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While it is hard to argue that Waltham needs another pizza place, The Upper Crust pizzeria on Moody Street offers an alternative to college kids who want a cheap place to eat, but dont want their dinner delivered to them in a square cardboard box.

The Upper Crust has a sleek elegance to it, with four mounted flat screen TVs and a fully stocked bar. At first glance, its hard to determine whether this is a family establishment or some hip club.

But given the number of families and casually dressed couples enjoying a bite on any given weeknight, The Upper Crust appears to prioritize convenience without sacrificing style;

perfect for those looking for a trendy atmosphere while surviving on a college allowance.

Despite its streamlined dcor, The Upper Crust serves up a menu that is anything but. With over forty-five pizza toppings, this pizza place poses a challenge for the indecisive.

And thats not counting their specialty pizzas, which include mainstays, such as The 3 Cheese and Hawaiian, as well as concoctions that shout Massachusetts pride, such as Beacon Hill (sun-dried tomatoes and eggplant), The MGH (spinach, broccoli and feta cheese), The State House (hamburger, sliced pepperoni and Italian sausage) and The Newbury Street (veal scallopine, fresh mozzarella, marinara and fresh basil).

The Upper Crust is Massachusetts born-and-bred, as evidenced by the Red Sox game playing on all four screens.

The original Upper Crust opened in 2001 in Beacon Hill, and the chain has expanded since then to include branches on Newbury Street and in Lexington, Hingham, Brookline and as of about a month ago, Waltham.

Even though their pizzas can cost as much as $24.75 (and as low as $11.75), The Upper Crust is a great place for friends to gather and test the fortitude of their taste buds.

For those of us daring enough, the aptly named Uncommon Pizza, which contains bacon, pineapple and jalapeno peppers, will most likely do the trick.

However, I dont know how many people actually succeed in the classic practice of just grabbing a quick slice to eat and going. Even though it was a weeknight, the service was slow and dawdling, from handing us menus to giving us the check.

So as along as you come to The Upper Crust armed with patience and a few conversational friends to pass the time, you can sit back, relax and enjoy some of the finest pizza Massachusetts has to offer.

If you prefer the old-school way of having pizza delivered to your doorstep, but youre not quite drunk enough to order Dominos, The Upper Crust offers free delivery within the immediate area and trust me, eating something out of a cardboard box never tasted so good.