Earth Bread + Brewery

Take-out isn't an option at Earth Bread + Brewery, where the flatbreads would never survive the car ride home. But there are definitely some choices worth visiting for, including the "Traditional" take on a Margherita, its zesty sauce topped with mozzarella and fresh arugula tufted in the middle. The Mexican adds a jalapeño- and smoked-paprika tingle to the tomato sauce, which also gets the pop of roasted black beans and corn. But the most memorable bread here is the "Seed," a sauceless cheese round scattered with enough crunchies - sesame, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, and garlic (whoa, lots of garlic!) - to make a Weaver's Way bulk-bin groupie go weak in the knees.

Meat eaters, on the other hand, will find the topping selection wanting, with only a few slim slices of nitrate-free sausage and pepperoni (plus the occasional morsel of chicken) to sate the carnivore.

It's a serious shortcoming that could so easily be remedied with some big, craggy crumbles of fire-roasted fresh sausage (better texture than those soulless sliced rounds), some crispy nuggets of Southern smoked bacon, or some silky folds of fresh prosciutto. And Baker, a longtime vegetarian, says he's committed to improving the meat toppings soon, as long as they don't weigh down the crusts, which get sliced into a checkerboard of small pieces. The gooey chicken alfredo that drooped with too much cheese into the center of one pizza special we ordered was a good example of one such heavy-handed mistake.

In terms of pizza basics, though, Baker's straightforward pies are already off to a great start. A plan to start making the mozzarella in-house would begin to elevate them to the next level.

A few more choices on the appetizer list wouldn't hurt either, though we enjoyed all the starters Earth Bread + Brewery did offer, including some notably fresh salads, a creamy pumpkin bisque, and a nice cheese plate with tasty pear compote.

One concession to this restaurant's kitchen limitations I didn't mind: desserts brought in from the Night Kitchen in nearby Chestnut Hill, which reminded me, with its fluffy chocolate cakes, rich ganache tarts, and buttery shortbread cookies, why I still consider it one of the city's best home-style bakeries.

But for the most part, this newcomer's charm lies in the magic of its handcrafted bounty, the delicacy of its wood-fired pizzas, the character of its original beers, and the personality of a space so well suited to its neighborhood. With the heat-charred flour of these flatbreads still tickling my lips on my way back home to Center City, I pondered the question once more: What could be more satisfying than great pizza and beer? A destination for pizza and beer this good in my own neighborhood.