I've had a consistently good experience at Upper Crust and would definitely say that it's the best pizza place in the North Phoenix area. Plus, it's super convenient right off the 101 and Cave Creek Rd. Many days I call in or order a pizza or wings or whatever to pick up on my way home since there just aren't many options up in Cave Creek.
Just blew my non-gluten-free friend away with upper crust gluten free pizza! Also a bottle of Rambauer chardonnay half off (on Wednesdays)?! Yes!
They have a pretty good variety of gluten free options if you're into that - but I don't know how good they are about cross contamination. Since I'm just gluten sensitive I don't really need to worry about that.
The restaurant is split into the bar area and the sit down restaurant, so you can choose your experience. The bar area gets pretty crowded for happy hour! But the restaurant is completely fine if you have kids. There's even a pretty nice outdoor patio area (really nice if you consider this is like a strip mall) for great Arizona evenings.
Great wine selection, pizza, appetizers, location, service... and a cool atmosphere - what else could you want? I've found the service in both the bar and restaurant to always be fantastic. They also make their own Sangria if you're into that. Personally, I do the sparkling wine splits when I'm alone. But I like a little fancy in my day.