tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87442579803171309962024-02-02T10:22:41.963-06:00The Deep Dish...a taste of DFW pizzaThe Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-57059556672559014452012-01-21T21:46:00.000-06:002012-01-21T21:46:58.445-06:00Week 51: Enzo's Pizza<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypN71gh00p5uAOpQOa_jq3UfS65GQApxfe_ql99XGC0LisTcLlAdNyf9x-HJlmEJFPjtU8A_RHu06vg6sSvG3f46pMgH5fCLOeTeyHXMGCVbrSfOwJ8F62HiuwDF-ecwBTU6Dbou09B8/s1600/SCAN0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypN71gh00p5uAOpQOa_jq3UfS65GQApxfe_ql99XGC0LisTcLlAdNyf9x-HJlmEJFPjtU8A_RHu06vg6sSvG3f46pMgH5fCLOeTeyHXMGCVbrSfOwJ8F62HiuwDF-ecwBTU6Dbou09B8/s320/SCAN0001.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So, its official another average pizza restaurant has opened in Denton County. Let us introduce to you... Enzo’s Pizza. First of all anything short of Grimaldi’s or Il Cane Rosso would struggle to survive Parker Square in Flower Mound. Since it’s inception a few years back, Parker Square has struggled to find it’s niche with start-up entrepreneurs. What started off as a center that might compete with outdoor shopping areas like Southlake Town Square, Parker Square never really gained popular approval from local residents. Maybe it’s the lack of national chains people have grown to love, or possibly the never ending revolving door of short lived boutique businesses. Regardless, we had our fingers crossed this would be the beginning of a new chapter for Parker Square. We were hungry!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIdAQD75lxYZHyIc3H2sYgOzho7WwOtDs7V5CvB_BCZNjy4e7V-3DSEKNiTb-2qzmRQilJ3FAO5S-ECU8F0SzOh2yB_m368Ugbz5_yemlGtiIt-DMPds3GPxRDTRpNE2KFrvnZan5rxQ/s1600/photo_25.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIdAQD75lxYZHyIc3H2sYgOzho7WwOtDs7V5CvB_BCZNjy4e7V-3DSEKNiTb-2qzmRQilJ3FAO5S-ECU8F0SzOh2yB_m368Ugbz5_yemlGtiIt-DMPds3GPxRDTRpNE2KFrvnZan5rxQ/s320/photo_25.JPG" width="312" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After reviewing some of your standard food review websites, we were encouraged to see countless “5 Star” reviews. Our only conclusion is that the employees of Enzo’s had a friends and family night where the required fee to enter was to log in online and submit a rave review. After walking through the doors we were slightly encouraged by a small group of patrons in the dining area and waiting to place an order at the counter. After taking a quick look around it was easy to see that it was basically the exact set up as before (Turner’s Pizza Depot) with a new color scheme and less historical wall hangings. We brought the kids with us this week and decided to split an x-large ($18) with half cheese and half Mediterranean (Roasted Pepper, Artichokes, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Basil Pesto Sauce, Feta Cheese and Mozzarella). The order seemed to stump the young lad behind the counter. Apparently the idea of combining two sauces on one pizza was forbidden and after discussion with three other associates, we were denied a split sauce pizza. Not wanting to rock the boat, we explained that it would be fine if they mixed the red and basil pesto sauce on the Mediterranean side. We grabbed a booth towards the back and the kids went and played out in the empty gazebo in the middle of the Square.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlAU5LkJTaqp1IzWxPqwMmRKHLXfw-LO3t-rKUGXVmTgMfweLG8-Oe4HPisR_Vp77VSw0lOTtlpDMXasLzLmrZRPveNa9wLf_I2A_POud2inVAI2hSLHjqaaflfq43XE1JPQqaB4N1HU/s1600/photo_2_10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlAU5LkJTaqp1IzWxPqwMmRKHLXfw-LO3t-rKUGXVmTgMfweLG8-Oe4HPisR_Vp77VSw0lOTtlpDMXasLzLmrZRPveNa9wLf_I2A_POud2inVAI2hSLHjqaaflfq43XE1JPQqaB4N1HU/s320/photo_2_10.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It wasn’t too much of a wait and the pizza was hot out of the oven. The same kid that took our order delivered the pizza along with some plates and utensils. One item to note is that Enzo’s is BYOB so feel free to bring along your favorite red wine or a couple bottles of brew! As stated at the beginning, the pizza was average. The 18” pizza was cut into 8 slices and while we were certainly hungry and didn’t have any leftovers, it was far from memorable. Enzo’s immediately was filed along with countless of other “OK” pizza places in the metroplex. The pizza was your standard New York style big slice type, but was missing the “wow-factor.” The Mediterranean was definitely better than the plain cheese but didn’t make me want to rush back to Enzo’s any time soon. The highlight of the pizza was the crust, but we wouldn’t classify it as fantastic. It was a little crispy around the edge, but lacked any distinctive characteristics worth mentioning.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Final Report: 5.5 out of 10</span></b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We were really hoping that we would have stumbled across a little known pizza gem out here in our neck of the woods. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be surprised that that if by Christmas time this year you will find another listing on Craigslist for a “turnkey pizza business for sale” along with a handful of others in Parker Square.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-67557370836164304212012-01-17T22:20:00.000-06:002012-01-17T22:20:35.271-06:00Week 50: Pizza Villa<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbXQVykuypY15CC1oGcUrEofEJ_Zq_q4rxFHIgl14grGKwuOtbqY1S6rchEs2Bqm44Dhdlowt2sN57O5c7UU4dTGgyiiR-QOfXarQ_qMmVPJXkclQ6RGQ6UilyOblTaZDHIpmFblYa7k/s1600/photo_24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbXQVykuypY15CC1oGcUrEofEJ_Zq_q4rxFHIgl14grGKwuOtbqY1S6rchEs2Bqm44Dhdlowt2sN57O5c7UU4dTGgyiiR-QOfXarQ_qMmVPJXkclQ6RGQ6UilyOblTaZDHIpmFblYa7k/s320/photo_24.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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...</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcwGcCFwU51wM4sPJjwLBzoSk3WGZoQ_Y2xRFVFr_eRosOuOzBQlg5Vck8eKViMGaV2sNIyU06-KOxZcxQsWgIt4njkRAhNmqHXF6BijYsydTXxlM6KlpK-OBC7QDrjwPMHtBfNLksTs/s1600/photo_2_9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcwGcCFwU51wM4sPJjwLBzoSk3WGZoQ_Y2xRFVFr_eRosOuOzBQlg5Vck8eKViMGaV2sNIyU06-KOxZcxQsWgIt4njkRAhNmqHXF6BijYsydTXxlM6KlpK-OBC7QDrjwPMHtBfNLksTs/s320/photo_2_9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir7TzGLjk3JOYSN_j7q1kSpIiVuxU-qYM4vN80-dK_okurWD-wamW7oIHb2jpKSBtm0HYy66xL0QHL0MzT1CI2Tg5lKjuc3XosMbsCMP_XkBPr_vfNAiQJ3bbG-tz1CyYR1fCC48e0tyQ/s1600/photo_2_2_4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir7TzGLjk3JOYSN_j7q1kSpIiVuxU-qYM4vN80-dK_okurWD-wamW7oIHb2jpKSBtm0HYy66xL0QHL0MzT1CI2Tg5lKjuc3XosMbsCMP_XkBPr_vfNAiQJ3bbG-tz1CyYR1fCC48e0tyQ/s320/photo_2_2_4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Final Report: 7 out of 10</span></b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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!</span></span></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-38617008921866083042012-01-09T21:20:00.000-06:002012-01-09T21:20:16.893-06:00Week 49: Olivella's<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOK94zV2sqSAKHRJ7Y0UukUd49n2k7ZRAofyI8KGfrdL7_QTGwT6YPDotABI9OjXDkaEkmSXCYekrFpFYwfGAwiHtlAHGoJXewK60m_3E13RhQNruAVQMM5-ghR1_cFScTHcdie-ZBHQ/s1600/photo_2_3_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOK94zV2sqSAKHRJ7Y0UukUd49n2k7ZRAofyI8KGfrdL7_QTGwT6YPDotABI9OjXDkaEkmSXCYekrFpFYwfGAwiHtlAHGoJXewK60m_3E13RhQNruAVQMM5-ghR1_cFScTHcdie-ZBHQ/s320/photo_2_3_2.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Next time you are in University Park be sure to stop into Olivella’s. While it is not easy to find, it is certainly one you wont want to miss. After 12 months of eating pizza all over Dallas, it was refreshing to step through the doors of this small yet quaint pizza hot spot. We have finally made it down to some of our last stops of the 2011 pizza adventure, and Olivella’s was one we had been scoping out for almost a year. Sure we visited their other location NEO back in week 32, but we had to check out the original.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFx8-5QC6jSQCNU5t3RI19PzrsjSLzh-ToQLo-btkHxzuPD0wom7hEXS1nch4SxjJtJMatkzSbblk5Uri5FVluuFm447FaGjZjigRnHPxaxzFEyYdUp-4PBHf5_DhdkF4LoHb1YmRC3Y/s1600/photo_2_8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFx8-5QC6jSQCNU5t3RI19PzrsjSLzh-ToQLo-btkHxzuPD0wom7hEXS1nch4SxjJtJMatkzSbblk5Uri5FVluuFm447FaGjZjigRnHPxaxzFEyYdUp-4PBHf5_DhdkF4LoHb1YmRC3Y/s200/photo_2_8.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The restaurant was pretty full for a Thursday night, which was validation that Olivella’s was a local favorite. While it was not too busy, we were seated immediately at the table for two by the front window. I think you might be able squeeze 30 people inside the place, but it would definitely be a tight fit. Our server was quick and before we knew it we were sipping the house red wine while enjoying the “Insalata Di Olivella” (Mixed Greens, Pear, Walnut, and Gorgonzola). The salad was fresh and terrific much like the one we enjoyed at NEO. With about 20 different pizza’s to choose from it didn’t take long to select the Metro size (Feeds 2-3) of 1/2 Truffle and 1/2 Pulcino E Porco (aka- The Dream). </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It was certainly not an intentional decision, however as it turned we actually ordered almost the exact pizza during our visit to NEO back in August. The Truffle pizza came lightly drizzled with truffle oil, and was covered with mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella (no sauce). The crust was a work of art and the perfect combination of thin crispy edges with a slight chewy center. The Dream turned out to be one of my favorite thin crust pizza’s of the year. While I am generally not a fan of “spicy” food, it was topped with jalapeños and surprisingly the heat wasn’t too overwhelming. For those of you that can’t decide on one of the many pre-designed pizza, Olivella’s provides the option of over 30 toppings to match your tastebuds. The pizza looked big when it hit the table, 2 hungry pizza lovers could easily polish off the whole pie!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_EL0QN84mfIKgi1PSc5JjSomXRWvRfMdO62R6yzNh_5A7EV3c9OHXdDMEdShSmgqDIyzkfxhbMP5s1NciYxmpfUEl2kBBkaoZvBPbnSxtqjkmZ1ve5zeMehsPSLlTmvUBUGxwQCTt3s/s1600/photo_23_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_EL0QN84mfIKgi1PSc5JjSomXRWvRfMdO62R6yzNh_5A7EV3c9OHXdDMEdShSmgqDIyzkfxhbMP5s1NciYxmpfUEl2kBBkaoZvBPbnSxtqjkmZ1ve5zeMehsPSLlTmvUBUGxwQCTt3s/s400/photo_23_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our visit was short but sweet. The pizza cook time was lightning fast, and the tables continually stayed busy with pizza enthusiasts. We could only imagine how packed the place gets on weekends when SMU is in session. Overall the entire experience was terrific, the only downside we could think of was that if you had a party of 8-10 you would fill the entire restaurant. In which case we would suggest going to NEO; although the vibe is more modern and trendy, the pizza and menu are almost exactly the same, but the restaurant is MUCH larger</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Final Report: 9.0 out of 10</span></b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We could really get used to eating often at Olivella’s. The pizza, while delicious, didn’t leave us stuffed on our journey back home. If we lived in University Park we would probably visit daily between 2:30-5:30 when they offer a buy one Metro size, get one Metro size special!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSrSpRtEW7t3wMSpyUR6Lz0IpsTqgeYP2DiBXtUjAGhxUCIkSxY_Sul66pfAdxsBx3jTzS82B4hKAYubZ8ivy0b0VnboStY7CyAn_CKnCzaGQU7p0aXBLW5VynhNPNe2g3wWh5GEvveE/s1600/photo_23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSrSpRtEW7t3wMSpyUR6Lz0IpsTqgeYP2DiBXtUjAGhxUCIkSxY_Sul66pfAdxsBx3jTzS82B4hKAYubZ8ivy0b0VnboStY7CyAn_CKnCzaGQU7p0aXBLW5VynhNPNe2g3wWh5GEvveE/s320/photo_23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-37771505433206743482011-12-31T13:47:00.000-06:002011-12-31T13:47:14.520-06:00Week 48: Brother's Pizza <br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpWMbPlHLByDE9zoIPYKNbhWeVHoRry_lk2llxa6EHp1N4uNrLA4rX-C5PHzBNSojlly-A4qD2W1V7ct7nVrDrUGlXckeDFHVToKghyA0ZUDdsvxLxcg8u8XZQ3wHa9rfGsloS5U2rr4/s1600/DSC_0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpWMbPlHLByDE9zoIPYKNbhWeVHoRry_lk2llxa6EHp1N4uNrLA4rX-C5PHzBNSojlly-A4qD2W1V7ct7nVrDrUGlXckeDFHVToKghyA0ZUDdsvxLxcg8u8XZQ3wHa9rfGsloS5U2rr4/s400/DSC_0055.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Yes, we have fallen behind with our pizza reviews. No, we have not stopped eating pizza. With all of the yuletide cheer being spread around the house this year with family and friends in town, we took a brief vacation from the computer. So, first on our list of places we have been in the last 2 weeks is Brothers Pizza in Carrollton. This gem of an old school pizza parlor is on Whitlock Ln right off 35E. Once again we found ourselves in a location that was stopped by the hands of time. What appeared to be an old fast food restaurant remodeled many years ago, is now home to a delicious New York style pizza joint. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxl0mh6ej-wuYd0t7tMWUvcGDhZkmfnveOn6J9HgaEyGMC1dUPtP4KZNQ6mLiVd5bMgM_T7e1ic5sKzNZ3vmK4kQWD8JEN3_TKZqDwcxiqVW1WwawrLUOQjMwvd1k048TZK6Exnil03s/s1600/DSC_0056_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxl0mh6ej-wuYd0t7tMWUvcGDhZkmfnveOn6J9HgaEyGMC1dUPtP4KZNQ6mLiVd5bMgM_T7e1ic5sKzNZ3vmK4kQWD8JEN3_TKZqDwcxiqVW1WwawrLUOQjMwvd1k048TZK6Exnil03s/s1600/DSC_0056_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxl0mh6ej-wuYd0t7tMWUvcGDhZkmfnveOn6J9HgaEyGMC1dUPtP4KZNQ6mLiVd5bMgM_T7e1ic5sKzNZ3vmK4kQWD8JEN3_TKZqDwcxiqVW1WwawrLUOQjMwvd1k048TZK6Exnil03s/s320/DSC_0056_2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We pulled in after the sun had set but the green glow of the “Pizza Pasta” sign lured us in as we drove under the 35E overpass. The parking lot was empty and a few delivery cars were still warm from their last drop-off. This week’s order was straight forward and simple: Large 1/2 cheese and 1/2 “Brother’s Special” (Spinach, Fresh Tomatoes, Ricotta Cheese). The cashier helped us save some Christmas cash by suggesting one split pie instead of 2 smaller sizes. We grabbed a couple drink cups for the soda fountain and squeezed in a booth next to the old-time flat screen TVs (Yeah, the kind that were bigger than a compact car). Notwithstanding the TNT movie re-run, the eating area was perfect for a couple rowdy toddlers and two hungry parents. After a brief wait, the pizza was served and we dug in!