Review: Liberty Union Bar & Grill "Baked Colorado" Flatbread Pizza - Chester Springs, PA

Pizza is all about the crust; when a pizzamaker gets the crust right, success generally follows. I'm usually leery of any pie that is defined by its toppings. Toppings are often just a way to disguise a mediocre mass-sourced crust.

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However, we recently made an exception. We sought out a local pie based on the toppings after learning about the Baked Colorado flatbread pizza at Liberty Union Bar & Grill. This personal-size white pie is made with elk sausage, hemp seed, caramelized onion, sautéed mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese. 

Elk sausage, mushrooms, hemp seeds

From www.Facebook.com/LibertyUnionBarAndGrill

The hemp seed is sourced from Chester County (PA) entrepreneur Andrew Follett, whose Cannagenix foods include hemp products like protein powder, gluten-free flour, and toasted hemp seed (made from agricultural hemp, which lacks the THC compound).

We visited on a weeknight and found Liberty to be a spacious yet cozy place. Our meal began with a complimentary serving of Tater Tots - a nice touch. Who doesn't love Tater Tots? 

We ordered the Baked Colorado flatbread and also a Carolina pulled pork sandwich to share. From a nice craft beer selection, I chose a Kona Koko Brown Ale, a nice smooth and dark beer from Hawaii ($6/pint).

The pizza had terrific eye appeal. The sea of mozzarella was beautifully golden brown and bubbly, topped with big dark ovals of elk sausage, thick slices of sautéed brown mushrooms, and a visible sprinkling of seeds.  The crust was pale both at the cornicione and underneath.

Pale yet crisp underneath

Even though this pie was defined by its funky Colorado theme, the crust was surprisingly good. It was thin, light, crispy and chewy, and somehow almost flaky. I've never had a crust like this in terms of texture. It had its own good flavor and was sturdy enough to support the generous layer of conventional mozzarella.

The elk sausage is one of the best meat toppings I've had. Even though I prefer sausage toppings to cook on the pie, the pre-cooked slices were juicy and packed with flavor. Because it was elk, it was more tough and chewy than typical pork sausage, but in a good way. I loved it.

Mushrooms can get lost on a pie, especially plain white mushrooms, whether fresh or canned. But these sautéed brown mushrooms were - like the sausage - bursting with earthy flavor. The caramelized onions added yet one more flavor dimension here. This was delicious pizza, satisfying in flavor, texture, and balance.

The hemp seeds? Well, I saw them but can't say I tasted them. I've used flax seed on pizza to similar effect. They are mostly a novelty here, but they drew my attention to this excellent pizza. Yes, it's defined by its unusual toppings mix, but this flatbread succeeds by its excellent crust. It exceeded our expectations by a large measure.

The pulled pork sandwich, by the way, was very good, and so was our dessert. In addition, service was superb. Two thumbs up for Liberty Union Bar and Grill.