The Corner Grille
Crispy. Super flavorful."
"Craveable. Addicting. Thin. Paper thin."
When it comes to pizza, Raena Heppenstall is a girl who knows what she wants.
"I love my pizza so much that I'm a little disappointed when I go to other places. It's a different ball game. But I love my pizza. You're not going to find it anywhere else. No one else does it like us. It's truly a unique pizza experience when you come here."
And at The Corner Grille, thin is most definitely in.
"So we're really known for our thin crust pizza. It's thin and then think thinner. It's thinner than that. Put two credit cards together and that's the thickness of our pizza.”
Located on Worcester's west side, The Corner Grille is a quirky, casual BYOB spot where you'll find rolling pins lining the wall, and colored pencils at your table. And the specialty of the house, of course, is their ultra thin pizzas.
"It's like a cracker with a really good topping. If you a cracker its meh. It’s fine. But when you put a really good dip or cheese or anything it just like makes it."
Raena has been in the business for over 20 years and developed a pizza that is truly different.
"I'm half Greek and we come from a long line of you know restaurant people and the traditional Greek pie is a bar pie or a little thicker so I was a little sick of that to be honest so we decided to experiment in the kitchen and it worked. They're square. They're 14 inches by 14 inches. It should stand straight. And we make it so there's no crust. I'm not a fan of crust. I think it's a waste. I like the crispy burnt ends. Some people come in and they're like it's burnt on the sides but then they get that its not technically burnt. It's just the crispy parts burning off in the oven."
And when it comes to toppings, Raena likes to take dishes she knows and loves and put them on top of her pies.
"I love to eat. It's like a sport to me. So anything I try that I want to eat in large quantities. I try to develop it into a pizza. Mashed potatoes. Mexican Street Corn. We have a curry. We have a brown butter. We have so many different toppings."
Take for example the New Beddy, a Portuguese shout out to the seaside city of New Bedford.
"So The New Beddy is ground linguica and chorizo base and then we top it with kidney beans, red onions and green peppers and then we take kale and we toss it with olive oil and sea salt and we blanket the top and then when it goes into the oven it crisps up so you have a good kale crunch because I don't love kale. And if you love kale you're lying. But crispy kale is the way to go. So this is a really good way to eat kale and get your greens and it’s a great pizza.
Vegetarians will love the simple but satisfying Sweet Tomato and Basil Pie or the Mexicali Street Corn Pizza.
"So who doesn't like Mexican Street Corn? It's a base of a chile creama and then we put roasted corn and then we have cojita cheese and then we hit it with cilantro pesto and then a lime wedge. It will make you think like you're eating Mexican Street Corn."
The unique flavors continue through the menu with pizzas like the Tipsy Goat, layered with a Chardonnay leek sauce topped with chicken, prosciutto, goat cheese and arugula. The Harvest Moon topped with brown sugar, roasted butternut squash, onions, sausage and toasted pumpkin seeds. Even an Indian-style Red Curry Chicken Pie. And for a stick to your ribs kind of pizza, nothing tops The Mashed Potato.
"So it's a base of garlic butter. Then we do a fresh pot of mashed potatoes. We've got scallions and bacon and our cheese blend which is smoked gouda, a little mozzarella. It crusts up in the oven. It's a great pie."
And even greater pie, at least for meat lovers, is the Cave Man.
"Caveman is the old staple. It's all of the carnivore foods. Hamburger, sausage, bacon, then we add onions, green peppers and our mozzarella blend but it's not heavily loaded. It's like a good balance but if you're craving meat its a good pizza to have."
But of all the pizzas, the Chicken Caesar Salad is most definitely the fan favorite.
"Our Chicken Caesar Salad Pie which is often copied, but never duplicated has got a base of our Caesar Salad Dressing. And then we add chicken, tomatoes and then we blanket it with a cool caesar salad that's been tossed in dressing and that is our biggest winner seller. People will drive for miles for it."
The offerings go way beyond pizza here, with a refrigerator case loaded up with fresh juices and teas presented in adorable mason jars, prepared foods to grab and go and a selection of housemade desserts including one tremendously decadent brownie.
"We literally put a cheesecake on top of a brownie. I like the cream part of a cream cheese brownie but there was never enough cream cheese for me so we said let's just put a thick layer of the cream cheese part so it ended up being like a whole cheesecake on top of a brownie and that's my favorite bar none."
And more than having her favorite desserts and pizzas on demand, Raena loves being able to come to work day in and day out.
“Restaurant people are restaurant people. And if you're lucky enough to find your nitch, I don't think you'll ever leave it.It fills all aspect of me. It is a little mayhem at times, but the creative part I live for. I love it."