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYI5d6PH2wcBWQA4Xt8__7TF8vtI3ifHzH-XIuEVHf5hkjCUd7S25n3Z68T_m740jIuuBraSZvhYl5dUWxVqaVpevNi5TTG9VbI9vHHst9cxKxF6G27QE-I-TKVVK3nQJ1VRX5RBg3QmI/s1600/DSC_0054_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYI5d6PH2wcBWQA4Xt8__7TF8vtI3ifHzH-XIuEVHf5hkjCUd7S25n3Z68T_m740jIuuBraSZvhYl5dUWxVqaVpevNi5TTG9VbI9vHHst9cxKxF6G27QE-I-TKVVK3nQJ1VRX5RBg3QmI/s320/DSC_0054_2.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The pizza was large and the 12 slices had the ever-so familiar NY style “droop” when lifted by the handle. In general the pizza was great. The crust had a slight chewiness and its size was not too overwhelming. The sauce and cheese on the kids 1/2 hit the spot and both kids devoured 3 slices (A new record for the year). The Brother’s Special also hit the spot and no left overs came home for the following day’s lunch. The spinach tasted very fresh and the ricotta was strategically placed not leaving a single bare slice. Overall a solid pizza at an affordable price (Our total was less than $20).</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Final Report: 6.5 out of 10</span></b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It was our first stop in Carrollton this year and we really enjoyed the pizza. We love seeing the older pizza restaurants still cranking out quality pizzas and fighting off the mass produced franchise garbage. If you live in the area this place deserves your business and if you don’t, then stop by the next time you are headed northbound on 35E.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Cb6N3C1q4Yvw2NMHQ7rKY1heKPR1hyWwNYm4dWx_29AZzwhg0cmw2rqo6Izft8G001A-Y9HyztVAPt8B150-pkUZpeni8Lf8dLZf6OIaGngLVGrTmwrz5H8wDoAVIMvGhK3BNZDA8hU/s1600/DSC_0059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Cb6N3C1q4Yvw2NMHQ7rKY1heKPR1hyWwNYm4dWx_29AZzwhg0cmw2rqo6Izft8G001A-Y9HyztVAPt8B150-pkUZpeni8Lf8dLZf6OIaGngLVGrTmwrz5H8wDoAVIMvGhK3BNZDA8hU/s200/DSC_0059.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-62772471798392793392011-12-18T22:06:00.000-06:002011-12-18T22:06:42.586-06:00Week 47: Zini's Pizzeria<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpRwBNjRI6txBSX1i9mkQw7JGJHVfw_JBksGPsJpT-SUK9Bb2BVWRQJ5ztOjdnDTMGGMaSWF4mfnakK02KCXRpZDPTrMsXW4bDwsuNAOfr0UpijSRSbVNUENxr7gs3z9iCc6Zwu9fB9Do/s1600/photo_17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpRwBNjRI6txBSX1i9mkQw7JGJHVfw_JBksGPsJpT-SUK9Bb2BVWRQJ5ztOjdnDTMGGMaSWF4mfnakK02KCXRpZDPTrMsXW4bDwsuNAOfr0UpijSRSbVNUENxr7gs3z9iCc6Zwu9fB9Do/s320/photo_17.JPG" width="264" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In 2011 we have had good pizza, average pizza, and bad pizza. Of course there have also been a few amazing pizzas. This week we had average pizza. To be quite honest it has been almost a week since we actually ate at Zini’s Pizzeria in Deep Ellum and we can barely remember it. Not a good sign if you are looking to create a loyal following in the Dallas pizza world. It was a Thursday night and on the way home from work it felt like a good night for pizza. Zini’s got the call primarily because it is less than 5 minutes from the office and we thought we’d give it a try. Located on Elm Street, about a block down from Serious Pizza and a couple blocks over from Il Cane Rosso, Zini’s definitely has some stiff competition in the area....</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thursday night didn’t pack the house at Zini’s. It feels like a place that you would end your night at after stumbling around the live music scene of Dallas. The location itself wasn’t unsanitary, but certainly wouldn’t win any honorable mentions for interior design or aesthetic appeal. Arriving a few minutes before the pizza was finished provided the opportunity to soak in the ambiance and even muster up the courage to brave the restrooms. The service was very kind and genuine and even seemed to be unfazed by the occasional hobo stopping in to purchase a can of soda. The order this week consisted of 2 pies: 1 small cheese and 1 Chicken Pesto Pizza (Grilled chicken and red onions with a pesto sauce). Our first choice was the Farmers Market (Fresh spinach, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and roasted corn) but due to a spinach shortage, the Chicken Pesto got the call. One other pizza on the menu worth mentioning was the 100 Pounder Pizza which includes 100+ pieces of pepperoni and 1LB of fresh mozzarella cheese. Overall, there were many specialty pizza choices; all in the $14 range.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLAMjMm8ztr7K9f-mZuM6HMK4JFROWiBKjwO9mpSQSygsrTKLHEOohRkP06_FcZavY-ZcEi1nhMdkz_NGd_o4OsfWjcmXsbU1SuvvDd41_DZDVD4M-6KG2aPoG5B7jNXBcMUYJYaaMHA/s1600/DSC_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLAMjMm8ztr7K9f-mZuM6HMK4JFROWiBKjwO9mpSQSygsrTKLHEOohRkP06_FcZavY-ZcEi1nhMdkz_NGd_o4OsfWjcmXsbU1SuvvDd41_DZDVD4M-6KG2aPoG5B7jNXBcMUYJYaaMHA/s320/DSC_0013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After a standard drive home through Dallas “rush hour” traffic, the pizzas were unboxed on the family dinner table. The cheese look and tasted much like any other average cheese pizza we have had this year. It probably could have been pulled from the oven 3 minutes earlier, but overall tasted fine with a nice touch of seasonings on top. The crust although tossed and stretched by hand, had the perfect look of a frozen pizza. The taste was far superior to a frozen pizza but the perfection of the round pizza felt manufactured and not homemade. The Chicken Pesto also could have been pulled from the oven a few minutes earlier. Being the better of the two pizzas, the pesto sauce was delicious and the chicken was grilled to perfection. There could have been about 1/2 the red onions, but considering it was our second choice we enjoyed it anyway. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQ5o0x2mZ9p3KcErkr9grueUE_cDVtmdu0rbt21jE0oVQHYaQPN1Lt01FD8xyszkwyAiaOe8kXoWh22eMatc1joEHnj8nadgYuh7IhKCJ1ug3yfAYXXqevYZgiocPYfCdWe-zPD5tio0/s1600/DSC_0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQ5o0x2mZ9p3KcErkr9grueUE_cDVtmdu0rbt21jE0oVQHYaQPN1Lt01FD8xyszkwyAiaOe8kXoWh22eMatc1joEHnj8nadgYuh7IhKCJ1ug3yfAYXXqevYZgiocPYfCdWe-zPD5tio0/s320/DSC_0015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The Final Report: 6.0 out of 10</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Zini’s Pizzeria sells an average pizza, but it is far better than your franchise pizza chain. We would have never stumbled in the doors if it wasn’t for our pizza blog, and we’re glad that we checked it out. Thousands of Dallas families stomach $5 garbage delivery pizza each night while places like Zini’s take the time to offer something better. Sure Zini’s doesn’t compare to some of our favorites this year, but pizza lovers need to get out and support their local pizza restaurants and try something new. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Any suggestions for where we should check out next?</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyQtj36-N0PzI-q_XobilC1z7m5Kp4GiMFDGoJmVV3OwJB1VTRTmVr1L-W2ZIpKFrpTD9hpixp9vc8OiJP43u9wZpzXTbBCZxm9N97jIWd2Qn_agKO_batKUV29FVQRpiA2Gl4XN5OR8/s1600/DSC_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyQtj36-N0PzI-q_XobilC1z7m5Kp4GiMFDGoJmVV3OwJB1VTRTmVr1L-W2ZIpKFrpTD9hpixp9vc8OiJP43u9wZpzXTbBCZxm9N97jIWd2Qn_agKO_batKUV29FVQRpiA2Gl4XN5OR8/s320/DSC_0016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-69674981086305127062011-12-10T11:39:00.000-06:002011-12-10T11:39:59.556-06:00Week 46: Atomic Pie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrZoouVHFhXdKu_XRUMvIx5aTdiHjeB0Y7OLkDAFrs_EtwYx0xS-ueW6lN7IHV-R9gKuCGrqUq3SNQrVUhnzxFm0hmuJ-WEuFxSozh2yFT2EQYNzCHCJEpMKjYSaEDmwtW3aGRvzUojY/s1600/photo_4_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrZoouVHFhXdKu_XRUMvIx5aTdiHjeB0Y7OLkDAFrs_EtwYx0xS-ueW6lN7IHV-R9gKuCGrqUq3SNQrVUhnzxFm0hmuJ-WEuFxSozh2yFT2EQYNzCHCJEpMKjYSaEDmwtW3aGRvzUojY/s320/photo_4_2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You've heard many times, "it's a marathon and not a sprint." And that's what we told ourselves when this journey started back in January. Now here we are, December is in full swing and we're heading down the home stretch of our 2012 pizza adventure. It was Sunday around lunchtime and we had just spent our morning freezing and wet at the Dallas White Rock Marathon. After finishing the half marathon, nothing sounded better than hot delicious pizza! This year we've had Extreme pizza, we've tried Serious Pizza, and now we were ready for Atomic pizza. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0851mAJkDR2CiR4QZoxdAQ7AbebnzR1Mp_zNG-AbRNH-DAqDZLDV1awrgMf7Ub9EGDvDwa6ZaldXvOFQlVxUhNqi4Da9rFnNoLhi3BuJaGnkxtq6OeqOPwH73sc7ZyIzk-Z8PIGOX0I/s1600/photo_3_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0851mAJkDR2CiR4QZoxdAQ7AbebnzR1Mp_zNG-AbRNH-DAqDZLDV1awrgMf7Ub9EGDvDwa6ZaldXvOFQlVxUhNqi4Da9rFnNoLhi3BuJaGnkxtq6OeqOPwH73sc7ZyIzk-Z8PIGOX0I/s320/photo_3_2.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The weather outside was rainy and cold as we pulled up in front of Atomic Pizza at 11:45 AM on Sunday. Unsure of what time they were planning to open I gave the door handle a tug and they were closed. Quickly an employee ran to the door and mentioned they opened at noon, but we were more than welcome to come inside and eat. (Score one point for Atomic Pizza). We all piled out of the car and made our way into the small eating area of about a half dozen tables, and placed our order. The menu was very simple; in addition to the basic toppings they also had a list of about 5 specialty options. We ordered a small cheese pizza and a medium 1/2 “the garden hippie” (Mushrooms, Onions, Green Peppers, Black Olives, Artichokes, Tomatoes, and Spinach) and 1/2 “the power of the people” (Sausage, Salami, Canadian Bacon, Breakfast Bacon, Hamburger, and Pepperoni). Since we were the first ones at the restaurant we were told pizzas would be out in 15 minutes. The restaurant location was hidden back in an old Lake Highlands shopping center on the corner of Walnut Hill Lane and Audelia Road.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The pizza was hot out of the oven in 15 minutes and before we knew it we were staring at 2 beautiful oval pizza’s. This marked the 3rd time this year we were served an oval pie. Honestly, the small 2-3 bite slices go down quick and before you know it half the pizza is missing. The cheese pizza was good and on par with an iFratelli pizza. The crust had a little more to offer but overall not as good as fellow oval pizza maker</span></span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fxHa7g3x82vn1deH0TAnWZXRVUJVH-olojw-NNeKVhH8RZIzhINY0e8avRcTd62FyWL1iIo9ye1dBnQlizZA_p3f5lecHFUoaZDLrDjv1mFOzqJke7Aw4FrpijIKkHEwAtsrcjL882w/s1600/photo_15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fxHa7g3x82vn1deH0TAnWZXRVUJVH-olojw-NNeKVhH8RZIzhINY0e8avRcTd62FyWL1iIo9ye1dBnQlizZA_p3f5lecHFUoaZDLrDjv1mFOzqJke7Aw4FrpijIKkHEwAtsrcjL882w/s320/photo_15.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdY5r3kKbbadO8fzekdnDKNmteTZkgRb7q3nFioK4v8fAqR4NCDpUFW2UttUOcZu_17jxpQES7Naz_QMJNAniM8vOPY1_RYjKcOfvc3YS6oZm7JjlyGgnE9tSFeoXytnHxZJdr6RJDij4/s1600/photo_2_7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdY5r3kKbbadO8fzekdnDKNmteTZkgRb7q3nFioK4v8fAqR4NCDpUFW2UttUOcZu_17jxpQES7Naz_QMJNAniM8vOPY1_RYjKcOfvc3YS6oZm7JjlyGgnE9tSFeoXytnHxZJdr6RJDij4/s320/photo_2_7.JPG" width="259" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Campisi’s. The specialty pizzas were works of art... The pizza was loaded with tons of fresh toppings on both the meat and veggie sides. Once again right in the middle between iFratelli’s and Campisi’s. The highlight at Atomic Pie was the customer service. Long story short, after completing the White Rock half marathon in the cold pouring rain the guy behind the counter could see that a fresh bowl of tomato basil soup at no charge would really hit the spot. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The Final Report: 7.0 out of 10</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In a time where there are pizza restaurants on every corner there has to be a differentiating factor. Sure, the pizza was good at Atomic Pie but was on par with <b>many </b>places we’ve been this year. However, the little things like opening 15 minutes early or providing a bowl of soup had us leaving back for home with a good taste in our mouth. (Pun Intended). </span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-39746862467515414332011-11-28T17:03:00.001-06:002011-11-28T17:19:53.512-06:00Week 45: Mama's Pizza<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlq076AHj_ytcaAy5nKiDeV8M-BLEFm6c9SYF1LzurVE8BbLL1kLLQifhu_dAcwgyTyUtfgq8Lx29XkUAhkwb03Zn-rM6lzUZOvYIfztn3wGFXAsKez5tmVIO5At33bOt6yQdwbuYYS_I/s1600/IMG_7467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlq076AHj_ytcaAy5nKiDeV8M-BLEFm6c9SYF1LzurVE8BbLL1kLLQifhu_dAcwgyTyUtfgq8Lx29XkUAhkwb03Zn-rM6lzUZOvYIfztn3wGFXAsKez5tmVIO5At33bOt6yQdwbuYYS_I/s320/IMG_7467.