Week 31: Louie's

How is it that I have lived in Dallas for over 7 years and I have never heard about Louie’s in East Dallas?  This year we have been searching for the best pizza in the DFW area and I can’t believe that it has taken us 31 weeks to find this place.  Maybe it’s because you could drive by this “hole in the wall” restaurant a thousand times before you would even consider stopping to see what was behind the front doors.  With the wife and girls wrapping up their summer vacation on the west coast, I figured it would be an appropriate week to be adventurous. I’m certainly glad I was...

I have heard people saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” ever since I was little, and those words were never more true as I pulled up to 1839 N Henderson on Saturday night.  With a slight hesitation I opened the front door to Louie’s and was greeted by a standing room only crowd that can only be defined as organized chaos.  The young lady sitting in a chair holding a spiral notebook in what appeared to be her high school homework assignment, took my name down and casually mentioned the wait was 30-40 minutes.  By this time I was fully committed to eating pizza at Louie’s and wandered through the crowd in search for a spot at the bar.  Preparing for a long wait time I ordered up a cold can of suds from the man behind the bar.  For the first time in memory I wasn’t immediately asked if I wanted to start a tab or requested payment.  What turned out to be Louie himself, asked if I had my name on the waiting list and said he’d take care of it.  While people watching and soaking in some of the eclectic decor, I had barely enjoyed a few sips of my beverage when the hostess appeared to let me know my table was ready!  Off to a good start...

Louie’s menu is packed full of dinner selections, but as you looked around it became clear that the people were here for one thing and one thing only... the thin crust pizza.  Pricing is pretty straight forward: Small 12” ($10) and Large 14” ($12).  The list of toppings was about 20 items long and encompassed all of the pizza lover’s staples.  While I gave a brief consideration to starting off with a salad, I wasted no time with the pizza order: a large pepperoni, sausage, and garlic pizza.  The wait time felt pretty standard for a Saturday night and before I knew it our Texas Ranger t-shirt wearing waitress emerged with the pizza in hand.  The menu stated “The best around” and I would have a hard time saying anything negative about this masterpiece.  The sauce had a slightly sweet taste to it and was appropriate for the pizza size and amount of toppings.  The not-to-thin crust was cooked to perfection and cut in a standard chicago “box cut.”  The sausage was REAL sausage not like the typical pre-cooked crumble sausage the get sprinkled on.  The garlic addition was perfect complement to the fresh meat flavors and Wisconsin cheese..  This pizza was so good that for the first time this year I actually placed a second pizza order during the same sitting.  Keep in mind that I was accompanied by a fellow pizza enthusiast, and did not devour 2 large pizzas alone.  For the second round of pizza I let the waitress select the toppings and she suggested sautéed onions, jalapeños, and sausage.  Once again the short wait wasn’t enough to catch a full inning of baseball on the TV, and the second pizza was on the table.  I’ll admit it would be almost impossible to beat the topping combination from pizza number one, but the second was an entirely different experience.  The basics of the pie were consistent, but the distinct onion and jalapeño flavor slightly overpowered the delicious sausage.  I really don’t think you could make a wrong decision when placing a pizza order, maybe just not ordering enough?       

The Final Report: 8.0 out of 10

After 31 weeks of research it is becoming more and more difficult to say which pizzas are better.  I think we have definitely had some that would be classified as great, and certainly pizza that was downright awful.  Louie’s pizza would absolutely fall into the great pizza category.  Was it better than Eno’s, Grimaldi’s or Il Cane Rosso?  Thats hard to say.  It boils down to what kind of overall experience you want.  Louie’s is a place that you could hang out with buddies and watch some sports, but also a place you could enjoy a casual date night out.  One thing is for certain, this won’t be the last time I walk in the the front door at Louie’s...

One last thing...  When you head to Louie’s don’t forget to bring cash or your American Express.  Don’t even think about paying with a Visa or Mastercard.