Oath Pizza’s new mindful menu is delicious and unique
Some incentive to spend your dining dollars off campus
Courtesy of Oath Pizza
★★★★✩
Oath Pizza
Pizza, $$
181 Massachusetts Ave Ste 1
Cambridge, MA 02139
Monday–Sunday 10:30 a.m.–10 p.m.
Last week was National Pizza Week: what an opportune time to try Oath Pizza’s new Mindful Menu of “resolution-friendly pizzas with handpicked ingredients to meet your high-protein, gluten-free, plant-based, and vegan needs!” Given that we are vegan and vegetarian respectively, we sampled all of Oath’s new menu items, altered for our dietary restrictions when necessary. Here, we’ve included descriptions of each pizza, along with any modifications.
1. Basil BeyondTM Meatball Pizza: gluten free, carb-conscious, plant-based. Cauliflower crust, roasted cherry tomato spread, mozzarella blend, BeyondTM meatballs, roasted cherry tomatoes, fresh basil.
The first item we sampled from the new menu was the Basil BeyondTM Meatball pizza. Ironically, we couldn’t find the basil anywhere on the dish. But after taking a bite, we didn’t miss it too much — the BeyondTM meatball pieces added a hearty and salty flavor which the refreshing roasted cherry tomatoes balanced nicely. The cauliflower crust tasted surprisingly like a regular thin crust, perfectly crispy and salty despite being a lower-carb and healthier option. The flavors were simple and subtle, nothing too ambitious. Overall, it was a tasty pizza that we would definitely order again.
2. Chicken Pesto Pizza: gluten free, carb-conscious. Gluten-free crust, basil pesto, mozzarella blend, roasted chicken, grape tomatoes, feta.
** Note: due to dietary restrictions, we tried this without the chicken.
Our second pizza of the night was the Chicken Pesto, which might best be described as a little sad. Without chicken, it looked bare and boring. The meager pesto sauce, tiny amount of cheese, and occasional grape tomato or basil leaf were not enough to cover the flavor of the gluten-free crust, which was bland, hard, and chewy. While the juicy tomatoes countered a bit of the dryness of the rest of the ingredients, there were far too few of them to salvage the pizza. However, take our opinions with a grain of salt, since we tried the Chicken Pesto Pizza without the chicken.
3. Spicy Hawaiian: vegan. Roasted cherry tomato spread, vegan cheese, chickpeas, fresh pineapple, jalapeno peppers, scallions, BBQ drizzle.
When the server brought us the Spicy Hawaiian, we were in awe; it looked so much more interesting than the last two pizzas. More importantly, it proved to be delicious. Featuring Oath’s classic thin crust, which was perfectly crisp, the Spicy Hawaiian was dressed with a barbeque sauce that integrated all of its flavorful toppings: the subtle scallions, juicy pineapple, and pleasantly spicy jalapenos. The chickpeas, the most unique topping, brought a grainy texture that nicely complemented the other flavors. Our only critique: we barely tasted the vegan cheese. Nonetheless, we think this is a pizza that everyone, especially vegans, should try!
4. Protein Supreme: high-protein. House-made tomato sauce, mozzarella blend, Italian sausage, BBQ pulled pork, pepperoni, pickled red onion, chili oil.
** Note: due to dietary restrictions, we tried this with BeyondTM meatballs substituting all the “proteins” in protein supreme, so our experience likely does not represent the unmodified pizza.
Without meat, this almost tasted like a regular cheese pizza. The overarching taste was very mild: some subtle onion and a slight chili oil flavor. However, the oil made the crust soggy. We’re not sure if we would order it again, but hopefully it tastes better with meat.
We ended our meal of pizzas with Oath’s two brand-new winter soups: broccoli cheddar and tomato basil.
5. Broccoli cheddar soup.
The broccoli cheddar soup was definitely more parts cheese than broccoli, but we did find one whole piece of broccoli, which we enjoyed a lot. A little more broccoli would have balanced the taste more. It was a soothing, creamy comfort food that was not overly salty and was pleasant to sip.
6. Tomato basil soup.
The creamy tomato basil was simple, with a light, creamy texture and strong tomato-basil flavor. However, it was unusually sweet, bordering on tasting more like a smoothie than a savory meal. A few chunks of tomato and strips of basil offered an occasional break from the otherwise homogeneous texture and flavor. Even so, it seemed better-suited for the small cup I tried it in than the larger bowl option. The soups are a great comfort food to add some warmth to freezing winter days.
Overall, we liked the food. While some pizzas lacked novelty, most of them tasted great, and the Spicy Hawaiian pizza is a must-try. The staff was extremely friendly and went above and beyond to accommodate our dietary restrictions. Best of all, with the imminent onset of spring semester meal plans, remember that Oath accepts dining dollars!