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Thanksgiving leftovers are all gone and the Christmas decorations are up. Its really hard to believe that we ate pizza every week for the last 11 months. We are finally down the home stretch and with only 1 month left we have several local favorites left on our list. This week we decided to see what Mama’s Pizza was all about. With many locations scattered throughout the metroplex and countless years of award winning pizzas, we thought it was worth a try. Starting back in 1968 Mama’s Pizza has been an institution in Ft. Worth and during the last decade, franchises have been popping up everywhere from Burleson to Plano.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2LQ0H9IMD1WLpHnvaXHGWiHC0x_pfLmLpUxhO68ALbvy2MWNfRPdb4WLMM7GqCh5qhUrRtdQetzM11f5sSYp_xCvJxQjmO2uG5J-7Zwf83vqxgq3CtlSrd1xOD-FnX6tmrREz0jV2Rg/s1600/DSC_0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2LQ0H9IMD1WLpHnvaXHGWiHC0x_pfLmLpUxhO68ALbvy2MWNfRPdb4WLMM7GqCh5qhUrRtdQetzM11f5sSYp_xCvJxQjmO2uG5J-7Zwf83vqxgq3CtlSrd1xOD-FnX6tmrREz0jV2Rg/s320/DSC_0118.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2LQ0H9IMD1WLpHnvaXHGWiHC0x_pfLmLpUxhO68ALbvy2MWNfRPdb4WLMM7GqCh5qhUrRtdQetzM11f5sSYp_xCvJxQjmO2uG5J-7Zwf83vqxgq3CtlSrd1xOD-FnX6tmrREz0jV2Rg/s1600/DSC_0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It was lunch time and we were tired of eating left over turkey sandwiches, so we picked up the phone and ordered a pizza to pick up from Lewisville location. The online menu was simple and straightforward with 15 toppings to chose from on 5 different size pizzas. Since it was only lunchtime and our appetites were small, we ordered a large (Serves 2-3) half cheese and half tomatoes and fresh garlic. We were told that the pizza would be ready in 10 minutes, so I hopped in the car and headed out.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mama’s Pizza is tucked in an older strip mall and would have been easy to miss if we hadn’t been driving past it almost daily for the last 7 years. It was surprisingly busy at lunchtime, and clearly the crowd wasn’t there to enjoy the original 1970’s decor and atmosphere. Apparently the pizza buffet is a big draw.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmlAaNiQMBHqpf8etIak65aHWOPhKeu0nP2ddhM9AUb8jzsbPO48D506l2vDmjJJb6Qcf20CpLnzgrVrRaSzRbKraiY1CcUHsdEE5ujXjFUsAKOnb1voImLIzPLNwraGWOLgqhxbjP24/s1600/DSC_0121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmlAaNiQMBHqpf8etIak65aHWOPhKeu0nP2ddhM9AUb8jzsbPO48D506l2vDmjJJb6Qcf20CpLnzgrVrRaSzRbKraiY1CcUHsdEE5ujXjFUsAKOnb1voImLIzPLNwraGWOLgqhxbjP24/s320/DSC_0121.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The toppings, sauce, and cheese of our pizza were underwhelming. With a similar taste and quality of any fast franchise pizza, we weren’t excited. The distinguishing factor of Mama’s pizza is the crust. After 45 weeks, we can absolutely say that we’ve had nothing like it. The crust is shiny and dense and almost identical to an unsalted concession stand pretzel. We almost wanted to tear it off and dip it in mustard to see how it compared. That being said, pretzel pizza is not really our cup of tea, and although we were hungry enough to devour the whole pie, we probably won’t be rushing back anytime soon.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The Final Report: 5.5 out of 10 </b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you want to try a crust like you’ve never had, then check it out - otherwise, don’t set your expectations too high.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqW5GDt0OGtlBpCLX4ymwWu4926XJ-q3qOAgBbz1Ib5xZ7dc9AkTtmr-uvc5pWH2R-P7Q2qkC6GhwHoVD91G5P5rHqzHHHa1cSzDcNg5Ax5WRI2cwxpRiGSPoVIQ5znx-AHux9wZ2b9hY/s1600/DSC_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqW5GDt0OGtlBpCLX4ymwWu4926XJ-q3qOAgBbz1Ib5xZ7dc9AkTtmr-uvc5pWH2R-P7Q2qkC6GhwHoVD91G5P5rHqzHHHa1cSzDcNg5Ax5WRI2cwxpRiGSPoVIQ5znx-AHux9wZ2b9hY/s320/DSC_0115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-42798028477532492622011-11-21T22:43:00.000-06:002011-11-21T22:43:28.491-06:00Week 44: Piggie Pies<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1_9FUbn21QDp5A3_Y66lv65fOkZgiKTzQFtmAvaNjdLF0KIq-EYpAQWWgtValX6mF1kkEjMYT2i-oxfbbSkNWNPE_yIB6eRd6Th8fksvJGzHmdKRMtATfaChvDzyrhaXKO-WsT8utCk/s1600/IMG_7460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
<img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1_9FUbn21QDp5A3_Y66lv65fOkZgiKTzQFtmAvaNjdLF0KIq-EYpAQWWgtValX6mF1kkEjMYT2i-oxfbbSkNWNPE_yIB6eRd6Th8fksvJGzHmdKRMtATfaChvDzyrhaXKO-WsT8utCk/s400/IMG_7460.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This week we decided to get away from upscale fancy pizza and set out in search of some good old “sloppy” pizza. It didn’t take long to decide, and with a name like Piggie Pies, we knew we were headed to the right place. Located on the Northwest corner of the Greenville Avenue and Lovers Lane intersection, Piggie Pies has been serving up award winning Dallas pizza for many years. With many of Dallas’ favorite pizza spots in close proximity, you know the pizza here has to be good... At least we hoped.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJA9hH0whibcVTGrdV2iJ5wmBp6kXXaE8UA8C72l6cZEXoZ3oS_oqfQJqyv6fOPcqkDjjlcNJLNBTVSax91C0A4oTwUfjs0MNW_FXAS3bFkCYqYVURqQnTHttAoVfQvcOp9n3nPk-eD_k/s1600/photo_14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJA9hH0whibcVTGrdV2iJ5wmBp6kXXaE8UA8C72l6cZEXoZ3oS_oqfQJqyv6fOPcqkDjjlcNJLNBTVSax91C0A4oTwUfjs0MNW_FXAS3bFkCYqYVURqQnTHttAoVfQvcOp9n3nPk-eD_k/s320/photo_14.JPG" width="231" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">With only a few weeks left in our 2011 adventure our “to-eat” list is running tight and since we’ve been to most places near our house we needed to get creative. On the ride home from downtown back up to Denton County, we called in our order for pick up. The number of Gourmet Pizzas on the menu was promising although it did make it hard to narrow down our choices. We ended up picking two 12“ pies ($28 Total), one with cheese and half sausage, and one gourmet half Original BBQ Chicken (BBQ Chicken, Fresh Mushrooms, Purple Onions and Cheddar Cheese) a</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">nd half Pizza al Pesto (Homemade Pesto, Grilled Chicken, Onions, Red Bell Peppers, Mozzarella, Cheddar, and Parmesan Cheese). By no means an easy choice with 16 gourmet options to choose from and 26 additional topping choices. The pizza was just coming out of the oven when I walked in the front door. It appears that most patrons use the pick up or delivery option. While there are 8 tables in a small dining room it really doesn't provide much atmosphere for a night on the town. </span></span></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The pizzas smelled great and I wasn’t a half block from Piggie Pies before the smell in my car had completely taken over. After a few miles passed, I gave in and cracked open the box along the Tollway and enjoyed the first bite of the Pesto slice. Delicious. The pizza lived up to our expectations and was “sloppy” (in a good way). The crust was light and slightly chewy, not thick but not thin. The toppings and sauce were more than necessary, but tasty on all 4 pizza types. The low point was probably the sausage pizza and the highlight was the Pizza al Pesto. While the BBQ Chicken Pizza was by no means bad, it was nowhere near our favorite this year. </span></span></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXI79dbOffoJFBINM3r1Tk2mYuJBKc_kdbb2X4snLSXxiVo8KEuH-ze7C_m3zoeMgryW7QYIh3D7BM4BUMGoY7IrtSE-JRgy4bLJjb0tR7n6VlywZaVSM-qfZC0KnKVbRc7ZN42k-U2I/s1600/IMG_7465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXI79dbOffoJFBINM3r1Tk2mYuJBKc_kdbb2X4snLSXxiVo8KEuH-ze7C_m3zoeMgryW7QYIh3D7BM4BUMGoY7IrtSE-JRgy4bLJjb0tR7n6VlywZaVSM-qfZC0KnKVbRc7ZN42k-U2I/s320/IMG_7465.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></b></span></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Final Report: 7.0 out of 10</span></b></span></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In general, Piggie Pies offers a good pizza. It is certainly superior to your standard chain pizza factory and most independent kitchens. The problem for us is that it didn’t offer enough to be worth an hour round trip from our house. We probably won’t be going out of our way to eat here again, but if you live in the neighborhood it is definitely worth a visit.</span></span></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfj9gtRnElq6D5AAmW1wZdlG-GAJZ1hgI2Jzph0SoGiDkVLVUirm3fUjFlMSEBuyIo_kPnl2aAb3ZAom7ENceX3ZuZhJW9_hOPVEdcKE56PmlgiAfZQxyEDoYMZDnRqy5qQF070HgpOs/s1600/IMG_7463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfj9gtRnElq6D5AAmW1wZdlG-GAJZ1hgI2Jzph0SoGiDkVLVUirm3fUjFlMSEBuyIo_kPnl2aAb3ZAom7ENceX3ZuZhJW9_hOPVEdcKE56PmlgiAfZQxyEDoYMZDnRqy5qQF070HgpOs/s320/IMG_7463.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #000100; font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-57085516654684218002011-11-14T20:44:00.001-06:002011-11-15T10:44:29.874-06:00Week 43: Dough Pizzeria<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1KndBmLymZPMGg7pCCKzGHwj9OG03DpSnTXorFqmQOWioa3pj0bk2xUCrFLZ_KhbsR31aFFSS499WYAa8LQbdl6yO8_7Tw-nAqHPUi1UzGm98rfLrJAqwvtdYMwOJcQKD8u8XMFDCdc/s1600/DSC_0004_5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1KndBmLymZPMGg7pCCKzGHwj9OG03DpSnTXorFqmQOWioa3pj0bk2xUCrFLZ_KhbsR31aFFSS499WYAa8LQbdl6yO8_7Tw-nAqHPUi1UzGm98rfLrJAqwvtdYMwOJcQKD8u8XMFDCdc/s320/DSC_0004_5.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">After 42 weeks of searching the Dallas Metroplex for the best pizza, I believe we found it. Sure it was way back during Week 4 when Grimaldi's in Allen knocked our socks off, but Dough Pizzeria in North Dallas might have taken the top spot. After suffering through a few weeks of average pizza, nothing could have prepared us for what was in store at Dough. There have been several places this year that have been memorable and down right delicious, however we will certainly be returning often to enjoy this Napoletana pizza heaven.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrhkwirl0kM3Jwkj9z-P3xbaqfIBCCSLe1HwTdN5yjqJhgBaiGh_BDMF5wacSoAOJXeGqan2g40g0COk70EGxdWXpl_DCQEWibXqSyhpLVUIkPuVMwrWFsAgMJxceWLGcQMDXuvIY8Hk/s1600/DSC_0007_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrhkwirl0kM3Jwkj9z-P3xbaqfIBCCSLe1HwTdN5yjqJhgBaiGh_BDMF5wacSoAOJXeGqan2g40g0COk70EGxdWXpl_DCQEWibXqSyhpLVUIkPuVMwrWFsAgMJxceWLGcQMDXuvIY8Hk/s320/DSC_0007_3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">The restaurant is beautiful and comfortable inside with a modern decor that felt like you were sitting in a Crate and Barrel catalogue. From the outside the location was hidden in a strip center away from the main street (Preston). We beat the rush on Friday night and fortunately had no wait before being seated in the front by the window. Our waiter didn't miss a beat and made us feel like we were his only table for the night. As I fumbled through the mostly Italian wine list the waiter suggested a few to try before we committed to a final choice (Score one point for the free wine samples.) We decided to split the Tuscan Salad which was very good, however my memory of the salad was erased after I sunk my teeth into the pizza...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4sSvlkrEavhh05FwB_vLgTZ_YizGP01FyUHFboIOYiMWAthuX5YMNnTOat1GWYoq7s5uqku-pctBtos5jPYd95royMgz_wB1LyShxZtoM-gXbUpHAs5Zwka8ixMvnvrHVIHnfBYZ4Gg/s1600/DSC_0009_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4sSvlkrEavhh05FwB_vLgTZ_YizGP01FyUHFboIOYiMWAthuX5YMNnTOat1GWYoq7s5uqku-pctBtos5jPYd95royMgz_wB1LyShxZtoM-gXbUpHAs5Zwka8ixMvnvrHVIHnfBYZ4Gg/s320/DSC_0009_3.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">The pizza order was tricky. We really wanted to try every option, including the evening special, but since this place is "certified" by the Italian pizza aficionados (See We</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">ek 3: Cavalli Pizza), we had to get the Margherita "STG."** For our second pie, there was no doubt in my mind. Although my lovely wife won't touch bacon or any pig product for that matter, I had to put my foot down and order "Pork Love." When reviewing a pizza I try to come up with things that I didn't like about the pizza and in the case of "Pork Love" my list was empty. First of all, the crust was hands down the best of 2011. The chewiness of the dough combined with the light charring from the wood fire oven was perfect. Next, the house made Fior di Latte cheese was flawless. Finally with a name like "Pork Love" you better believe that the 4 different types of pork (Salami, Sausage, Pancetta, and Speck) covered every inch of the pizza. Needless to say I didn't share my pizza and there were no leftovers for the morning. Oh yeah, the Margherita wasn't too shabby either and probably our favorite of the year. We opted for no dessert or coffee so we could savor the pizza experience for as long as possible, although the "Dolcé" menu did look tasty.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>The Final Report: 9.5 out of 10</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZ3F1flDuXjgn-tXqlC1B8FWwgg2I2nBb-rnPld9nijYJ4kxCRCCF7REd8-gH4ADyrfyAaQyz7EuclQtdmZD-hoziK9Nnj55iPDIlzinxLSm1upBAmPEDaQugqF5Q4E48pD7S8XB4Hnc/s1600/DSC_0008_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZ3F1flDuXjgn-tXqlC1B8FWwgg2I2nBb-rnPld9nijYJ4kxCRCCF7REd8-gH4ADyrfyAaQyz7EuclQtdmZD-hoziK9Nnj55iPDIlzinxLSm1upBAmPEDaQugqF5Q4E48pD7S8XB4Hnc/s320/DSC_0008_3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">After a long discussion on the ride home we concluded that Dough was very close to perfection. The only criticisms we had were that the pizzas were definitely the most expensive of the year, but still worth every penny and that we live 20 miles away. After an experience like we enjoyed at Dough, next week's location certainly has some big shoes to fill!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">**After further research, only the Dough Pizzeria location in San Antonio was officially certified by the VPN. This however, does not take away from the great pizza served at the Dallas location.</span><br />
