Bread Euphoria
206 Main St., Haydenville, (413) 268-7757
Tue.-Fri. 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Pizza D'Action
232 Lyman St., Holyoke, (413) 532-5860
Mon.-Sat. 12 p.m. to 9 p.m., Sun 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
closed Tuesday
On Saturday, the snow was coming down slow and pretty. It was the best of times to venture out for an artisan pizza in Haydenville, a hamlet within the village of Williamsburg. Bread Euphoria is a little hive of activity tucked behind a potter's studio. Across from a golf course and up a steep ravine, the potter, the bakers and a yoga instructor are a self-contained utopia. Fridays and Saturdays are pizza days at the bakery, and from noon to six a call to the proprietors or a peek at their website will reveal the specials. Room is made in the racks of hearth-baked breads, pastries and sandwiches for slices and pies. Saturday, the specials were not named. The first was "sauteed mixed greens, mozzarella, balsamic vinaigrette, raisins, and goat cheese." The tartness of the chard in the mixed greens with the salt of the cheese and sweetness of the blanched raisins was very interesting. Does this kind of pie, with a medium-weight crust that whispers of wheat, require the palate of an aristocrat? The cost of such a delicacy is only a dollar more than a 16-inch, three-topping pie at a more traditional pizza place. The other delicious pizza special that Saturday featured smoked mozzarella, roasted eggplant and tomato sauce. A decent smoked mozzarella was used; the eggplant was crisp and without sogginess; and the tomato sauce was medium-thick and very tasty. The only thing missing was fresh basil. These pies were meals, well thought-out and cleverly assembled from a chef who knows her audience.
On Sunday, when the snow was coming down pretty heavily, it was the worst of times to go out for a pizza. Pizza D'Action in Holyoke, favored by locals within delivery distance, was called to serve. The place has served pies, sandwiches and calzones for two decades. We ordered a 10-inch Polish kielbasa combo, which comes with fried Polish kielbasa on a bed of grilled sauerkraut, bacon and onion. Every bit a pizza for the people, this pie has enough animal fat to feed an angry mob. The kielbasa is fried, and packs more of a punch than pepperoni, thanks to garlic. The 'kraut provides deliciously sour top notes. The guy on the phone recommended the thick crust since the toppings require a certain amount of ballast.
We ordered another pie to test a simple classic: plain old cheese with peppers and onions. For this, we ordered the thin crust. The red sauce got a chance to shine, as did the peppers and onions, which were sliced very thinly, allowing the dough and cheese to be the main characters. The sauce was kind of sweet, with no meat and not at all acidic. It was thin, but not too thin, and created a good base for the mozzarella.
