By Steven Doyle
There is not a day that passes which doesn’t give pause to some sort of homage to one of our favorite foods. In recent weeks we celebrated National Taco Day and National Cupcake Day. Some of these celebratory food days we can rally for the cause, others not so much. But seriously, who doesn’t love a day of non-stop tacos?
With food nationalism in mind, we are particularly excited to celebrate National Pizza Month. One of our favorite foods is so magnanimous that we can celebrate a full 31 days of noshing our way through a list of our favorite pies. This is ideal since there are so many varieties of pizza out there to enjoy, and Dallas has some fine examples to enjoy.
This week share a handful of our favorite pizzas.
Neapolitan: This pizza is all the rage and there are many spots opening across the city that features Neapolitan style. The VPN is an Italian pizza regulatory commission that approves this specific pie, and to gain the approval you must meet strict guidelines such as using only San Marzano tomatoes and hand-stretched mozzarella, a baked in a wood-fired oven for a mere 2 minutes or less. Visit our favorite in North Dallas, Dough Pizzeria located at Preston and Forest Lane.
New York Style: New York has a certain distinction unlike any other pie. The pizza is massive, the crust is thin and the sauce is tangy. The New York style has plenty of mozzarella, and is scattered with a handful of toppings. Visit Serious Pizza in Deep Ellum for their manhole cover-sized pizzas that are hand tossed before your eyes, old school. A single slice is cheap and enough to satisfy a lunch hunger, or temper a 2am beer blitz. Happily they are open until 3am on weekends.
Chef Pizza: These are made by real chefs in fancy restaurants. We have a few of decent versions in Dallas, but our favorite is at the Highland Park restaurant, Nonna. The restaurant is owned and cheffed by Julian Barsotti, and the man makes the finest white clam pizza you may ever taste. Order this pie to share with the table before ordering Barsotti’s other killer Italian dishes.
Dive Bar Pizza: If you ever visit Boston you will witness a phenomenon called “bar pizza”. Every bar has their specialty, and the locals have their favorite. Dallas makes some special bar pizzas, and our go-to is Bryan Street Tavern. Made in a stone oven that has seen some major action, Bryan Street’s pizza is perfect as a shared bar snack, or a full on dinner. The pizza takes on a slight smokiness and has a perfect thin crust crunch. Enjoy this bar pizza with the vast selection of local beers found on tap.
Chicago Style: We are talking about the crazy thick pizza style that the good people of Illinois seem to appreciate more than most. The Chicago style or pan pizza is generally 3 inches tall and loaded with pounds of cheese and other toppings. The sauce is thick and chunky and packed with flavor. Find a great example in Plano at Chicago Street Pizza or in Fort Worth at a Chicago original, Pizzeria Uno.
Other great pizzas in Dallas include Louie’s for their irreverence to mankind and ultra-crunchy thin style. We also enjoy Campisi’s for their rectangular blast from the past, and Coal Vine’s off-the-menu meatball pizza that is wacky good.