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</span>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-74638423388182876172011-11-06T13:15:00.000-06:002011-11-06T13:15:37.560-06:00Week 42: Sfuzzi <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgoq0BbgqO3qEqLmZfjT-LNiyb7lcBpZRQCJbgcqFuB1LksEyqNC_MJACw3s1CQs1vaR4AWFWU_V2NEDNudkeRx0S-mY9cwb7q_1y9aSVl_cUceXOe29vR4TPtKnfeDjnwvUPh5VU2IM/s1600/DSC_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgoq0BbgqO3qEqLmZfjT-LNiyb7lcBpZRQCJbgcqFuB1LksEyqNC_MJACw3s1CQs1vaR4AWFWU_V2NEDNudkeRx0S-mY9cwb7q_1y9aSVl_cUceXOe29vR4TPtKnfeDjnwvUPh5VU2IM/s200/DSC_0045.JPG" width="200" /></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">There are only 10 week's left in our 2011 tour of Dallas/Ft. Worth pizza. We still have a short list of must-visit places, and Sfuzzi was one of them. As it turns out, Sfuzzi opened up a second location in Las Colinas about two weeks ago. Apparently the location has had a bad string of luck trying to stay in business, but with the success of its Dallas location, this isn't Sfuzzi's first rodeo. Located right off the 114, the restaurant is huge. With 3 full Bars, 2 huge patios, and multiple dining areas, Sfuzzi is prepared for success (and lots of customers). We figured we'd check it out and packed up our wagon and headed to Irving for some pizza!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOovZkLH1GP9PUuKFwG7UW8wRMSZj6Fprqix2nzVudAtSvRzrZpNerB7lsz0IkqRgv5sTO9q9wsKdyy0vx-bMlsU61sK6iWPR57wdxlYHGraff8TMm2LhPuGfheq1eJkQ8kLTOW6mV8YU/s1600/DSC_0056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOovZkLH1GP9PUuKFwG7UW8wRMSZj6Fprqix2nzVudAtSvRzrZpNerB7lsz0IkqRgv5sTO9q9wsKdyy0vx-bMlsU61sK6iWPR57wdxlYHGraff8TMm2LhPuGfheq1eJkQ8kLTOW6mV8YU/s320/DSC_0056.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Our first impression was how large the restaurant was, but also how beautiful the place was. We were immediately greeted by the manager when we walked through the front doors. Being a Sunday night, the place wasn't that busy and we were seated quickly. The menu included many options and the specialty pizzas were hard to narrow down. Out of sheer curiosity, we picked a pizza called the "Texas Farm Raise Eggs an Bacon Pizza" which was topped with strips of bacon and 2 sunny-side up eggs. On the other half of out Metro size pizza was "Organic Veggies" ( Seasonal Vegetables, Cherry Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese). We also ordered a regular size Margherita pizza to keep the kids happy and also to check out the basic pie.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfsC4hlFl9EkHA5xf8LBLHPIF47l_Nk3WqwRkuIiUKOINoXQu706FI-P8puYqvAkoCXTTgTSlbBMRPaoL4cLIDIW4lblJ02BDLtg9pLKQoNAh_mbUjclBwsUsOVlXkQQFd_AjJxT8Sh10/s1600/DSC_0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfsC4hlFl9EkHA5xf8LBLHPIF47l_Nk3WqwRkuIiUKOINoXQu706FI-P8puYqvAkoCXTTgTSlbBMRPaoL4cLIDIW4lblJ02BDLtg9pLKQoNAh_mbUjclBwsUsOVlXkQQFd_AjJxT8Sh10/s320/DSC_0047.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">While we waited for our pizza the manager once again made a point to swing by the table and strike up a conversation. Unlike your typical visit from the manager, this one felt genuine and we got some inside scoop on the location and it's plans to expand for the Las Colinas lunch crowds. Pizzas were quickly out of the wood fire oven and covered almost all of our table. The pizza was a visual work of art, and it was the first time we have ever seen two eggs laying on top of our pie.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Fresh out of the oven all three pizzas were delicious. The Organic Veggie side was covered with goat cheese and a good variety of fresh vegetables that tasted great. The egg pizza was interesting. Not a bad pizza, but after all was said and done I would have ordered a different type. The toppings were freshly cooked but placed on top after the pizza baked, making it a challenge to eat. Certainly a unique idea, but we're surprised to hear that it was one of the most popular choices. Finally the Margherita pizza was exactly what we expected. It had a great wood fired crust and a generous sprinkling of fresh cut basil. Our only complaint was that as the pizza cooled off it went from great to ok. When it was hot out of the oven, the pizza captured our attention, but as it cooled, the crust lost its good texture and turned chewy and almost hard to eat.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexvXJnDXl7c-90egohzNayxZkQ0qqyIhUgMxBBVdaIyMELOosFqAEQmXHa1DZkMBD3t8M0p0KG8THVH0vkktKBEUTLlfwsGhGialt2v4izVdUb1V3dGIyKqAYIn_USguPOsRZWTCZkj8/s1600/DSC_0046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexvXJnDXl7c-90egohzNayxZkQ0qqyIhUgMxBBVdaIyMELOosFqAEQmXHa1DZkMBD3t8M0p0KG8THVH0vkktKBEUTLlfwsGhGialt2v4izVdUb1V3dGIyKqAYIn_USguPOsRZWTCZkj8/s320/DSC_0046.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>The Final Report: 7.0 out of 10</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Overall Sfuzzi is a cool location that should bring in the crowds. Definitely, a place to hang out and have a drink or stop by for a full dinner. The pizzas were great, the service was great, and the location was fantastic!</span><br />
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</div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-21960086667282929512011-10-31T16:49:00.000-05:002011-10-31T16:49:26.566-05:00Week 41: Patrizio<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpYl6EQxuHkq5ODYxwFRinknEH1Mll_BuvjasWzwILUYaJgA67r_dAvhNMOI5VGCA7DdnATKJl1sMM1fJm30zVxO5XCTpEqYkbc2DJmt8LKyVlBogXKNAjWF4HAc_DVqw97uYpZBDwC4/s1600/DSC_0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpYl6EQxuHkq5ODYxwFRinknEH1Mll_BuvjasWzwILUYaJgA67r_dAvhNMOI5VGCA7DdnATKJl1sMM1fJm30zVxO5XCTpEqYkbc2DJmt8LKyVlBogXKNAjWF4HAc_DVqw97uYpZBDwC4/s320/DSC_0218.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Family was in town this week and we can think of no better way to share time together than around the dinner table. After careful review of close-by restaurants and reader input we decided to try Patrizio’s. With a total of 6 locations around the Dallas Metroplex we opted to to stay close and try the Highland Village location. While it wasn’t our first visit to Patrizio’s, it was our first time to try the pizza. Located in the beautiful Shops of Highland Village, the restaurant had an elegant dining area and felt borderline “fancy.” The upscale ambiance would be appropriate for a date night location but also very appropriate for kids of all ages (crayons not included).</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3vV3B46h2TrDQD2iOum3ydJTa4a8rbQObGnM4sl0YP2ATJXoE7Uzf5TlrKANaXKA4UELneY8Pl5fQtupfKHyJaCHiSXBc-UuGHSP6VIW-054kN-ueiaetUw3PhYZ1g34mTmeQ31InLE/s1600/DSC_0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3vV3B46h2TrDQD2iOum3ydJTa4a8rbQObGnM4sl0YP2ATJXoE7Uzf5TlrKANaXKA4UELneY8Pl5fQtupfKHyJaCHiSXBc-UuGHSP6VIW-054kN-ueiaetUw3PhYZ1g34mTmeQ31InLE/s320/DSC_0219.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">One thing to note immediately was that while the sign stated “Pizza, Pasta and Vino” this is definitely an Italian restaurant that offers pizza, and not a pizza restaurant. This is a fine distinction that must be noted. Many pizza places we’ve been to this year just so happen to offer Italian style dishes as an afterthought. Patrizio’s felt as though Italian dishes were the focus, while the pizza was the afterthought. Everyone at the table ordered some type of pasta or salad and I decided to try the specialty pizza. Unfortunately, because it was on the inserted Specials Menu, I have no idea what it was called. Imagine a pizza covered in shrimp, broccoli, mushrooms, red peppers, and corn... Certainly an unusual selection of toppings, and therefore I requested to have one half of the pizza meatballs and black olives. The additional toppings section on the menu consists of 17 different choices all for an extra $1.79. The pizza comes in one size and will cost you $10.70 (with no toppings).</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRiglXjLVn3VA2WC4G9z4R_D-M3g8chTAXd2vItfTeglwC65F7k-fcyjP9Jr2qgoiJiKHGS53sfWNsznDSB6EPNPmuCKhv6wSMq8EBD-cM95zthVFV4lKLpjgcerYhNqToz9iEfHDDiM/s1600/DSC_0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRiglXjLVn3VA2WC4G9z4R_D-M3g8chTAXd2vItfTeglwC65F7k-fcyjP9Jr2qgoiJiKHGS53sfWNsznDSB6EPNPmuCKhv6wSMq8EBD-cM95zthVFV4lKLpjgcerYhNqToz9iEfHDDiM/s320/DSC_0221.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The waitress brought out a table full of delicious pasta and salad plates and I got to enjoy the pizza all by myself. One thing I quickly noticed was that the entire pizza was the specialty pizza and half included my meatballs and olives. My hope was that it would be split 50/50 which made for a very interesting 1/2 pizza with EVERYTHING. The waitress was very apologetic and offered to make a whole new pizza, but we declined due to the fact that the kids were getting a little restless... Overall the pizza was good, not great, but good. I would defiantly not get the shrimp specialty again and stick to the more standard offering. The crust was relatively thin and almost had a buttery cracker flavor to it. The toppings, although not what I ordered, were fresh and plentiful.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b></b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Final Report: 6 out of 10</span></b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Patrizio’s is certainly a place that we would recommend if you are looking for a nice Italian restaurant. That being said, it probably wouldn’t make the top of our list if we were going to point you in the direction of delicious pizza. The wine was good. The salad was good. The pasta was good. The pizza was OK. </span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-77459770074265059212011-10-26T21:18:00.000-05:002011-10-26T21:18:46.949-05:00Week 40: Extreme Pizza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhUfv5t3jmh46LplgmNAMJFLuTPfiQf5UV-tqZc_yYcxbu4mNi9-Ld84sZK2dGhmt4YBZgKytJSNTPVKsLN564NOxfEAvx7Dyq57ZygeBYtuZfh3Y9cBxpk0WigfWFwaJlZKNIKC9nIc/s1600/DSC_0002_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhUfv5t3jmh46LplgmNAMJFLuTPfiQf5UV-tqZc_yYcxbu4mNi9-Ld84sZK2dGhmt4YBZgKytJSNTPVKsLN564NOxfEAvx7Dyq57ZygeBYtuZfh3Y9cBxpk0WigfWFwaJlZKNIKC9nIc/s200/DSC_0002_3.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Time flew by this past week, but we always make time for pizza. As we head down the home stretch of 2011 - finding pizza locations has become slightly trickier. For our adventure this week we were looking for something, shall we say, "extreme." With what feels like a pizza chain on every corner, one way to distinguish yourself is with the name. If you find yourself staring at list of a bunch of restaurants chances are it's name will be what draws you in. We found ourself in that exact situation last week, and Extreme Pizza got the call solely because of our curiosity in the restaurant's name...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BjAqwzHyWjeqHUvrPx8nQtCWeivjmSrxC8n7EuKOn9oPpZQTLhxGqAENc_Zlt1BJEXky6BIY5Dt5WcOVpqILUxV6yzNREgvqnDmvQRAQp6o5j8qAJY7rF-oE0tPI-wvE2fE6gIiMio8/s1600/DSC_0004_4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BjAqwzHyWjeqHUvrPx8nQtCWeivjmSrxC8n7EuKOn9oPpZQTLhxGqAENc_Zlt1BJEXky6BIY5Dt5WcOVpqILUxV6yzNREgvqnDmvQRAQp6o5j8qAJY7rF-oE0tPI-wvE2fE6gIiMio8/s320/DSC_0004_4.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Tucked in the upscale neighborhood of the Park Cities we saw more Bently's and Ferarri's drive by than the past 40 weeks combined. The location looked the part with an "extreme" interior design and pizza menu. The place was empty and we got our order in right away. Because of all the options we got a little carried away with the toppings. On the meatless pizza we chose 1/2 Pandora's Box (Spinach, Artichoke Hearts, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Feta, Fresh Garlic and spices) and 1/2 Peace In The Middle East (Hummus, Tomatoes, Olives, Onions, Feta, and Pepperoncinis). On the second medium pizza we picked 1/2 Ragin' Rooster (BBQ Chicken, Red Onions, Fresh Cilantro, Cheddar and Mozzarella) and 1/2 Everest (Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Salami, Ground Beef). We also threw in a small cheese to keep the little ones happy. Our total for the order, including 2 Brooklyn Lagers totaled just shy of $50. Considering we got 3 "extreme" pizzas and some drinks the price was slightly higher than average, but not by much.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">We grabbed a spot on the patio and enjoyed the people watching while we waited for the food. Being the only customers in the place on a Monday night, the food hit the table after a short wait and we begun our analysis....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">Without diving deep into each pizza style, here are the main points: the topping combos were tasty and unique; the crust looked and tasted pre-made (although we actually saw it being hand stretched); the over all quality of cheeses, sauces, and toppings was high; it had more of a lunchtime "pizza by the slice" vibe rather than a family dinner night out location... Overall the presentation gave you the feeling that it was a higher end "franchise" pizza joint.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The Final Report: 7.0 out of 10</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;">We have less than a dozen pizza visits left this year. It's hard to believe that we're almost done. Let us know which places we have missed so we can squeeze them in before we get to 2012. Thanks!