January 17, 2012

Week 50: Pizza Villa


Located only a stone’s throw off the Beltline exit of 75, you will find Pizza Villa, a Richardson pizza institution for decades.  Sandwiched between a Bombay Sari Palace and a Chinese Bakery... Pizza Villa has certainly stood the test of time.  While you might not catch the Home and Garden Channel featuring the interior design and atmosphere at Pizza Villa, their pizza is one of a kind.  Pizza Villa came highly recommended by one of our local blog readers, so we had to make a visit...
One thing that will strike you right away when you open the doors at Pizza Villas is a sense of nostalgia.  It literally felt like you entered a time warp and were taken back 30+ years.  Everything from the minimal decorations to the old school letter-board menu, this place was unique and beats to its own drum.  Heading home from a long day at work , I thougt I would call in my order.  After attempting to hunt down a menu online, it became clear that Pizza Villa’s ability to adapt to the times was lacking, and they were 100% fine with that.  The lady who answered the phone gave me a brief rundown of sizes and toppings and left me to decide for myself.  While navigating the busy rush hour traffic I made a snap decision and ordered a medium 1/2 with everything on it and 1/2 with all the veggies.  I also couldn’t help but grab a small cheese for only 4 dollars and some change.  One important detail that should be mentioned is that they only take cash.  So, unless you want to pay the $3 service fee to use the neighboring ACE Cash Express, bring some cash in your wallet.

With almost an hour ride home through 635 construction I couldn’t help but crack open the box and grab a couple cheese slices to hold me over.  The first thing that caught my attention was the thin crust.  There was a crunchy texture that was unlike any of the other 51 pizza places that we had been this year.  Definitely a unique experience.  The cheese was a little overcooked for my liking, but wasn’t your standard grated mozzarella cheese.  The sauce was very flavorful and the crust itself seemed to be sprinkled with some type of seasoning.  Did I mention that the crust was delicious?  The medium pizza was absolutely covered with toppings.  This list of included toppings is too long to mention, but needless to say you won’t find grilled chicken, artichokes, pineapple, or prosciutto at Pizza Villa.  This place is true vintage pizza and they’ll even toss on anchovies if you’d like. Closed on Sundays and Mondays, Pizza Villa only serves up its original flavor 5 days a week.

The Final Report: 7 out of 10
Was Pizza Villa the best pizza this year? No.  Was it one of the classic hidden gems we hoped to find on our pizza adventure? Absolutely.  Over the past year we have tried all types, shapes, and sizes of pizza and one thing can be said of Pizza Villa...  It’s one of a kind, and that’s a good thing!

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