the time to hand craft a custom-made pizza (or other delicious dining option) that consists of ingredients that come from people who are not only nearby neighbors but friends.

As Stone Hearth was started by a pair of food-service savvy friends – Christopher Robbins and Jonathan Schwarz – it seems only natural that their main goal would be to expand their circle and invite anyone in the area to come on in. The result has been an upscale but comfortable neighborhood spot (in the neighborhoods of Allston, Belmont, Cambridge, Hingham, Needham, and Winchester) where the food and staff are all local and all intended to make your visit enjoyable and delicious!

While every location is as unique as each and every pizza and other delicious item that comes from it, the general layout is comfortably familiar. The color scheme echoes and enriches the dining options with deep marinara and merlot reds and golden crust yellows highlighted by sparkling tiles and gallery-worthy images of fresh veggies. The colors are also picked up in the flames licking up inside the open pizza oven that invites guests to visit and see the talented team put their pizza (or salad, or pasta or… see below) together form scratch.

As the name implies, the star of the Stone Hearth menu is their signature thin-crust pizza. Created from the ground up using sustainable, organic ingredients, the fire-baked pies come in multiple sizes and millions of combinations. From the plain, whole wheat or multi-grain crust (which is also available gluten-free), a mini menu’s worth of hormone-free cheeses that spread from mozzarella to feta and blue to goat, and the organic, locally-farmed tomatoes in the signature sauce and the spicy edition, to a table top of toppings that range from such standards as nitrate-free pepperoni and mushroom blend to rarer representations of sautéed tofu, Yukon gold potatoes, a zucchini and squash blend and hot Thai peppers, Stone Hearth will put whatever you want into the oven so you can be sure to have just what you want in your mouth. If you are not in the mood to mix and match, they also offer a far-from-basic “Margherita” with sauce, cheese, and fresh basil, as well as a wide array of pre-suggested possibilities, including a salad-topped “Farm Fresh.” The “Chesseburger” (with local beef and farm fresh cheese, of course), the oil-infused inspiration of “Divine Goddess,” and “The Bean” that features their special white bean sauce.

If you end up at Stone hearth but are not in the mood for pizza, have no fear at all! In addition to the titular pies, the Co. also cooks up fresh Stromboli for veggie and meat lovers, as well as pizanis (Italian wraps) with Bell & Evans chicken or Caesar salad stuffings (among others) and hot-pressed panini with pesto, meatballs, chicken, or veggies. They also have baked pastas that twirl from five-cheese macaroni and to vodka sauce-slathered, spinach and chicken-topped and spicy Diablo flavored. All pastas are also available gluten-free and any can be topped with house-made meatballs, sausage or chicken, making them nearly as flexible and customizable as the pizzas.

No matter what you decide on for your main course, you may want to save room before and after. After all, while pizza may (literally) be the name of the game, Stone Hearth is also deservedly known for their starters and their finishers. On the front end are a set of seasonal soups and bruschettas, well-portioned and flavor-bursting salads, and even more creative offerings like their mozzarella-stuffed meatball poppers (available with any of three super sauces) and their baked Buffalo wings. Among the extra-special desserts are the housemade Tiramisu and the also well-portioned and flavor-bursting brownie sundae.

The local line even washes through the beverage set, with wine and beer from near and far and Real City sodas from Boston’s own Lenox-Martell. Among the other local purveyors are Katsiroubas Produce, Verril, Volante and Westfield Farm, the Needham Community Farm, Blue Hills Brewery, Harpoon, Jack’s Abby Brewing Co., and Pretty Things Ale Project (and those are just the MA-based ones!). So next time you want a pizza-related meal done right (regardless of its speed), pull up a seat by the Stone Hearth and know that you are getting it fresh, hot, and made your way!

Stone Hearth Pizza Co.

www.stonehearthpizza.com