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigReVT14cZmITaSxf3r4QSzYnZR_cdqTcyqHZHN6kHMkKzRk48XZE6IPu665nrmDfsLFOMpit6uO33fCZr8bHBs9-XSQwpSN3KRLJVWJym55zwSYMMOP-zIfAQ9HVhdSJ91FqT4j9l49A/s1600/DSC_0005_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigReVT14cZmITaSxf3r4QSzYnZR_cdqTcyqHZHN6kHMkKzRk48XZE6IPu665nrmDfsLFOMpit6uO33fCZr8bHBs9-XSQwpSN3KRLJVWJym55zwSYMMOP-zIfAQ9HVhdSJ91FqT4j9l49A/s320/DSC_0005_3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-15148178792132351352011-10-17T22:36:00.000-05:002011-10-17T22:36:56.677-05:00Week 39: Domino's Pizza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUtC5dFD6WuoIA0nybofoAotXVdtwXUInwTZBBHk6fTPHOBOqQpc2xpCZ-U7z5qhKUTj-yycDvT84tJZlW9BdbMUaqVdsXU7H2nDbB8S0f1Vc0e9I1GkyGlra1ZiqxKLhbXvuv0eXI2A/s1600/DSC_0001_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUtC5dFD6WuoIA0nybofoAotXVdtwXUInwTZBBHk6fTPHOBOqQpc2xpCZ-U7z5qhKUTj-yycDvT84tJZlW9BdbMUaqVdsXU7H2nDbB8S0f1Vc0e9I1GkyGlra1ZiqxKLhbXvuv0eXI2A/s320/DSC_0001_3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So this week we cheated. At least we feel like we did. Sitting on the couch, watching football, slowly growing more and more hungry, the same commercial kept popping up. Domino’s is REALLY trying to sell their new “Artisan” pizza! We had a busy week and we thought - why not? Let’s see what they consider “<i>artisan</i>.”</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We hopped on the Domino’s website, entered our online coupon code and ordered the Italian Sausage & Pepper Trio and the Spinach & Feta, plus one small plain cheese for the girls. As the website showed us the progress of our pizza being cooked, we jumped in the car to pick it up, only 5 minutes from our house.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30TfGdmwXgHPfMCVLd4aVcfr1BxoXMp6puJY-kvwtFoWaLenNPc6uH3cJF7mxWw39knpWcl-Y5jWVt98AQtNr63HLZtxhHMxlDUHtqBV8Xitz-xIu-klSmXTJbhR5MHWvK5MflNjYEBY/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30TfGdmwXgHPfMCVLd4aVcfr1BxoXMp6puJY-kvwtFoWaLenNPc6uH3cJF7mxWw39knpWcl-Y5jWVt98AQtNr63HLZtxhHMxlDUHtqBV8Xitz-xIu-klSmXTJbhR5MHWvK5MflNjYEBY/s320/DSC_0010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Artisan pizzas were pretty cheap - $7.99 for each, although they really got us with the plain small for $8.99 (really!?!) They were fast, and their website ordering is actually really fun... but guess what... Domino’s Artisan pizza is still Domino’s, just in a new shape. The crust is the same, the toppings might be in a different combination, but they are the same too. It is a step above DiGiorno, but not by much. Don’t be sold by the creative looking chef in the commercial; it is still delivery, it is still Domino’s, and although your kids might love it (ours did) you definitely don’t get any of the originality, flavor, or freshness of a truly good pizza.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74yMJFLb-zy0hccEw0PcD41K80aXeIZ8VXQn851NHxKYX0f9e7nihhnID3m_exmtQgfG3tw0mdEX5U8hNU_fUOtjz2_Dvt4mc5f9fsaJcA9VD_KhZvA6UBTl8GWcn3lrUIFetRslwQ9U/s1600/DSC_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74yMJFLb-zy0hccEw0PcD41K80aXeIZ8VXQn851NHxKYX0f9e7nihhnID3m_exmtQgfG3tw0mdEX5U8hNU_fUOtjz2_Dvt4mc5f9fsaJcA9VD_KhZvA6UBTl8GWcn3lrUIFetRslwQ9U/s320/DSC_0011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Disappointed?... a little. Surprised?... not really.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The Final Report: 5.0 out of 10</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you must order from Domino’s - skip the Artisan pizzas and stick with their thin crust, it’s actually fairly decent. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCjn5R5jazx90iKC2IDGmZ2UW6DI3kZpJH3LmFe_WrxRRGRAx7OYEuCC8HO2KDvHYQyS5o2W2vzhklgR3363Lxjq2pXcUKycdEuQTal6Jo4znzOHXwrY0OCNUunZSAciAgczAdq_dIWA/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCjn5R5jazx90iKC2IDGmZ2UW6DI3kZpJH3LmFe_WrxRRGRAx7OYEuCC8HO2KDvHYQyS5o2W2vzhklgR3363Lxjq2pXcUKycdEuQTal6Jo4znzOHXwrY0OCNUunZSAciAgczAdq_dIWA/s200/DSC_0012.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-9292282702049500642011-10-10T20:28:00.001-05:002011-10-10T20:33:46.708-05:00Week 38: Celio's Chicago Style Pizza<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoc9mUqbAtnsvLHEvbMMq4jDCia-QYuWJ7mtdWnkHT__-LgKMMz2yFuuw_85Hu5MDI8Gm-b2sDk2WWAukJzqoAm7UABdVZCy1tt4KuZ9cXqMCFcyCZW7aJIeIsI5-ZoYvFotanSlY2GsM/s1600/DSC_0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="71" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoc9mUqbAtnsvLHEvbMMq4jDCia-QYuWJ7mtdWnkHT__-LgKMMz2yFuuw_85Hu5MDI8Gm-b2sDk2WWAukJzqoAm7UABdVZCy1tt4KuZ9cXqMCFcyCZW7aJIeIsI5-ZoYvFotanSlY2GsM/s400/DSC_0053.JPG" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">All year, one of our goals has been to find real authentic Chicago style pizza. We continued our search this week after Google informed us there was a Chicago pizza place called Celio's in Keller (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #009933; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><a href="http://www.celioschicagopizza.com/">www.<b>celios</b>chicago<b>pizza</b>.com</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">). We have been to a few impostors and a couple that really hit the Chicago mark. Like any style, we have found many variations - so we thought this week we would measure Celio's and catch some Rangers baseball while we're at it...</span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">First of all, the location is not very easy to find. Tucked back away from Keller Parkway behind the Lions Club, we passed right by and had to make a u-turn. The bar area looked packed with baseball fans and we were greeted by what appeared to be the owners sitting outside enjoying the cool fall evening. We headed over to the dining area away from the bar where we had the entire place to ourselves. The walls were decorated with Chicagoland maps where patrons had placed a sticker to show where they were from. A little "hole-in-the-wallish," this place definitely had a Chicago feel almost 1000 miles from the Windy City.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNifBv5eRoF7UYkkSNHoeBswltXyoimAOFyXR2F2aw8OvfdK3BkMwPMlY5az0p2SHWaTKtdX58bQquqlK88jJkEFCD8nd8JiexvHH-XKjLzufGhCFpTgFu_OsKnj5X-KkAc_n-YI1H9ZY/s1600/DSC_0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNifBv5eRoF7UYkkSNHoeBswltXyoimAOFyXR2F2aw8OvfdK3BkMwPMlY5az0p2SHWaTKtdX58bQquqlK88jJkEFCD8nd8JiexvHH-XKjLzufGhCFpTgFu_OsKnj5X-KkAc_n-YI1H9ZY/s320/DSC_0052.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">We came for one reason and one reason only: to try the deep dish pizza. The owner stopped by to introduce herself and explain that the pizza was a mix between Giordano's and Lou Malnoti's (if that doesn't mean anything to you, Google it). So with our hopes and expectations sky high we placed our order and began our wait. True Chicago Pizza will take quite a bit longer than your standard cook time, but we came prepared to wait. After about 30 minutes and a tasty $3 draft, our pizza was hot and on the table. Our first impression was slight disappointment. Chicago Pizza should be covered with a beautiful red sauce with a crust handle peaking high above the toppings. Celio's had tomatoes sprinkled on towards the middle, but was far from a red sauce covered pie. One half of the pizza was covered with veggies and the other half was a meat lover (Large Deluxe Pizza cost $18) . The taste of the pizza was good but nowhere near the Giordano's/Lou Malnoti's mentioned during our order. The crust was average and was thick on one side and much thinner on the other. Another true test was that we almost finished the entire pie, which is near impossible with authentic Chicago Style pizza.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<b>The Final Report: 6.0 out of 10</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">The staff at Celio's was very accommodating and filled with Chicago pride. They certainly earned extra credit for keeping the Chicago Style theme alive in DFW. The menu also included Chicago Hot Dogs and Italian Beef sandwiches. Our guess is that Celio's gets packed when the Bears/Cubs/Blackhawks/Bulls are playing. The hunt for delicious Chicago Pizza in Dallas/Ft. Worth will continue, Celio's didn't quite measure up to Chicago's Street Pizza (<a href="http://thedeepdishdfw.blogspot.com/search/label/Chicago%20Street%20Pizza">Week 11</a>) or Chicago's Pizza Cafe (<a href="http://thedeepdishdfw.blogspot.com/search/label/Chicago%20Pizza%20Cafe">Week 24</a>) but was WAY better than Chicago's Gourmet Pizza (<a href="http://thedeepdishdfw.blogspot.com/search/label/Chicago%20Gourmet%20Pizza">Week 20</a>). </span><br />
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</span>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-53349367580663764902011-10-02T14:05:00.000-05:002011-10-02T14:05:11.632-05:00Week 37: Maurizio's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVz5h9LozHPj-_gPa0OxpUE-WcfpqiH5cUQYFXI4U4dJIaGQ-r2QPGmsHJRicsrvbmChubxI-6N2rSrhuHQtrAAHH49_UeKHYf5dwX_kWGS2um0D_gcA5NBbF8vy2YaYT32gspXxcdqd4/s1600/DSC_0029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVz5h9LozHPj-_gPa0OxpUE-WcfpqiH5cUQYFXI4U4dJIaGQ-r2QPGmsHJRicsrvbmChubxI-6N2rSrhuHQtrAAHH49_UeKHYf5dwX_kWGS2um0D_gcA5NBbF8vy2YaYT32gspXxcdqd4/s320/DSC_0029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you are looking for delicious pizza in the city of Coppell you can drive right past Maurizio’s on the corner of Denton Tap Road and Sandy Lake. There aren't many "non-franchise" choices in the area, but we thought we'd experiment this week by trying it out. Simply put, there was nothing that stood out as memorable. It was Homecoming night for Coppell HighSchool and a few tables were taken, but other than that, the place was dead for a Saturday night. The menu had several Italian staples which we steered away from, but there were a handful of pizzas listed on the centerfold.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TJQhqPOsjYMFnoKToBbPpvhxpbvwvkHC288JajJ2_fbt5ownF9yU8aQWuJ8LT03Ukp9ynipvv_8JLQTw08cWR9vXA0vSudroz8t1bpOTTCNLzs5t1AigfnlvX0CA2XsGsGz4Wfzqcd0/s1600/DSC_0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TJQhqPOsjYMFnoKToBbPpvhxpbvwvkHC288JajJ2_fbt5ownF9yU8aQWuJ8LT03Ukp9ynipvv_8JLQTw08cWR9vXA0vSudroz8t1bpOTTCNLzs5t1AigfnlvX0CA2XsGsGz4Wfzqcd0/s200/DSC_0030.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our waiter took our order, and we kept it simple by ordering a Margherita pizza, a “Verdure” pizza, and Bruschetta to start. The appetizer was four slices of bread covered with tomatoes and some seasonings. While it wasn't bad, the effort was pretty weak and something that could easily have been prepared by our 4 year old. After a short wait our $10 pizzas emerged from the kitchen. Unlike Campania last week, the amount of "fresh" basil on this week's pizza was 6 small flecks evenly spaced, one per slice. The Verdure pizza was almost as creative, their idea of seasonal vegetables was a nonchalant attempt to dump canned mushrooms, artichokes, and others carelessly across the surface of the pizza. Everything about the experience was average at best, and the service - while not inconsiderate, was non-existent.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bAM7iO5LlvN7NQzvr5MymIG7WvEP75Xk2fMfj02oV6wKXROayFdFEb3r2SYFc_2xXlMGvfr2-WAldZLW_u-nPopyW0OEE7yK9Q5BjtQXMljJQeX1d3rbQemPRDM6PZ-7wS_k0o1sTEs/s1600/DSC_0031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bAM7iO5LlvN7NQzvr5MymIG7WvEP75Xk2fMfj02oV6wKXROayFdFEb3r2SYFc_2xXlMGvfr2-WAldZLW_u-nPopyW0OEE7yK9Q5BjtQXMljJQeX1d3rbQemPRDM6PZ-7wS_k0o1sTEs/s320/DSC_0031.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The Final Report: 5.5 out of 10</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The pizza at Maurizio’s was certainly edible, but absolutely not worth a return visit. Cavalli's is just 5 minutes south on Denton Tap (Beltline Rd) across 635, and they'll make you a pizza worth talking about....</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2PY23OdhcdgkLpstKYkXAGSGkTDU9IdUFtbZhZDc3dhXhc6fRjJRujkKbNftD0r8BO2-nEyD3eiyjhrdh8kzbdohsVE1cN8-Gf_OfSfWqs5xn3tByIXBujlD_RRGttfxbwsEnl5etrk/s1600/DSC_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2PY23OdhcdgkLpstKYkXAGSGkTDU9IdUFtbZhZDc3dhXhc6fRjJRujkKbNftD0r8BO2-nEyD3eiyjhrdh8kzbdohsVE1cN8-Gf_OfSfWqs5xn3tByIXBujlD_RRGttfxbwsEnl5etrk/s320/DSC_0032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-24039618484008632102011-09-25T20:33:00.000-05:002011-09-25T20:33:12.274-05:00Week 36: Campania Pizza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBOr7UQ_yv9BXtfXuCgTn9Pe8Mz5SSRTRNZQo3joWU2qshYu0nTPBdwe5VfYjxrAfUrq-3ph1BFcZsIMFTwa9QVr8XgArfIrvZ6J182dPgDmB0s-k9tJj0hy57X5kYsC7VrnfSVSPq5w/s1600/photo_2_2_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBOr7UQ_yv9BXtfXuCgTn9Pe8Mz5SSRTRNZQo3joWU2qshYu0nTPBdwe5VfYjxrAfUrq-3ph1BFcZsIMFTwa9QVr8XgArfIrvZ6J182dPgDmB0s-k9tJj0hy57X5kYsC7VrnfSVSPq5w/s200/photo_2_2_2.JPG" width="158" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">This week we were back in Dallas and looking forward to going to Southlake Town Center to try Campania (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.campaniapizza.com/">www.campaniapizza.com</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">). First of all, we love heading to Southlake to visit the Town Center and were excited to see what "The Original Italian Pizza" tasted like. After winning several pizza awards, we figured this place could be a contender. Well. We enjoyed our evening out, but Campania left us wanting more. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">First of all the location is beautiful. A three story building that is within walking distance of some of the finest retailers in North Texas, and also a beautiful movie cinema. On the first floor, the restaurant has a well stocked bar and two wood fire pizza ovens. The second floor has a wine bar and the roof top is an outdoor patio ready for live music. Overall the restaurant is over 6,000 square foot, and is covered in Italian Mosaic tiles. Needless to say, Campania is a prime location for a date night!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNx56HkZl3LJveWvPWWMp4IMF8KQyg_UhLJlKbxtDGGIWQLtCgFBqoIRKMf2CszG52yoMpjsRDCbbn3fHveJa4kricmAMv_6MGJNQsJet0_MXfvTOEZJcOEwofowNSwWq-90mdi-KSKU/s1600/photo_2_6_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNx56HkZl3LJveWvPWWMp4IMF8KQyg_UhLJlKbxtDGGIWQLtCgFBqoIRKMf2CszG52yoMpjsRDCbbn3fHveJa4kricmAMv_6MGJNQsJet0_MXfvTOEZJcOEwofowNSwWq-90mdi-KSKU/s200/photo_2_6_2.