Jules Thin Crust: Local Ingredients on Local Pizza

Finding local restaurants with healthy food can be a challenge. Add organic and locally-grown produce to the search, and the choices get even slimmer. I find myself returning to Jules Thin Crust for the 28 varieties of delicious pizza, the unique organic thin crust and toppings. It's my fallback, especially when the budget and time is tight.

Jules was started in 2005 by ex-advertising executive John Ordway, who had become frustrated with the lack of healthy restaurant choices to enjoy with his two young daughters. The original Doylestown store was opened in 2005 and has now expanded into three other branches: Newtown, Jenkintown and Danville, Calif.

Using organic flour in its crust, the signature long, slipper-shaped pizza is topped with fresh ingredients that are grown locally when available. Jules Thin Crust has turned the pizza industry on its head, winning accolades from parents and healthy food advocates across the country.

Walking into the Jules location on Sycamore Street in Newtown, I always feel a little nostalgic for the Goodnoe’s Dairy Barn that used to be on the same site. The modern design of the restaurant--with Italian Pedrali chairs, custom-designed wooden serving platters, granite counter and 16-foot ceiling--is much different from its predecessor and a perfect partner for the cutting-edge food being served.

The Brazilian granite countertop displays the day’s pizza offerings, with menu cards explaining the ingredients. For ease of choice, 15 pies line up side-by-side in groups to show vegetarian, meat and the custom gluten-free and whole-wheat varieties. They also offer dairy-free cheese by request.

Customers are given a choice of pizza by the slice ($2.80) ordered at the counter and delivered to your table, a whole pie ($18.50 for a large, $12.50 for a medium) for eating in or taking out, or the new “fly-by service” where a pizza can be ordered over the phone or online and delivered to your car. For the non-pizza lover, six salads ($4.95 to $5.95) are offered and each made with the same organic ingredients found on the pizza.

Plain cheese pies and a kid’s pie with just mozzarella and tomato sauce are available for the fussy, non-adventurous eaters. They offer gluten-free versions, perfect for family members with celiac disease. No giant, corn-syrupy fountain sodas are sold, but Coke, Diet Coke, Boylan’s and Izzi sodas and Honest Teas are offered by the bottle, and water is available free of charge.

I was there last week and was spoilt for choice with the pizza on offer. Meat pizzas included a delicious hormone-free pulled pork with locally-made barbeque sauce, scallions, red onions and mozzarella. There was also a hormone-free roasted chicken with chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice and olive oil as well as a Mexican creation with ground beef, black beans, jalapeño, cilantro, mozzarella, tomatoes, tomato sauce and lime juice. Most of the ingredients were organic and freshly made.

The vegetarian pies included a feta cheese and kalamata olive selection. There was also Donna and Dave’s pie, which is chickpeas, watercress, parsley, garlic, mozzarella, parmesan, fresh basil and a drizzle of lemon and lime. A brie cheese pizza with pears, almonds, rosemary and mozzarella, and a roasted potato, mozzarella, rosemary, scallion, sour cream, parmesan and olive oil pie were available.

After perusing the wide selection, my wife ordered a slice with edamame, ricotta, goat cheese, caramelized onion and fresh mint that was a creative combination layered in flavor. I went with three slices, as I could not make my mind up.

After seeing a blackboard near the counter listing where some of their produce came from, I realized that the tomatoes were the first of the season from New Jersey. I ordered a dairy-free tomato with garlic, chopped tomatoes and oregano that was wonderful, sweet with the full flavor of local tomatoes, the thin crust the perfect vehicle for its topping.

A Greek-style slice with feta, kalamata olives, more of those Jersey tomatoes, red onion, romaine lettuce and tomato sauce was my second pick, again delicious and full of fresh flavor. Lastly, a portabella mushroom slice with arugula, tomato sauce and sliced mushrooms was rich and full of mushroom flavor. A Boylan’s cream soda accompanied my three slices; no corn syrup and all-natural, just like the pizza.

I like what John Ordway has created and I share his vision to update fast food and make it healthier. His unique style of pizza with its thin crust adds less carbohydrates and more organic vegetables to our diets. Cheese pizza is about 190 calories a slice, veggie 180 and meat around 230; compare that to your local pizza place.

I hope that his concept catches on. With a new branch on the west coast, it seems to be doing just that. Using ingredients grown by local farmers, Jules is supporting our local economy and giving back to the community. In using organically grown produce and grains, Jules also supports our health -- a win-win for all of us.

Jules Thin Crust is located at 300 Sycamore Street. It's open seven days a week and is a BYOB. For more information, call (215) 579-0111 or visit www.julesthincrust.com.