Week 32: NEO Pizzeria

We found ourselves at one of the “51 great pizza parlors” in the US this week on our pizza adventure.  At least that’s what the USA Today article that was posted at every table at NEO Pizzeria (www.neopizzeria.com) in Victory Park said.  It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Dallas and we anticipated great things from the new location that opened in June by Olivella’s founder/owner Charlie Green.  In case you aren’t familiar with Olivella’s (www.olivellas.com), it is a highly acclaimed Naples style, brick oven style pizzeria in University Park.  It is on our list of places to visit before the end of the year.  However, this week we enjoyed the ample free parking outside NEO and headed inside to see what all the fuss was about.

Sunday afternoon is a fantastic time to visit a restaurant if you are looking for immediate seating and undivided attention from the employees.  NEO is a beautiful restaurant that blends together casual dining with the feeling of a high-end experience.  The decor was very simple yet the attention to detail was obvious.  The open cement pillars and exposed ceiling gave the restaurant a urban touch yet it was still classy enough for a good date night .  Overall our first impression was a positive one and we began surveying the menu.

The waitress provided a high level overview of the house favorites as well as an explanation of the pizza sizes.  We found ourselves in the typical situation where there were too many items that looked good, and had to make a decision.  To start we chose the Olivella Salad, a blend of mixed greens topped with slices of pear, gorgonzola crumbles, and walnuts.  For $8 it was a work of art and was immediately devoured by the family.  The Specialty Pizza options were intriguing and it was tough choosing when it looked like there were no real wrong decisions.  NEO serves 2 sizes of pizza out of the Brick Oven: Regular (Average price $16)and Metro (Average price $19). Unlike a typical size difference in inches, the pizza itself resulted in a different thickness of crust.  We ordered one of each and both were delicious in their own right.  For the little ones we picked the regular size “Kid’s Pizza” which used the standard processed cheese instead of the house-made mozzarella.  We also ordered the Metro size with half “White Truffle” (House-made mozzarella, mushroom, sun-dried tomatoes, and truffle oil) and half “The Dream” (Sauce, house-made mozzarella, gorgonzola, pancetta, chicken, and jalapeño).  Let the wait begin.

Since we were one of only 3 tables occupied, our pizza appeared promptly.  At first look we didn’t see any sun-dried tomatoes on the Metro side.  Assuming our order was correct I started in on the beautiful oval shaped thin crust masterpiece.  The partial vegetarian at the table quickly identified the “speck” on the pizza and called over the waitress to verify the accuracy of our pizza.  It turned out the pizza was actually the Black Truffle (House-made mozzarella, speck, mushrooms, truffle oil, and black pepper) and the mix up was immediately fixed.  FYI, apparently speck is a type of prosciutto... we had to ask.  To the credit of NEO and their commitment to great service, a brand new pizza was brought out to the table and they even packaged the old pizza in a to-go box for us to keep (no charge).  Looking back, the Black Truffle was probably my favorite and I was thankful for the leftovers on Monday.  Back to the actual pizza that we ordered...  The girls loved the kid’s pizza and it was probably one of the best plain cheese pizzas this year!  The crust was thin towards the middle with an appropriate raised edge that was chewy and very slightly brown.  The cheese was not as good as the house-made mozzarella, but perfect for the young girls at the table.  NEO’s Metro size was a completely different style and was just as good, if not better.  The jalapeños provided the proper amount of heat and mixed well with the pancetta and chicken. “The Dream” lived up to its name and didn’t last long.  The “White Truffle” half of the pizza was no slouch either.  Arguable one of my wife’s favorites of the year, the use of truffle oil and sun-dried tomatoes really provided a unique, one-of-a-kind pizza.  

The Final Report: 9 out of 10

Other than the slight White Truffle/Black Truffle switcharoo, NEO Pizza in Victory Park exceeded our expectations on every level.  It offered one of the finer Specialty Pizza selections we’ve seen this year and had the perfect atmosphere for a night out on the town. Next time you’re headed to American Airlines Center for a game, or to House of Blues for some music, definitely swing by NEO to enjoy a pizza and the $2 Happy Hour!