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">The pizza selection, in our opinion, was just alright. Sure, they had several toppings for a build your own pizza, but the specialty pizza choices were pretty weak. We decided to keep it simple and stick to the basic Margherita pizza with a focaccia bread and house salad to start. This pizza prices were fairly reasonable and fit in line with what we have experienced so far this year (PIZZA PRICES). The focaccia bread emerged first out of the oven... It was the thinnest focaccia bread we had ever seen. Imagine a thin cracker covered with olive oil and Italian spices. It had a good flavor to it, but was a little too thin for our liking. The house salad was nothing special, however we appreciated that the waiter was able to split the smaller size into two plates.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">After we cleaned up on the appetizers out came out main course... The large Margherita pizza. The pizza was fairly large and pretty thin. The top was covered with fresh basil that you could smell from the center of the table. After we all enjoyed a couple slices we stopped for a status update... Good but not great. Campania served up a good pizza, but there was nothing, besides the basil, that stood out. Not a bad pizza by any means, but not one you would find yourself dreaming of nights later.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHlfa5M6DU7ZSAkagyEZmevFCfqowkwf7nf4PFG4vyD8BWyJJIgdXKmyFVsaShqgbyP68NV0TonDgqqX_Cd1zttphe4NIWGje9LWzTXN8DXEoB_4lMLF_q8b2BNapZ28jcyr25uPi-lc/s1600/photo_20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHlfa5M6DU7ZSAkagyEZmevFCfqowkwf7nf4PFG4vyD8BWyJJIgdXKmyFVsaShqgbyP68NV0TonDgqqX_Cd1zttphe4NIWGje9LWzTXN8DXEoB_4lMLF_q8b2BNapZ28jcyr25uPi-lc/s320/photo_20.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>The Final Report: 6 out 10</b></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Campania offers a beautiful atmosphere with great friendly service. The menu has far more than just a pizza, but if you are in the area, its worth the 1 minute drive across the street to enjoy a superior pizza at Coalvines. If you are looking for a pizza and drink before walking to the movies, Campania isn't a bad choice....</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOGNsvqHH6J_4Vls-A8jCOBkZlsaGGTlrJPQSzieLqviIUcljEnq5s24wtN_IwNb27NXHPXZg9LqNhAtp6bhTElrva7_MHLiG_ChbNkTlpiIsbRmAJx_EodnFE3X8MBD2iTsHNt8QpIk/s1600/photo_3_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOGNsvqHH6J_4Vls-A8jCOBkZlsaGGTlrJPQSzieLqviIUcljEnq5s24wtN_IwNb27NXHPXZg9LqNhAtp6bhTElrva7_MHLiG_ChbNkTlpiIsbRmAJx_EodnFE3X8MBD2iTsHNt8QpIk/s320/photo_3_3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-29777013523481717282011-09-16T22:10:00.000-05:002011-09-16T22:10:27.970-05:00Week 35: The Elf's Den<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQbC5jdjsGSA_kzWegKBmsTHCv7neSlTAeyA6ORal1NRG3SOXcxPm7mbyh1gHoniN5Hjl33_DjMKPYf-mRXLSfHDQ_vre2KwsZOR6BbfHiO2ByfSl_IRWK9AwOQO4tQuENV7aHQJjlu8/s1600/DSC_0240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQbC5jdjsGSA_kzWegKBmsTHCv7neSlTAeyA6ORal1NRG3SOXcxPm7mbyh1gHoniN5Hjl33_DjMKPYf-mRXLSfHDQ_vre2KwsZOR6BbfHiO2ByfSl_IRWK9AwOQO4tQuENV7aHQJjlu8/s200/DSC_0240.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Believe it or not, this week we found ourselves in the North Pole across the street from Santa’s House at the Elf’s Den. While this might seem like a complete lie, the truth is our family was in Alaska this last week on vacation. Although we might have been far away from Texas, we didn’t miss a chance to try a new pizza. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In a tiny town 10 miles from Fairbanks, AK called North Pole, AK, the Elf’s Den is one of the only “non-chain” pizza restaurants around. We had a 30 foot RV filled with 7 hungry people. After a short drive from Santa’s House (<a href="http://www.santaclaushouse.com/">www.santaclaushouse.com</a>), we pulled into the Elf’s Den. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUyUQsC7BhkxghVltp8W41sSiGTYD1AL1h_JG8sSdG1jnctqqzU88aAEvx4PLoaMdDUMsC46RviJcfzk5NQ38j5xui3KswC3LOP6q12pnvAd6QXJSJtCcw5LB9gzY8z2hKHBb37poXbM/s1600/DSC_0244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUyUQsC7BhkxghVltp8W41sSiGTYD1AL1h_JG8sSdG1jnctqqzU88aAEvx4PLoaMdDUMsC46RviJcfzk5NQ38j5xui3KswC3LOP6q12pnvAd6QXJSJtCcw5LB9gzY8z2hKHBb37poXbM/s320/DSC_0244.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The restaurant was exactly what we expected to see in a town of 2,226 people 3,800 miles from Dallas. The interior design needed a few upgrades, but overall provided a warm atmosphere for our weary travelers. Our eyes proved to be bigger than our stomachs when we ordered two 18” pies to-go. We ordered 1/2 Cheese, 1/2 Hawaiian Deli, 1/2 Meatlovers, 1/2 Frosty Combo (Grilled Chicken, Mushrooms, Alfredo Sauce). The pizzas were $26.50 a piece, which would be considered high-end, except for the fact we were in the middle of nowhere. As it turned out we would have enough pizza for the following 4 days...</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There was a small mix up on the pizza order and we were about to pack up the RV for our next destination when we realized we only got the Frosty Combo and Meatlovers. I went back into the “Den” and the waitress apologized for the mixup and cooked us an additional cheese pizza at no cost! Needless to say we had enough pizza to feed the entire town. While waiting for the 3rd pizza, I uncovered the true gem that is the Elf’s Den. Downstairs, below the dining room, was a small lounge/bar filled with local patrons sipping cold drinks while watching our beloved Dallas Cowboys. So, while we didn’t eat at a local Dallas Pizza restaurant, the Elf’s Den made me feel at home while I watched the hometown football team.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUl6-6lsZoy29YKAHEsSLaO3r7mPqIjErhvvtQ6a0tJ2seCEe5-uPT2U5no-6nq7TugECZawbdo98wIxxsuvFfrR0xMHpI7tb5XWyG_L74534PG9ZTopTL5VRnv9KVcsea2jy7vbxtnGM/s1600/DSC_0246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUl6-6lsZoy29YKAHEsSLaO3r7mPqIjErhvvtQ6a0tJ2seCEe5-uPT2U5no-6nq7TugECZawbdo98wIxxsuvFfrR0xMHpI7tb5XWyG_L74534PG9ZTopTL5VRnv9KVcsea2jy7vbxtnGM/s320/DSC_0246.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While you will almost certainly never eat a pizza at Elf’s Den in North Pole, AK, it was a delicious break from the standard camping food we had been eating. The crust was homemade from scratch and the toppings were plentiful. To give you a real glimpse of the Elf’s Den check out the video Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on Food Network (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_z9QqsoNMQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_z9QqsoNMQ</a>).</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The Final Report: 5.5 out of 10</b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If the Elf’s Den was located in Dallas/Ft. Worth it probably wouldn’t measure up to most of the restaurants we have visited this year. However, while on our family vacation we enjoyed trying some Alaskan local pizza and staying on track with our 52 week pizza adventure! We are back in Dallas next week and looking forward to being home... </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHw6KRoz-Vde6NcH0NxCE5eGViOc-Zs1IlWEd1-gqjm5OFtzGexhwyl8tZfAM0E3AxcVj8Enw0dxf0sw3bXFIxLGL0IA_qkmM1htQqliz5X8fB-iNVn5LUltm7IXkGKw1G2y5mSOY_Zg/s1600/DSC_0239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHw6KRoz-Vde6NcH0NxCE5eGViOc-Zs1IlWEd1-gqjm5OFtzGexhwyl8tZfAM0E3AxcVj8Enw0dxf0sw3bXFIxLGL0IA_qkmM1htQqliz5X8fB-iNVn5LUltm7IXkGKw1G2y5mSOY_Zg/s320/DSC_0239.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-7337999619678300692011-09-04T14:46:00.000-05:002011-09-04T14:46:51.653-05:00Week 34: Nick's Pizza & Pasta<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgi0dY7lfK3JbGNt7b7iDbMG5RydhRRhQDNxICXa8orFhUxy4HR8UlAeoboA48v2Yk3pJ9QqYQPjJz7TQerl4irHsCUiYnY6vLtsvlf0uK7ZG2lG77SG0N9PhFCYVqRmJHgWsq3kc9FE/s1600/DSC_0001_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgi0dY7lfK3JbGNt7b7iDbMG5RydhRRhQDNxICXa8orFhUxy4HR8UlAeoboA48v2Yk3pJ9QqYQPjJz7TQerl4irHsCUiYnY6vLtsvlf0uK7ZG2lG77SG0N9PhFCYVqRmJHgWsq3kc9FE/s320/DSC_0001_2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ever since 1994, Nick and his family have been baking up pizzas and Italian food in HIghland Village. Voted the Best of Denton County in 2003 and 2004, we thought we should check out Nick’s and see if he still had some good stuff! Located on FM 407 right off 35W, Nick’s Pizza, Pasta and Subs (<a href="http://www.nicks-pizza-pasta.com/"><span style="color: #2400a9; letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">www.nicks-pizza-pasta.com</span></a>) finds it’s home tucked in an inconspicuous strip mall suffering from the economy and newer development in Highland Village. With all of the competition and economic woes, Nick’s has stood the test of time and for very good reason... They’ve got great pizza and a family atmosphere.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlfErxQPje2jyBbjCVx4Ch2yhiGK5ftMPqpjLU1bH5mjF6ziYYhP7EzllanOsqkfavlMs5qkRHL0B9B7afIvqvovLamKopfZbp-5Vd6Gz_B3373cf3uBzru9ZamUQ6yxkbzFe3iWqj4k/s1600/DSC_0003_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlfErxQPje2jyBbjCVx4Ch2yhiGK5ftMPqpjLU1bH5mjF6ziYYhP7EzllanOsqkfavlMs5qkRHL0B9B7afIvqvovLamKopfZbp-5Vd6Gz_B3373cf3uBzru9ZamUQ6yxkbzFe3iWqj4k/s320/DSC_0003_2.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We showed up in the early evening on a Tuesday and got greeted by Nick himself and what appeared to be a joyful staff of family and friends. In a day when its tough to get good service, this place gets it right on the money with good old fashioned hard work and hospitality</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> We stepped up to the counter to place our pizza order and grab our number. The dining area was a perfect size with an open feel and a couple flat screen TVs. We ordered a basic small pizza for the kids with half pepperoni and a small white pizza with fresh tomatoes for the grown-ups. Nick’s has a FULL menu of other Italian classics, but we were here for the pizza!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4mBL9SKoyIDvA7YGqDzke5J5gR7KGsxzPouNTKwsPpynixYtp7jnKp69lObv1NpJqx_wQkKV7Be6YBCYmVUVXpSGMtH7iUCmBgSu2IAyvwZ4NLx1Steo4SwG3DwGBXVFhPWPvX-2wxc/s1600/DSC_0004_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4mBL9SKoyIDvA7YGqDzke5J5gR7KGsxzPouNTKwsPpynixYtp7jnKp69lObv1NpJqx_wQkKV7Be6YBCYmVUVXpSGMtH7iUCmBgSu2IAyvwZ4NLx1Steo4SwG3DwGBXVFhPWPvX-2wxc/s320/DSC_0004_2.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The garlic bread came out of the oven fast and was about as close to home cooking as you can get. Covered with fresh garlic and cheese the basket of bread didn’t last long. Fortunately the pizzas were not far behind. We intentionally ordered two different types of pizza to get a feel for the place, and got two different results. First the white pizza was FANTASTIC. I can’t pinpoint what exactly it was, but the crust was terrific. It had a light floury taste to it but also had a chewiness that was memorable. The ricotta cheese on top was not overwhelming and the additional tomatoes added a little extra substance. Overall a very good pie, and one of my favorites in the Flower Mound/ Lewisville area. The regular cheese and pepperoni pizza was also good, but did not blow my socks off. A pretty average pizza with a NY style similar to other places we've visited this year. In a few weeks I’ll definitely be remembering Nick’s White Pizza, but not really the “other” one.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiC9hXHCQIuP1SwL2-uGfhMCT80W9fkwn5BbNmPpInBzB0vSoGtjZBbW60jZrnbg5n-wW0QgVbiZg2hdx9Ni7ekZNjwOX-ubrSmpH7SOrMnTn2eVuYGDyUk7MYVU4OmRjIkWzvY3xzy2k/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiC9hXHCQIuP1SwL2-uGfhMCT80W9fkwn5BbNmPpInBzB0vSoGtjZBbW60jZrnbg5n-wW0QgVbiZg2hdx9Ni7ekZNjwOX-ubrSmpH7SOrMnTn2eVuYGDyUk7MYVU4OmRjIkWzvY3xzy2k/s320/DSC_0005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nick stopped by the table a couple times and made you feel like you had been there a thousand times. He even took the time to chat about his family and you could tell he loved what he was doing. As other patron stopped into the restaurant he would greet them all, and many by their names. Nick’s personality and commitment to his work was certainly something that stood above most of the places we’ve stopped by this year! About the time we were going to get up to leave he even offered to bring out free Italian Ice for the girls... With two cups of pink ice cream, Nick know’s how to keep the kids coming back for more!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Final Report: 7.0 out of 10</span></b></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">With almost 20 years of experience in Denton County, Nick’s Pizza rises to the top. It wasn’t the best pizza so far this year, but certainly worth the visit if you are in the area. We would recommend it over any pizza place that we have been to in Denton County this year! </span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-83731421688480473772011-08-27T20:34:00.000-05:002011-08-27T20:34:17.065-05:00Week 33: Straw Hat Pizza<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcRFuyktlhPtcdSY_9rxzn9pQbYjb-4rVxYzMAcitLiAdU-T9QWs2Z-a_mm8qAtdHqtGgO9ojSm4FP-IgdC9nVMWR4Xm9Tnkf0xYd0hlQC3dhVP1WI7Hn4pdpioluO_EkxeaEyk7Oeu4/s1600/IMG_7442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="52" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcRFuyktlhPtcdSY_9rxzn9pQbYjb-4rVxYzMAcitLiAdU-T9QWs2Z-a_mm8qAtdHqtGgO9ojSm4FP-IgdC9nVMWR4Xm9Tnkf0xYd0hlQC3dhVP1WI7Hn4pdpioluO_EkxeaEyk7Oeu4/s320/IMG_7442.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“Genuine California Pizza”... That was the tagline on the pizza coupon we received in the mail this week for a new restaurant that opened in our area. Having never heard of this style of pizza before and being the pizza “aficionados” that we are, it seemed like a logical place to check out this week. It turned out to be date night with my daughters and we were off to Straw Hat Pizza. