Cress Spring Bakery / Facebook
Bring your own blankets for a pizza picnic at the Cress Spring farm.
Pizza! On the farm! At last, after a year's wait, Cress Spring Bakery has launched its Wednesday evening pizzeria. The dinners are in full swing — and selling out. “We’ve had over 160 people the last two weeks,” says Jeff Ford, owner and baker at Cress Spring. “It’s been a huge success, if a little daunting.” Cool, sunny weather has brought customers out in droves, with groups arriving for hot pizza fresh out of the wood-fired oven, as well as house-made cookies and ice cream sandwiches (filled with Sassy Cow vanilla).
The farm at 4035 Ryan Rd., outside of Blue Mounds, has no indoor seating, but customers can take a pizza to go or have an impromptu picnic on the lawn.
The menu features eight pizzas, with an option to build your own. On a recent evening, a pie called the Real Fungi was a vegan stunner, featuring a perfectly blistered sourdough crust topped with tapenade, shitake mushrooms and toasted walnuts. It was rich and complex, with a great balance between mushroomy earthiness and olive umami. This was outdone by an asparagus and Sitka salmon pizza with a creamy béchamel standing in for the usual tomato sauce. The asparagus was still crisp but charred, and a balsamic reduction drizzle made the elements sing. But save room for the Spring Fling, a dessert pizza featuring rhubarb, mascarpone, fresh strawberries, and the clincher — little bits of streusel sprinkled on top. It’s all sweetness and satisfying crunch.
There’s a musical line-up for the Cress Spring nights, which has skewed folk and bluegrass, and there’s a good wine list, as well as an ever-expanding list of craft beer options. The offerings keep changing, but the current feature is Bos Meadery Pomegranate Pyment Mead.
Dinners will run through the end of October. Bring your own plates and utensils, chairs and blankets. The best way to stay informed about pizza on the farm is to join the Cress Spring mailing list at cressspringbakery.com, which sends out a weekly menu with updates.
