Veggie Crust’s kitschy exterior leads you into a world of Indian spices and aromas. Veggie Crust is known for its pizzas, but they also offer dosa, panini, pasta, salads, and vegan ice cream.

By Denise Keniston
tw:@denisekeniston

Veggie Crust’s neon “OPEN” sign welcomes you past the restaurant’s kitschy exterior and into an aromatic world of Indian culinary tradition and creativity. Here pizza is the name of the game.

You’ll find classic pizza with robust Indian flavors, as well as any sauce and topping combination you can imagine, along with some traditional flavors Americans are used to, like spinach and feta or cheese with red sauce! You may even run into something completely off the map, like a Falafel pizza! All pizzas are vegetarian, and most can be made vegan with slight tweaks.

Co-owner, Prabhjot Kaur says her goal is to infuse Indian flavors into every pie. “Our goal is to offer delicious traditional flavors along with more American-style toppings that infuse the flavors directly into the pizza while it’s being baked,” she says. “We have traditional Indian pizzas and many other pizzas that are our own creations that our Somerville customers love. They keep coming back. We have a lot of repeat customers.”

Instagram foodies Aditya Gidh and Leandra Menezes dig into a Mysore Masala dosa and Falafel pizza. They recommend Veggie Crust to their followers.

The Paneer Tikka Masala pizza is the perfect blend of paneer, sauce, onions and cilantro, and its sister pie, the Paneer Tikka Barbecue pizza, delights with the chef’s special barbeque sauce, marinated paneer, red onion, and fresh cilantro.

The flavorful Cauliflower Manchurian pizza with spiced cauliflower, ginger, garlic, Manchurian sauce, mozzarella or vegan mozzarella, and cilantro, and the Falafel pizza with homemade falafel, red onion, fresh tomato, homemade vegan garlic aioli, mozzarella or vegan mozzarella, and cilantro both top our list.

“Our menu is completely meatless,” says Kaur. “We are very traditional and we don’t believe in eating anything that was killed exclusively for humans to eat. That is the philosophy behind why we’re meatless. We are strict vegetarians so that’s what you’ll find here at Veggie Crust.”

Aditya Gidh and Leandra Menezes (hangry_tummy on Instagram) frequent Veggie Crust once a week or so. On this night they split a Falafel pizza and a giant Mysore Masala dosa. They “enjoy the flavors of home” and have explored “many things on the menu.”

“We first tried the pizzas from Veggie Crust at a birthday celebration and we were awestruck with the interesting combinations,” says Adi. “Paneer Tikka Masala pizza, Pav Bhaji pizza and Falafel pizza were such distinctively textured classics offering a nice fusion between Indian flavors on a pie. The pizzas here have a unique blend of flavors to entice your taste buds especially with the different combinations available. We also love the different types of dosas here with Mysore Masala dosa being one of our favorites.”

Customers can get almost every menu item made vegan (vegan cheese, for example) and you can order your crust gluten-free if that’s your jam. Indian cuisine is well-known for its aromas and flavors. Kaur explains, “There is a deeply sentimental and poignant feeling that we associate with the unique smells of our country. These fragrances celebrate the culture of our country – its richness, its diversity, its beauty, and its food.”

Kaur says the Veggie Crust “menu is for everyone.” Indian customers come here for the traditional food, but others come for something flavorful and unique that meets their dietary preferences. Veggie Crust is located at 445 Somerville Ave. They deliver within a two-mile radius. Enjoy!

To the back:  ½ Paneer Tikka Masala pizza and ½ Cauliflower Manchurian pizza on whole wheat thin crust. To the front:  ½ Falafel pizza and ½ Broccoli, Spinach, Feta pizza on traditional crust. — Photos by Riann Keniston-Hale