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My mother once told me if you can’t think of anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. In order to avoid the shortest pizza review of the year, I’ll attempt to provide as much detail as possible.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Straw Hat Pizza was awful. Even my 4 and 2 year old wouldn’t eat it. The entire experience was terrible. Except for week 9 at Crooked Crust in Denton, Straw Hat Pizza takes the prize for the worst pizza this year. While I wasn’t expecting award winning pizza going into the evening, nowhere in my mind did I fathom that it could be that bad. The pizza at Straw Hat makes Ci-Ci’s and Domino’s taste like five star dining. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAdRViPWXF94unLRg8uK3X6JGqb80y_n7EqFa4l5QkwcAKLM4znNqeGYGxXjjbISHStskiszgqjTaRO076x0-gx00Z2zEhfrAoiLneP5yp8DI88sw-qEAg82cMEGkzX25jwdnIZ4npgE/s1600/IMG_7444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAdRViPWXF94unLRg8uK3X6JGqb80y_n7EqFa4l5QkwcAKLM4znNqeGYGxXjjbISHStskiszgqjTaRO076x0-gx00Z2zEhfrAoiLneP5yp8DI88sw-qEAg82cMEGkzX25jwdnIZ4npgE/s320/IMG_7444.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The dining area appeared to be well kept, and each table booth had a flat screen TV installed (although there was no way to change it from Hurricane Irene coverage). There was a game room in the far back corner fully equipped with 3 video games circa 1992. The restaurant did offer a full bar, but there wasn’t enough beer on tap to make Straw Hat’s pizza taste good. The pizzas were priced a little on the high side: 12” One-Topping for $13. The menu did offer 13 different “Master Pizzas” which increase the price by roughly $4. The crust comes in 3 styles: California, Pan Pizza, and Gluten Free. I did not specify a crust selection during the order, but I believe we were given California crust. The crust tasted and looked like your basic grocery store frozen pizza crust (Not “self-rising”). Their website defined the crust this way; “</span><span style="font: 12.0px Arial; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">California crust is special, it’s a layered, flaky crust. It’s airy and crispy on the bottom, yet bubbling on top. It has a cracker-like crunch, and is never soggy or limp.”</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> It sounds to me like the marketing department needs a raise, and it is obvious they haven’t actually tried the crust themselves. The six California cheese blend was slightly burnt throughout, while the “secret recipe” sauce is a secret I don’t want to find out. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vt2O-OBmTg0ek41XJYvMTqOoOmurmCK2c1gosr8KHcfc7bco8pfiqcCkOdYI34yBZm31Dwzt4ix0I8MsLnQh7edvXC6YbMzvmsC2AzwVxTF4HE2eKhb4ZqOPrWZRI_QCE3uutoJzUio/s1600/IMG_7446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vt2O-OBmTg0ek41XJYvMTqOoOmurmCK2c1gosr8KHcfc7bco8pfiqcCkOdYI34yBZm31Dwzt4ix0I8MsLnQh7edvXC6YbMzvmsC2AzwVxTF4HE2eKhb4ZqOPrWZRI_QCE3uutoJzUio/s320/IMG_7446.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Final Report: 4.0 out of 10</span></b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Long story short... You have been warned. There are countless things that I love about California, but the “Genuine Pizza” served up by Straw hat did not make the list.</span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-34588483791142624752011-08-19T12:46:00.000-05:002011-08-19T12:46:16.369-05:00Week 32: NEO Pizzeria<br />
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<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFvqQ2H1-FqYTnetq91ynyOYK3sTOlO05DmAggfN8wb64J5WTfp77m46TRnlo1qMHmcxtwr7uuafOXkPso-7aK5ZXBvTaZ_nN3PGCy9J-zRmpgOUJ-pO53E0bRSBXN49nJ-Ld2MnAnFo/s1600/DSC_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFvqQ2H1-FqYTnetq91ynyOYK3sTOlO05DmAggfN8wb64J5WTfp77m46TRnlo1qMHmcxtwr7uuafOXkPso-7aK5ZXBvTaZ_nN3PGCy9J-zRmpgOUJ-pO53E0bRSBXN49nJ-Ld2MnAnFo/s320/DSC_0023.JPG" width="182" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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 (<a href="http://www.olivellas.com/"><span style="color: #2400a9; letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">www.olivellas.com</span></a>), 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.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRBtz6N43Xy8R451kVv3ud5JL85yt2qlTJpkkiGgPCliodz73Q5ndefJUfvV59Tp9AjjcRf28s-nSbrjD-bfKfQLUL3nL65ZDwiA0gPNqC-w1VA9noT795EBgVjv5UhZ5tGoGMVuSh-A/s1600/DSC_0024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRBtz6N43Xy8R451kVv3ud5JL85yt2qlTJpkkiGgPCliodz73Q5ndefJUfvV59Tp9AjjcRf28s-nSbrjD-bfKfQLUL3nL65ZDwiA0gPNqC-w1VA9noT795EBgVjv5UhZ5tGoGMVuSh-A/s320/DSC_0024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4UTOmUM0VDPoSZKKWFzr7HWbVXzcJGiT0T6WMXa_GTbSLE5TgLLWM3E0OLc94nG3rlI3dybaEWGN7vr7VxhUIqRC3jMYwBSK8pqMInkjePXzVkZLSNl7LlR8Un8HafGAgpsZEgRranY/s1600/DSC_0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4UTOmUM0VDPoSZKKWFzr7HWbVXzcJGiT0T6WMXa_GTbSLE5TgLLWM3E0OLc94nG3rlI3dybaEWGN7vr7VxhUIqRC3jMYwBSK8pqMInkjePXzVkZLSNl7LlR8Un8HafGAgpsZEgRranY/s400/DSC_0025.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgf21V7FAcWQn7ZSA-lZMHM21avWzU0bGR-QhyphenhyphenjREgfMppOgVc_1VOl8ynwspKCznaDct1Rp0SNpp-yIIW_hGXrYsA9TFS3rBIPxXmzXjYoeN_w-BkSgeC0NJzQQxdIaS86qceTnqGBnM/s1600/DSC_0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgf21V7FAcWQn7ZSA-lZMHM21avWzU0bGR-QhyphenhyphenjREgfMppOgVc_1VOl8ynwspKCznaDct1Rp0SNpp-yIIW_hGXrYsA9TFS3rBIPxXmzXjYoeN_w-BkSgeC0NJzQQxdIaS86qceTnqGBnM/s400/DSC_0028.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The Final Report: 9 out of 10</b></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYdQY_3m6CHxRCo4Av5JnxpuUYoBM6yEIPTeZqv98HNMULYYZXOXZ3MDC78rBkxZzrYGRiWUCaH7gbU4rx52PplqEnep0iSDlQj1ANzNfEShPl76-5hqjDatQhG7Vuh7wk8CY9fRva4w/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYdQY_3m6CHxRCo4Av5JnxpuUYoBM6yEIPTeZqv98HNMULYYZXOXZ3MDC78rBkxZzrYGRiWUCaH7gbU4rx52PplqEnep0iSDlQj1ANzNfEShPl76-5hqjDatQhG7Vuh7wk8CY9fRva4w/s320/DSC_0003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</span></span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-74806159318491929412011-08-11T22:41:00.000-05:002011-08-11T22:41:55.201-05:00Week 31: Louie's<br />
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<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCugrO39dK8lZtW39D8FzFjEWuOfV4kRnL0gUf6u9vkYSClFfUGfwi11jCjgMyM2-2W2kwl0ODDJ8tiURDatMzijl3Iccf39NU8wtLVFdFtl4YHagY7AQYe_8BYXNR2Dldf9j6Hcjme8/s1600/IMG_7437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCugrO39dK8lZtW39D8FzFjEWuOfV4kRnL0gUf6u9vkYSClFfUGfwi11jCjgMyM2-2W2kwl0ODDJ8tiURDatMzijl3Iccf39NU8wtLVFdFtl4YHagY7AQYe_8BYXNR2Dldf9j6Hcjme8/s320/IMG_7437.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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...</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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...</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqku26j8dlJ5KXy4qNStjSMBgoylsPIX2KVKHHX_GTbQR1W5m5kHlBTIAOG5NmgCJiiblEAdQd7v4XSSivJxswGm9tREnUkG7rV8lDNP0_CKbNA5fn9f8sUcgjflVnDBcD57Lyw_2sdb8/s1600/IMG_7438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqku26j8dlJ5KXy4qNStjSMBgoylsPIX2KVKHHX_GTbQR1W5m5kHlBTIAOG5NmgCJiiblEAdQd7v4XSSivJxswGm9tREnUkG7rV8lDNP0_CKbNA5fn9f8sUcgjflVnDBcD57Lyw_2sdb8/s320/IMG_7438.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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? </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The Final Report: 8.0 out of 10</b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxRNHlwPrm6hwujhax4kpVFGzqxkwCKIy-Os5WHspvzresDVSHCbrg4ecr2rzri9csTZhKjAoNrLDNc5h-2J_52c3-UQqtE-xk-xDWFs4PYQ8oviF-8YvTcu3eH87MaEHFWRDKJNqvd8/s1600/IMG_7440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxRNHlwPrm6hwujhax4kpVFGzqxkwCKIy-Os5WHspvzresDVSHCbrg4ecr2rzri9csTZhKjAoNrLDNc5h-2J_52c3-UQqtE-xk-xDWFs4PYQ8oviF-8YvTcu3eH87MaEHFWRDKJNqvd8/s320/IMG_7440.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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...</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-39589618023575452242011-08-03T00:03:00.001-05:002011-08-11T22:21:49.023-05:00Week 30: Buffalo Bros<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifx2_abkvCumnV1KKAsGeFUoJkAxJ574LSpztdnctoaKr4e6RyEUF2Qh8SZTUFKTM4cgjRLn4N37S2xnD_5OTSv9y59-ZAVb4ARPc6dj_CpSeBv3PBdr7fqmEOXF47LDS7AOW3NUNlyic/s1600/IMG_7433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifx2_abkvCumnV1KKAsGeFUoJkAxJ574LSpztdnctoaKr4e6RyEUF2Qh8SZTUFKTM4cgjRLn4N37S2xnD_5OTSv9y59-ZAVb4ARPc6dj_CpSeBv3PBdr7fqmEOXF47LDS7AOW3NUNlyic/s200/IMG_7433.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;">I have been looking forward to checking out <a href="http://www.buffalobrostexas.com/">Buffalo Bros Pizza Wings & Subs </a>in Ft. Worth for almost 3 years. This week I just so happened to be down by the TCU Campus and decided to stop in. In case you’ve never heard about Buffalo Bros, basically it’s a college bar that offers delicious food with a Buffalo, NY style. For over 25 years I have been enjoying the home cooked delicacies from the Wing Capital of the world. When you walk into the restaurant you can’t help but notice the non-traditional combination of TCU Horned Frog and Buffalo, NY memorabilia. Having a family tree with roots in Buffalo, NY…. I felt at home.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Over the past several years I have heard that Buffalo Bros attempt to replicate specific flavors from the original restaurants in NY. The wings are made to taste like Anchor Bar, the Hot Dogs like Ted’s, the Subs like John and Mary’s, and the pizza like Bocee Club. If none of these restaurants ring a bell in your mind, you probably aren’t alone. However you are missing out on some of the best food I know. I’ll save time and get right to the pizza, but let it be known the non-pizza food here is great!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuz2Apfhk9q00Hcfp6KK4-Z7d6bGb656C9LGi1lQhbp6Z9niFYCnEERZMZiUSpQQVNNHZpuHDV3Ur1xs26XOYT8SAD9b3WAFLBFH_XjW1F8Ehtiaagukn_DyWFodpDfOT1_YOB32ybwRc/s1600/IMG_7434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuz2Apfhk9q00Hcfp6KK4-Z7d6bGb656C9LGi1lQhbp6Z9niFYCnEERZMZiUSpQQVNNHZpuHDV3Ur1xs26XOYT8SAD9b3WAFLBFH_XjW1F8Ehtiaagukn_DyWFodpDfOT1_YOB32ybwRc/s320/IMG_7434.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Have you ever taken a bite of something and you are immediately taken back to a specific place or time from your past? Friday night I was whisked away to Bailey Ave. in Buffalo. The “Deck Oven Pizza” is offered in 2 sizes (13” and 18”) and almost a dozen specialty choices. For a variety of reasons, mainly my order of hot wings, I stuck with a basic small cheese pizza ($12) for enjoyment. The small could easily feed 2 people, so I brought home a couple slices for a late night snack. To say this pizza was delicious would be an understatement. Sure it’s a “bar style” pizza that doesn’t include exotic toppings, but it was damn good. The crust was cooked to perfection and the sauce tasted like it was flown in just for my order. I couldn’t tell you exactly what flavors or ingredients they used, but for a half hour I was in a state of upstate NY bliss. It didn’t hurt that I was also enjoying an order of 6 wings while slowly sipping on a frozen loganberry schooner!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>The Final Report: 7.5 out of 10<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;">The combinations of specialty pizzas sounded delicious and could keep me coming back time and time again. If it wasn’t for the 45 minute drive, Buffalo Bros would be my go to pizza. Yes, I have had better gourmet pizzas this year… That being said if I was looking to order a basic pie for the whole family I would invest in Buffalo Bros every time! Thanks for the trip down memory lane, and it wont be my last time to 3015 University Ave. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDicaUMK5bf6hkhH1s6H2L9P8rnzRXIgX2TEekXr9nlrdU6OmKS_v2Sg5gE9gEevFdEwm1AeXpdBJmBi0Xa5R67M9BHA48LkI-amu9JWJiis0leTZEJdvyS5j9bnEZIsrgAPyESBcKz1s/s1600/IMG_7436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDicaUMK5bf6hkhH1s6H2L9P8rnzRXIgX2TEekXr9nlrdU6OmKS_v2Sg5gE9gEevFdEwm1AeXpdBJmBi0Xa5R67M9BHA48LkI-amu9JWJiis0leTZEJdvyS5j9bnEZIsrgAPyESBcKz1s/s320/IMG_7436.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-6728151079315915572011-07-25T23:32:00.000-05:002011-07-25T23:32:16.050-05:00Week 29: Carmine's Pizzeria<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfA4fX-G3q_IwDETv2JrWEKsJTg6snIHPh2b7PTzNy8VA1Zpxk_QuMFmw37cpJi38uAdaGlKvobJUlO2V_LZpXsOtLAt_Bw_2r7e4y8QBvlyWnn-npz5cjzaMO2rj4qKKaibY_b2w0AOk/s1600/IMG_7426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfA4fX-G3q_IwDETv2JrWEKsJTg6snIHPh2b7PTzNy8VA1Zpxk_QuMFmw37cpJi38uAdaGlKvobJUlO2V_LZpXsOtLAt_Bw_2r7e4y8QBvlyWnn-npz5cjzaMO2rj4qKKaibY_b2w0AOk/s320/IMG_7426.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This week’s pizza adventure was a solo mission to check out Carmine’s Pizzeria. The family was left behind in California on their summer vacation while I was left responsible for carrying the pizza torch over the next two weeks. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Carmine’s Pizzeria in Lewisville is one of multiple locations in the Dallas area, and according to their menu voted “Best Pizza in Dallas” by D Magazine. After shuffling through our pizza coupon drawer, I grabbed the 14” for $10.99 coupon we got in the mail and headed out. The location is in a strip center along FM 1171 cleverly marked by a “Carmine’s Pizzeria” van outside in the parking lot. The restaurant is BYOB with enough tables and chairs to seat about 30 people, while they also offer delivery to the surrounding cities. There was enough room inside if you wanted to bring the entire family along!