Best pizza
You've gotta love a pizzeria whose color scheme matches its pies. Not, of course, that you need us to tell you how to savor the tomato-and-dough-hued Emma's; you already know. You dig it for the crisp, quasi-crackery crust; for the unusually zesty, almost-smoky sauce; and for the plucky topping combos - you've tried roasted sweet potato, baby spinach, caramelized onion, and goat cheese on for size, and given Gorgonzola, garlic, and scallion a whirl. Maybe you've even designed your own funky pie with, say, ricotta and dried cranberries. After all, you're what we call one smart cookie. Which is why you're bound to distrust the Upper Crust at first glance; the original location, bare-walled and aluminum-ceilinged, presents a hole-in-the-wall sterility that rings hollow on posh Beacon Hill. Still, all is forgiven with a slice of pie. Here, too, the crust is thin, though with a tad more chew, and the sauce is on the fresher, lighter side. But it's the UC's white pizzas, with their triple-threat blend of mozzarella, ricotta, and Asiago, that really shine - from the pungent baby clam and fresh garlic to the spinach, further fortified with feta. Our only suggestion: with a second outlet now thriving in Brookline, maybe a decoration or two won't break the budget?

Emma's Pizzeria, 40 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, (617) 864-8534; the Upper Crust, 20 Charles Street, Boston, (617) 723-9600, 286 Harvard Street, Brookline, (617) 739-8518, www.theuppercrustpizzeria.com.