DELICIOUS ‘KRUST’: DELVING INTO THE MENU OF A TAVERNIER PIZZA SHOP

a close up of a slice of pepperoni pizza
A pepperoni pizza worth ordering from Krust.

Notice Krust is spelled with a “K” at this one-of-a-kind pizza joint, and guess what, with pizza this good they can spell it however they want. 

Everyone’s first question when walking into any pizza parlor is “what style of pizza do you serve?” New York, Chicago, Detroit? Krust, much like its spelling, is very unique and doesn’t officially fit into any current existing style pizza description. I’ve come to call it, after many visits, Joe’s style, named after its inventor and the owner of Krust Joe McDevitt. 

During this particular visit to Krust, we had a proper meal. I’m talking drinks, an appetizer, salad, pizza and dessert. Every course was seriously phenomenal especially for such a casual spot. To quickly touch base, we started with the Caesar salad. I’m not going to lie; my bar is set low when it comes to any salad from a pizza joint. The Caesar dressing and even presentation of this salad rivaled Caesar’s I’ve been served at five-star steak houses. Huge cuts of romaine, creamy dressing and every inch covered with a snow like shaved parmigiano. 

Next up, the balls. You’ve all heard it, I’m Samantha, the Italian girl in town who is so picky about Italian this and that. These meatballs were the top five beef meatballs I’ve ever had. All-beef meatballs are hard to execute with a depth of flavor like Krust accomplished. I’m usually a tri-meat meatball girl, veal, pork and beef. But these meatballs had Frank himself singing in my ear. I begged the owner Joe to consider adding meatball subs to the menu. 

The main act of course is the pizza. We had pepperoni with hot honey and the burrata pizza pies. He could have served me these pizzas bare, void of any toppings and I would have finished it all. I thought how courageous it is to name a place Krust, do you know the pressure that is going to create to deliver on the actual crispiness of the crust.  It was spot on. They created such a unique texture from the cheese being mixed into the dough, then they fire it until there was almost a parmesan crisp taste. 

The pepperoni with hot honey was my favorite type of mouth explosion of flavor. Savory, no wait sweet, no wait spicy, oh back to sweet, end with savory. All of that happened in one bite. The burrata pizza was so heavenly, it makes sense it’s a fan favorite. They take a burrata and break it up evenly onto each piece so every bite is “the” bite. The quality of the ingredients is very apparent that they’re top notch.

We finished up with dessert, which is ever-changing and made from scratch by the other half of Krust’s ownership, Leslie McDevitt. I’m not going to get deep into the desserts because that experience alone deserves its own standalone future article. Mark and I are not big on pies, and let me tell you, we were fighting for each bite. 

A big controversy among Krust is their operating hours. Many feel turned off by the need to inconvenience themselves to dine in or pick up their pizza before 6pm. Not only do I promise you the inconvenience is well worth it, but honestly Krust has the goods. The balls in their court when they make food this delicious, they get to set the rules. They sell out daily and welcome you to be a part of the fun before they run out. 

Not to mention as I tell everyone, the pizza heats up phenomenally at home in the oven. So, pick it up during your lunch hour and throw it in the fridge until dinner. It’s as crunchy at home as it is when it’s fresh. Arrange your schedule and give them a try.

Samantha Dellilo
Samantha Dellilo has been in the Keys since she was 1 day old, so definitely consider her a Conch. Holding a passion for food since she can remember, while most kids were watching Barney, she was watching Emeril. "Being half Cuban and half Italian, food in those cultures is considered a love language. It's a total experience whether eating out or cooking." She's been with her other half, Marky, going on 17 years. The two met when they were 9 years old at Key Largo School. Samantha owns Florida Keys Eats, which is a blog of "must eat, must see, and must dos" from Key Largo to Key West.