Yes Please to New Brunch Pizzas at Upper Crust

During my first trip out to Oklahoma City with Kacy about 6 years ago we had a dinner with her family at Upper Crust, a spacious pizza joint in the Classen Curve area. I remember this specifically as it was the first time I tried a local Oklahoma beer. Upon the locals’ suggestion, I went with the Coop DNR, my first introduction to OKC’s awesome craft beer scene. With such fond memories of this establishment, I was excited to check out their new brunch menu. As is becoming a welcome theme here at The Tasty Escape, we went with friends from Take a Bite OK . This was the perfect way to do brunch, as we were able to order a bunch of dishes to share.

Cocktails, because Brunch without Booze is Just Breakfast

But before we get to the food, some cocktails were in order. I started with a Gentleman’s Old Fashioned, Kacy had a Bloody Mary, while a few others tried the Red Sangria. We were off to a good start.

Salads, Cheese, Wings and Things

For appetizers, we started with a few orders of the buffalo-style wings and the burrata. The chipotle blue cheese dressing that they came with made for the perfect dip. The burrata came with pesto, balsamic glaze, roasted tomatoes, truffle oil, and some prosciutto on the side. This plate was delicious and didn’t last very long at the table.

Of course someone had to order the avocado toast and it was a very visually striking dish when it came to the table. Topping some sourdough toast was pie sauce, avocado, roasted tomatoes, sunny-side-up eggs, arugula salad, and a balsamic glaze. The verdict though was that it looked a bit better than it tasted. The pie sauce seemed a bit out of place, but the rest of the toppings were on point.

A few at the table ordered the breakfast calzone that was filled with scrambled eggs, fried jalapeños, spicy sausage, fontina and romano cheese. I didn’t have any personally, but the feedback was very positive. They looked great and seem like something I need to try on my next visit.

Before we dove into some pizza, Kacy and I ordered an Italian salad so we could pretend to be healthy for a least a few minutes. The salad consisted of mixed greens, soppressata, pepperoni, pecorino romano, provolone, pepperoncinis, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, grana padano and a oregano garlic vinaigrette. The salad turned out to be one of the best we’ve had in quite a while with the soppressata being the standout part of the dish.

And Don’t Forget the Pizza Pie

Now for the main event, the brunch pizzas. The Hangover Pie is topped with fresh mozzarella, bacon, hatch green chilies, fried jalapeños, chives and sunny-side-up eggs. Our friends tried the Nose to Tail, jazzed up wth havarti, fried potatoes, spicy sausage, bacon, and eggs.

Both were delicious, but the hangover pie won out as my favorite. Brunch pizzas are quickly climbing the ranks as one of my must-order weekend items. These pies are right up there with the best of them.

Because we weren’t quite sure we had eaten enough carbs just yet, we decided to check out the dessert options as well. The Cookie Pie featured Tillamook vanilla bean ice cream, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. The show-stopper, however, was the Strawberry Ricotta Crostada. This deep-fried sweet dough, topped with ricotta, marinated strawberries, and a hint of fresh thyme won everyone over. The deep fried sweet dough was crazy good and in the words of our Take a Bit OK host and friend, Phi, it is “basically fancy AF fair food… be still, my heart.”