Repeats with a Twist - Upper Crust, OKC

Working in athletics, and in particular with football, the holiday season really isn't a vacation.  Pretty much the whole month of December is centered around the bowl game.  I'm not complaining, because I've been blessed to be a part of lots of great bowl trips and it's a great chance to spend time with my friends in a fun city.  But a week in a hotel does get old, and I don't usually get to spend Christmas with my family. 

My first year in Oklahoma I flew back to Maryland for a couple of days, then flew right back to Stillwater to head to the bowl.  After that, my parents started meeting me in the bowl city, but always 2+ days after Christmas.  This year, since we were playing right in Dallas, my parents decided to fly in on Christmas Eve, and we would just drive down to Dallas together. 

You just never know how crowded restaurants are going to be on Christmas Eve...are tons of people going to go out, since nothing is open on Christmas and most people cook a family meal that day?  I didn't want to make a reservation anywhere, just in case my parents' flight was delayed, so I decided to take them to Upper Crust for some pizza.  It's located in the trendy Classen Curve, right across the street from Chesapeake Energy, and they also just recently opened another location in Edmond.  I had been one time before with Jack & Betty and it was really delicious.  And besides, we all like pizza.

We all started with the Farmer's Market Salad

Boston Bibb & arugula with fuji apples, candied walnuts, and Gorgonzola tossed with white balsamic vinaigrette

They must keep the plates in the fridge, because they are always ice cold, which I think is really cool.  The dressing is very light, and isn't drowning the salad.  I'm not really a fan of walnuts, but when they're candied I'll definitely eat them.  And they add a nice crunch and sweetness to the dish.

We went with the LK (veggie) pizza.  I don't do eggplant so we took that off, and added fresh basil

Pie sauce, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, goat cheese, eggplant,
artichokes, red pepper, red onion, Parmesan

I was obviously about halfway through the first slice before I remembered to take a picture!  I love this pizza.  The ingredients are fresh, and the combination of veggies was really good.  Fresh basil adds such a great kick to anything you put it on.  One pie was more than enough for the 3 of us to share, but if you're really hungry, you can make it enough for just 2.

I don't normally get dessert at a restaurant, but this is one of those places where I make an exception...for the cookie pie

A pizza pan cookie topped with vanilla bean

I absolutely love this dessert!!  It normally comes with vanilla ice cream, but we got the macadamia nut instead.  The cookie comes right out of the oven, so the ice cream is already starting to melt a little by the time it gets to the table.  Yep, I could so eat one of those completely by myself.  Luckily my mom really doesn't have a sweet tooth, so she only had a couple of bites and left the rest for me and my dad.   And, in the spirit of Christmas, I allowed him to have the last bite.  BJ's Brewhouse has a cookie pie...it's really good, but I still think it's in 2nd place compared to this one.

Will I come back?  Of course!  This was already my second trip and it most certainly won't be my last.  They only sell the Cakebread sauvignon blanc by the bottle, so I need to go back with a couple of friends to take full advantage.