Week 3: Cavalli Pizzeria Napoletana

If you haven’t been to Cavalli Pizzeria Napoletana (www.cavallipizza.com), shame on you.  My suggestion would be that you stop reading this review and drive your car to 3601 Regent Boulevard in Irving, TX.  For the rest of you that can’t make the trip for whatever reason, please continue reading the review below.  However, in the meantime mark your calendar for a visit next time you are in the area.  

With just under 25 million residents in the State of Texas, I was surprised to find out that one of three certified Verace Pizza Napoletana Association locations was only 10 minutes from the house.  Some of you may be wondering, “what is the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association (www.verapizzanapoletana.org)?”  Essentially, it is a group of certified pizzerias that create pizzas using the exact standards as defined by the association in Naples, Italy.  Basic requirements include a wood-burning oven, exact ingredients, and proper technique of a hand worked dough cooked at 800 degrees.  Blah, blah, blah...  You want to know if the pizza was good, right? It’s not time for a lesson on pizza making history, rules, and cooking regulations - it’s Saturday night, and we have some pizza to eat!

Certified "VPN" Wood-Burning Oven

Located in a strip mall off 635 and Beltline Rd., we had wanted to try this place since it opened a couple years ago.  As we pulled in, we noticed that the parking lot was packed!  Assuming that all of the people weren't lining up for a hair appointment next door, we ventured inside.  All but one table in the place was filled, and a line was slowly growing at the register.  Their website calls it “quick-serve,” where you place your order at the register and they bring it out to you.  The menu covers everything from salads, appetizers, sandwiches, and of course - pizzas.  They do have a self serve soda fountain, but many of the patrons were taking advantage of the B.Y.O.B. policy (I wish we had too).  I placed our order while my wife strategically located a table amongst the Saturday evening chaos. 

Each pie is hand created on the marble countertop and cooked in the blazing hot 800 degree wood-burning oven.  We chose the Margherita Extra and Pesto Chicken, both of which were designated as “Cavalli Favorites.”  There were several specialty pizzas that caught our eye, but needless to say I don’t think you could have made a bad choice.  Our “Irving Salad” arrived at the table and we inhaled it before the server could return with extra plates and silverware.  Now if there was any criticism, it would be that they only had one kid running around with his hair on fire (not literally), dropping off orders and fulfilling additional requests from the customers.  This was probably due to the fact that it was tremendously busy, however the restaurant would probably run a lot smoother with additional employees on the floor.

Marrgherita Extra

Pesto Chicken

Simply stated, the pizza was fantastic.  It has been about 20 years since I ate a pizza in Italy, but I imagine this was what it was like.  Starting with the Margherita Extra, the Bufala Mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes were textbook, and the crust was nothing short of heavenly.  Every bite was memorable, and my only regret is that we didn’t order a large.  The Pesto Chicken was just as good, if not better.  The ricotta cheese was on every slice, the pesto sauce did not overwhelm the taste buds, and the chicken was cooked to perfection.  The price for a 10” specialty pizza was approximately $10, or you could create your own using a list of almost 30 toppings.  Cavalli also offers a selection of dessert pizzas.  Not being one to pass on a good treat, I enjoyed a few bites of the “S’mores” pizza, and left with a happy stomach.  By the end of our meal, the line was almost to the door, and we could have auctioned off our open table to the highest bidder.

S'Mores Dessert Pizza

The Final Report: 8.5 out 10

I would have returned for breakfast if they served a breakfast pizza.  Our entire pizza experience was great, and with 49 weeks left to go, it will be hard to wait on a return visit to Cavalli Pizzeria in Irving!