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_lH9xkUIW_X3g1du6itYJf9uL4oGhBE-0BaX3n3qmnmyvWqi1yEYCcC1CEpTzg_zOaAE_nXRsU6aTj-ZGhFUGhtnPruhE2-NHGa7CfaH9sKsjf17odqVQkAvmA5CcDD9E3LoI8UmCEU/s1600/IMG_7429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_lH9xkUIW_X3g1du6itYJf9uL4oGhBE-0BaX3n3qmnmyvWqi1yEYCcC1CEpTzg_zOaAE_nXRsU6aTj-ZGhFUGhtnPruhE2-NHGa7CfaH9sKsjf17odqVQkAvmA5CcDD9E3LoI8UmCEU/s320/IMG_7429.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Monday night business was pretty slow and I was able to place my order at the counter right away. The kid taking orders was helpful and even allowed me to chose 2 toppings for my 1 topping coupon! I was told the pizza would be out in approximately 10 minutes, so I grabbed a seat and cracked open my cold beverage that I brought from home. As promised my 14” pizza arrived hot out of the oven in just about 10 minutes, at which point I began to analyze the goods...</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIPjfmJ-BZquFH3ZQS2IIjrWLLZ545gpEUopKBTTJJQTx-ymq83kqMQ77Fe12EEs-zab-vg9BdRZPTfBcgUGuH4sMzoCkEryvORVkV58CC9DsHKSZgMeXFHTkNdEqxdayCyOoeo7mYNQ/s1600/IMG_7427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIPjfmJ-BZquFH3ZQS2IIjrWLLZ545gpEUopKBTTJJQTx-ymq83kqMQ77Fe12EEs-zab-vg9BdRZPTfBcgUGuH4sMzoCkEryvORVkV58CC9DsHKSZgMeXFHTkNdEqxdayCyOoeo7mYNQ/s320/IMG_7427.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The pizza was roughly the size of a Domino’s Pizza large, and about twice the price. Rated “Best Pizza in Dallas,” I was optimistic that taste would exceed the value. At first sight the pizza appeared greasy on top, enough to require a small amount of paper towel “dabbing.” After the small pools of grease were eliminated from my slice, I started in on the Pepperoni half. It was tasty but not excellent. The temperature right out of the oven was too hot to really enjoy the flavor. The sauce had a slight sweetness to it which I enjoyed. Overall the Pepperoni slice was above average, but not by much. The Italian Sausage half yielded similar results and rated slightly higher than the Pepperoni. By this point I wasn’t overwhelmed by Carmine’s pizza efforts. The one part of the pizza that was memorable, and possibly worth a return visit was the crust. It had a unique texture to it, and almost had a “flaking” quality to it (Think Pillsbury Crescent Roll Dough). Next time I will be a little more adventurous with the toppings and possibly try one of their 10 “Designer Pizzas” listed on the menu. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>The Final Report: 6.0 out of 10</b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqV8CPxjhLmSdEWiknmz3KiDa4muIK6LWRIXZGlavObqc6GPS0UpgRqkVZNkYMgAVmMAyFDGZE2jO9n9cICIxm9G2bgFsgsKKIQa1S0_FViUUxKuh-kwZXpdgfyi9PI5ark6ujRTkCCQ/s1600/IMG_7431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqV8CPxjhLmSdEWiknmz3KiDa4muIK6LWRIXZGlavObqc6GPS0UpgRqkVZNkYMgAVmMAyFDGZE2jO9n9cICIxm9G2bgFsgsKKIQa1S0_FViUUxKuh-kwZXpdgfyi9PI5ark6ujRTkCCQ/s320/IMG_7431.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you are looking for a step above the standard franchise carry-out, check out Carmine’s Pizzeria. The $10.99 price tag was a little steep for a basic one-topping pizza, but for a couple extra bucks the “Designer Pizzas” looked promising. I wouldn’t call it “Best Pizza in Dallas,” but its worth a try if your tired of the same old delivery pizza you’ve been suffering with for years.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> </span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-70674380893713946412011-07-17T21:17:00.000-05:002011-07-17T21:17:54.138-05:00Week 28: Urban Crust<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfmpRS7_KEtKBsXgQGK_ACMuiEave5sFOkyZUjux5Zb7-m9sejBWhOPdgthXjWvW6Ldh27SfNklTiSPUjmDtA3Sbw0KIIpKleDBMlA7LqG3490CeBNVzRNw9cRdhRL2UPYOJZkh8SyVE/s1600/IMG_7358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfmpRS7_KEtKBsXgQGK_ACMuiEave5sFOkyZUjux5Zb7-m9sejBWhOPdgthXjWvW6Ldh27SfNklTiSPUjmDtA3Sbw0KIIpKleDBMlA7LqG3490CeBNVzRNw9cRdhRL2UPYOJZkh8SyVE/s320/IMG_7358.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After countless recommendations and requests we decided to see if the hype surrounding Plano's Urban Crust was true. We have been waiting for the perfect week, and with a birthday dinner in store it seemed like a great way to celebrate. The babysitter arrived and we were off to the other side of DFW. After just over 30 minutes in the car we pulled into old-town Plano and were lucky to score a parking spot right outside on 15th Street. A word to the wise... Saturday night at Urban Crust is a mad house; and we signed in for a 1.5 hour wait!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFI6SJobOsr_835Ax53a0rHhn1c79D6SXpuTbW0LBfekbRFyyBaU8zVP4BDkNmmaqdTODN-WWUM8XLuawit_bObrO8is2UCLObG2RZFKMMrJshFsEMRG68EsDOoBzMKZuDuIIrNIGlLi8/s1600/IMG_7353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFI6SJobOsr_835Ax53a0rHhn1c79D6SXpuTbW0LBfekbRFyyBaU8zVP4BDkNmmaqdTODN-WWUM8XLuawit_bObrO8is2UCLObG2RZFKMMrJshFsEMRG68EsDOoBzMKZuDuIIrNIGlLi8/s320/IMG_7353.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Urban Crust is a relatively small restaurant but offers 3 levels of dining, including a full bar on the top level called 32 degree bar. We could have eaten outside, or at said bar, but decided to wait it out and take in the full experience. Starting from the top floor, the bar scene gave you the feeling that you were in a trendy Dallas bar with overdressed patrons taking shots of Jaegermeister and Grey Goose. The bar was full, and the outside roof patio had a few brave souls willing to tackle the 100+ degree weather. I grabbed a beer while the birthday girl saved 2 seats along the staircase on the second level. We were offered the full menu, but started our eating adventure with an Urban Chop Salad covered with cranberries, walnuts, and feta cheese. Our server kindly split the salad on two plates and we were able to curb our appetites for a little while longer. The well dressed and "accessorized" suburbanites continued to pile in the front door and file upstairs to the bar. Our server was very attentive and friendly and made our wait feel less excruciating. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQz5JVI3CbOopu8ThRp1-UDcKvLD4DKAFG1s8Rl4GHdSeFod60lZY8EmtzRxB_KFzZAXkQaG8H9XkAF9nBDM1qSJuBNCKIQ4pdFbJZjTfH3jf2v1t8oNJ2mjk9t1amHUzBw4LoqmeFSrs/s1600/IMG_7354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQz5JVI3CbOopu8ThRp1-UDcKvLD4DKAFG1s8Rl4GHdSeFod60lZY8EmtzRxB_KFzZAXkQaG8H9XkAF9nBDM1qSJuBNCKIQ4pdFbJZjTfH3jf2v1t8oNJ2mjk9t1amHUzBw4LoqmeFSrs/s320/IMG_7354.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Yes, this place had a trendy atmosphere and vibe, but we were here to see how Urban Crust's pizza measured up to some of the best in DFW. Well, measure up it did, but it didn't completely blow us away... We had PLENTY of time to review the menu, and decided to try the month's special, Roma Salata, which included local Roma tomatoes, pesto basil, mozzarella, topped with arugula salad and pine nuts drizzled with chili oil. We also chose the Black and Bleu which was served with basil pesto, sirloin, baby portobellos, caramelized onions and bleu cheese. Both pies cost right around $12. The do-it-yourself toppings list was very thorough, and there were several other pre-made specialty options to choose from. Considering our wait was almost exactly an hour and a half, the pizza was on our table in less than 5 minutes. The pizzas looked beautiful served on a wooden block branded with the restaurant name. The monthly pizza special was a work of art, mixing the perfect combo of cheesy pizza and fresh greens with a surprising kick. The Black and Bleu marked the first steak coved pizza of the year. The combination of bleu cheese, mushrooms and steak was fantastic and in a league of it's own. My biggest disappointment of the visit was the crust. Not sure if the cook was taking a nap while our pizza was in the oven, but the underside of the crust was black! While still edible, we were disappointed that the wood fired oven charred our pizza. The crust itself was tasty, however wasn't memorable compared to some others we've had this year. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wc_CUTqnCfGWNGFXuTlRd4Hdj7wjQq01CWGwBYrwFJmQ6LxCmY4Y08s98rd6bj5qS_tZfYtN-fra8JSw8RiQTJxiJAFK-YY_TkomsrNHUXImTQXrvgwxqyvkrOe-pahipGv_JAmj2Xs/s1600/IMG_7355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wc_CUTqnCfGWNGFXuTlRd4Hdj7wjQq01CWGwBYrwFJmQ6LxCmY4Y08s98rd6bj5qS_tZfYtN-fra8JSw8RiQTJxiJAFK-YY_TkomsrNHUXImTQXrvgwxqyvkrOe-pahipGv_JAmj2Xs/s320/IMG_7355.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZCPccKr9HiAx4CotQeLLxYrG286GeWRh2-TtZznQOSfufi9W5cO2bY2nunchEUGpCTnZcINzqsYr0MoLp8758lPPU2HBxNB3GqXulqrnxNd44TixJH_AQdGq6FEAhCCwVxfTrSGG7uGs/s1600/IMG_7356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZCPccKr9HiAx4CotQeLLxYrG286GeWRh2-TtZznQOSfufi9W5cO2bY2nunchEUGpCTnZcINzqsYr0MoLp8758lPPU2HBxNB3GqXulqrnxNd44TixJH_AQdGq6FEAhCCwVxfTrSGG7uGs/s320/IMG_7356.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Final Report: 7.5 out of 10</span></b></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Overall the pizzas were above average and worth the one hour round trip drive. Urban Crust was an experience unlike any we've had this year. We were definitely glad that we left the kids at home this time; it is definitely not a family restaurant. It was a fun date night spot we would recommend if you want to get dressed up, sip on a cocktail, and be seen out on the town... </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgOpYcsrVmYo31kY5-cEKC5LS8k5BwvbmsfI_dG9DVfY39QMWsQ676Qc13Av8sFbQBH63IzTr9-6sxzbr3qzOvqVKGtp9ZYEbxDWykZIIs8g0t4EPRfgFoYK_hQZSKhQLQkaTbT5dGYg/s1600/IMG_7357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgOpYcsrVmYo31kY5-cEKC5LS8k5BwvbmsfI_dG9DVfY39QMWsQ676Qc13Av8sFbQBH63IzTr9-6sxzbr3qzOvqVKGtp9ZYEbxDWykZIIs8g0t4EPRfgFoYK_hQZSKhQLQkaTbT5dGYg/s320/IMG_7357.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744257980317130996.post-91508816463168297212011-07-11T10:19:00.002-05:002011-07-17T21:14:26.695-05:00Week 27: UNO Dué Go!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRU47bLksbW4ApO149nA_wk6gEi5QwyScXddQxVN8Su8qSa4jd2TLBUFw_iUJ9X3Ct8ekUPYjP3W_9btsunY6NW1fK8hd6Qzm3BxpZOQ2worKCaRubigOcdd_QCIbC5cQtpWCE6MQBsU/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRU47bLksbW4ApO149nA_wk6gEi5QwyScXddQxVN8Su8qSa4jd2TLBUFw_iUJ9X3Ct8ekUPYjP3W_9btsunY6NW1fK8hd6Qzm3BxpZOQ2worKCaRubigOcdd_QCIbC5cQtpWCE6MQBsU/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">This week flew by too fast and with a busy travel schedule for the next several weeks, we had to get creative with our pizza adventure. While on my way to Virginia for a business trip I had some extra time in the C Terminal at DFW Airport. While I love Chicago Style Deep Dish pizza, I am sensitive to impostors trying to recreate the original. Back in 1943 the self proclaimed inventor of the Deep Dish pizza, Pizzeria UNO made it's mark. Skeptical that the C33 "grab and go" personal pizza could live up to the historic tradition, I had to make a quick stop to check it out!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">What turned out to be my most expensive pizza of the year at $526.89, the "Número UNO" was no bargain. Now if you subtract out the price it took to get through the airpot security, this 6 slice mini pizza ran $8.99. It was absolutely no surprise that these tiny little replicas emerged from a freezer and were tossed into the oven for a couple minutes to warm up. While I had high hopes that a chef would actually knead the deep dish dough before my eyes, I wasn't that lucky. After I picked out my diet soda from the cooler, it was about a 5 minute wait until my mini to-go box was handed to me. I picked up my utensils and some ground peppers and parmesan cheese packets, and headed to my gate.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">UNO Dué Go had 4 options to choose from: Cheese/Tomatoes, Pepperoni, Número UNO, and a Daily Special (which happened to be a veggie). The Número UNO included pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, onions, and their famous chunky tomato sauce. The pizza was pretty tiny, and each "slice" was about 3 bites. That being said, it was definitely enough to fill me up before a 3 hour flight. Straight out of the oven/microwave the cheese was scorching hot! The toppings were sliding all over the 8" square pizza box. Obviously the atmosphere in Terminal C wasn't enjoyable (FYI: Terminal D UNO's has a full bar), but all that aside the taste of the reheated thick crust put a smile on my face. With so many pizza places these days offering "Deep Dish," it was refreshing to taste the original recipe that put Chicago Pizza on the map.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXn8IU2pBnzbeYNSfsXojHaxp39GFjzaV9j6ScqbjhlKqNutaR8MaF55zLgGnvg7-vz8Bo12ERMqZuZI81dSQK_o65nY1fcvU02_kDKbS8SZ5sI1FhOuxURTXML-h2N5tiHAnc6YdCrE/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXn8IU2pBnzbeYNSfsXojHaxp39GFjzaV9j6ScqbjhlKqNutaR8MaF55zLgGnvg7-vz8Bo12ERMqZuZI81dSQK_o65nY1fcvU02_kDKbS8SZ5sI1FhOuxURTXML-h2N5tiHAnc6YdCrE/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">At this point instead of flying to Richmond, I was tempted to pay the $150 flight change fee and head straight to Ohio Street and Wabash to get the REAL thing. Sure it wasn't a spectacular presentation of pizza history, however all of the flavors were delicious, and the crust was genuine. Considering the alternatives in the airport terminal, next time you are stuck at DFW Airport, pick up an UNO's Deep Dish pizza and treat yourself (It sure beats a Cinnabon). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>The Final Report: 5.5 out of 10</b></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">We're looking forward to getting back into our regular weekly pizza rotation next week. Friday night looks like it's gonna be a good one!</span>The Deep Dishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15354680701417676632noreply@blogger.com1