By Steven Doyle
There is nothing quite as fine as the perfect slice of pizza, and this month we bring you plenty of great choices to find the perfect pie around the Dallas area. Try all of these this month to gain epic baller status.
Coal Vines
The restaurant started up in 2006 by the owners of Nick & Sam’s, Joseph Palladino and Phil Romano. Coal Vines serves up a happy pie with plenty of fresh chef-driven toppings baked in a coal oven. The taste is reminiscent of pizza you might find in Brooklyn with a crisp thin crust and a flavorful sauce. There is a nice selection of pizzas on the menu, but we always seem to run to the off-menu house-made meatball.
ZaLat
Owned by the same fellow who owns neighboring DaLat, a late-night pho restaurant located on Fitzhugh, ZaLat is the perfect blend of a New York and Neapolitan crust developed with input from some of the city’s top chefs who frequent the restaurant due to their very late night hours. Open most nights until 4 a.m., you merely need to go online or text ZaLat for delivery, or you may pick up the pie and either take home or dine next door at DaLat. There are no seats at the pizza joint. Order the “Crave” pizza!
Nonna
Also opening in 2006, this Julian Barsotti restaurant is a fine example of a rustic Italian restaurant that also happens to serve a few pizzas. Although Barsotti studied authentic Neapolitan, this pie hardly qualifies under VPN (Vera Pizza Napoletana) standards. The full-flavored rich and creamy white clam pizza is undoubtedly one of the best finds in Dallas.
Louie’s
A long-time Henderson dive featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with the spastic Guy Fieri, the restaurant has fallen in and out and back in favor with us. We appreciate the no-nonsense attitude of the staff, which often times can waver into the downright evil and ornery zone, but perhaps this is the charm we should enjoy. The pizza is a straightforward extra crisp and very thin crust style with a spicy sauce and heaps of toppings including sausage made at Jimmy’s Food Store just a few blocks south across Ross. Sadly, Louie passed away last year but the tradition lives on. 1839 N. Henderson Ave, Dallas.
Serious Pizza
A throw-back to a New York neighborhood pizzeria, this very thin and very large pizza is smattered with good ingredients and a hefty amount of sauce. Serious wins a prize in a few pizza categories including best late night pizza and the largest. You may buy a single slice for about three bucks at 3 a.m. at this fairly new Deep Ellum dive.
Campisi’s
This is where we will lose a few of you. In the Dallas foodie world there are two factions, those who love Campisi’s and those that hate it. We are of the former alliance. The oval pie has heaps of whatever ingredient you may choose and is very thin. The sauce is borderline sweet. This pie might possibly satisfy our need for nostalgia. The fourth generation pizza you taste today is the same that Jack Ruby enjoyed on the eve of the Kennedy assassination.
Elbow Room
One of the finer Dallas bar pizzas around. If you live in the downtown or Deep Ellum area you may have this pizza delivered as late as 2 a.m. That is if they aren’t too slammed and have enough staff. This pizza is thin and smoky with plenty of spiciness.
Bryan Street Tavern
Another great Dallas bar pizza. The pies here are large, cheap and hit the spot late night while out on a drinking tear. This doesn’t take away from the fact that the pizza is really, really good. The sauce is thick with a good amount of kick, and there is no holding back on the amount of toppings they scatter across the thin dough.
Eno’s Pizza Tavern
Located in Bishop Arts in Oak Cliff, this is a cozy spot for a great beer and wine selection, along with one of our pizza favorites. The dough is rolled out painstakingly thin and cut in a bajillion squares, and because Eno knows you always share and play well with others.
Olivella’s
Although the people here do a grand Neapolitan-style, they also make that super thin Roman pizza that kicks some serious pizza butt. Made in a grand tradition using century old recipes. Olivella’s is one of the few pizzerias anywhere that makes both Southern and Northern Italian pizza.
Dough Pizzeria
The best in Neapolitan style. Located on Forest Lane at the Preston Road crossroad, Dough is the final word in pizza in Dallas with an excellent crust, superior toppings, and house-made mozzarella. The pie gets a 90-second blast in the word-burning oven for a perfect level of crispness and deliciously scorched edges.
