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Phantom Gourmet: Kindles Wood Fired Pizzeria In Marlboro

MARLBORO - At Kindles Pizzeria in Marlboro, there's a delicious game of numbers going on. That's because owner David Champeau has designed an overwhelming board of mouthwatering combinations arranged by number, and it has diners delirious.

Depending upon your pizza topping preference, you can opt for something like the number 16: Smoky Pinocchio, topped with roasted corn, Applewood smoked bacon, chicken and a balsamic glaze; or the number 18: The Perfect Sunset, loaded up with pepperoni, pineapple, jalapenos and banana peppers with white truffle oil.

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If you ask David what his favorite is, he'll point you to the number 9, the appropriately named "My Favorite Pizza".

"It features extra pepperoni, hand sliced meatball, house whipped ricotta and oregano and mozzarella and red sauce. It's lasagna without all the messy noodles."

Kindles Pizzeria, Phantom Gourmet
'My Favorite Pizza' at Kindles Pizzeria (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

All of those 12-inch pies can be enjoyed in the comfortable space David and his team have created, complete with a family-friendly, counter style service that caters to a casual dining room, as well as an outdoor area for the nice weather. Most customers want to stay inside where the pizza is as much a feast for the nose as it is for the other senses.

"People eat with their eyes, but when they walk in they also smell with their nose. It really is a good recipe to get the appetite going."

Nothing gets customers' mouths watering quite like the aroma coming out of Kindles' Italian wood burning oven. With each pizza cooked in around 90 seconds, it takes a tremendous amount of timing and precision.

"In my opinion, wood fired oven is half chef, half blacksmithing. You really have to know your oven heat. You really have to be very passionate and very interested in what you're doing, because there's about a 12 second window from the perfect pizza to one that is overcooked."

You can start with dessert and order the French Toast, a pizza that will satisfy your sweet tooth, and then fill up on some protein with the Meat Feast, a pie that more than lives up to its carnivorous name.

Kindles Pizzeria, Phantom Gourmet
Meal Feast Pizza at Kindles Pizzeria (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"It features bacon, pepperoni, meatball and sausage. We garnish it with minced, chopped cherry peppers just to elevate the heat of the sausage. It's really good."

For a Polynesian style treat, order the Aloha Mahalo topped with barbecue pork, ham, and pineapple, with a flavorful teriyaki glaze. For something completely different, try the Truffle Honeypot, fired up with prosciutto, mozzarella and white onion, along with a garnish of black truffle honey and fig preserves.

Kindles Pizzeria, Phantom Gourmet
Truffle Honeypot Pizza at Kindles Pizzeria (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

After you've figured out which pizza you're going to partake in, it's all about the sides. You can get sweet corn spiked with red peppers, all roasted up in that wood burning oven; or a calzone loaded up with all of the good stuff. Wings are available in a variety of flavors, like Buffalo Garlic, but if you ask David he'll tell you to get the so-called Plain wings, that are brined in molasses and sea salt, roasted in the oven and then quickly fried for that perfect crunch.

"There's nothing plain about our plain wings. It's the flavor. It's just the smokiness, the molasses, the sea salt, and you get the true flavor of a smoked wing."

Kindles Pizzeria, Phantom Gourmet
'Plain' Wings at Kindles Pizzeria (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

There are tremendous sandwiches like one overloaded with meatballs and spicy charbroiled Italian sausage. For a lighter option try one of Kindle's flatbreads, like one topped with roasted peppers and eggplant.

"A flatbread is a little different, it's for a little lighter appetite. They are topped with a salad. They are 9 inch square, a little bit thinner, a little crispier, just a little different. If you want a little bit of pizza and a little bit of salad, that's definitely something to explore."

Kindles Pizzeria, Phantom Gourmet
Roasted pepper and eggplant flatbread at Kindles Pizzeria (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

No matter what you order, it's going to be made with the freshest ingredients and plenty of pride.

"We're feeding families better food and that is very personally rewarding, knowing that we've impacted a community. There's absolutely nothing more satisfying."

You can find Kindles at 10 Boston Post Road East in Marlboro, and online at kindleswoodfiredpizzeria.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.

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