Back by Popular Demand: Pizza Wars 2011, Tony C’s Hits the Top Spot!

Welcome to the recurring series that we fondly refer to as Austin Pizza Wars. This is the 5th installment and it’s interesting to see how much has changed since we published the original Pizza Wars some years ago. Many of our readers know that I am originally from New Haven, CT, the birthplace of Neapolitan-style thin-crust pizza. That being said, I have high standards.

Many people believe that pizza originated in Naples, Italy in the late 19th century. Perhaps that can be said for the modern form of pizza we’re familiar with today. But in truth, ancient cultures have taken forms of flat bread and covered it with various toppings for as long as 3,000 years! (Yeah, but did they deliver?)

This piece is going to focus on locally-owned and operated pizzerias. So let’s dispense with any commentary on the national and regional chains as it would be pointless and redundant: except that I can’t help but digress for a second on Domino’s. Their pizza still sucks and their advertising is almost beyond belief. My favorite is where they’re ostensibly holding a focus group in some office only to have the sides of the office fall down and the participants find themselves on a huge double-wide trailer in the middle of a farm where the cows who provide the cheese for Domino’s are grazing. ARE YOU FRIGGIN’ KIDDING ME?

Let’s start out right at the apex: my Top 5. These places are as good as things get it in Austin. They’re reliable, tasty, they get East Coast apizza, and they are continually improving. Starting out at the Galleria, the first of my Top 5 is Tony C’s. They are the only coal-fired pizza in Austin and they have considerably ramped up over the past year. I love the Donato as well as the Margarita… Tony Ciola has done a hell of a job with this place and there’s more than just pizza. The pastas and gelatos are great.

Next is the always appealing and irresistible East Side Pies. From their original store on Rosewood, owners Michael and Noah have opened up a takeout store on Airport as well. They have a diverse menu of pies, my favorites being the Chicago and The Marge. This place has become of favorite of the SXSW crowd (a cosmopolitan group if there ever was one) for good reason.

Another stalwart in the Pizza Wars has been the consistently good Salvation Pizza in a charming little house on 34th St near Guadalupe. The place has survived a split among the original owners who had roots in Hartford, CT. But it still stands in my Top 5. Their thin-crust pies resonate with that Hartford style. The Bacon pizza is my favorite there.

Just south of downtown Austin on South Congress is Home Slice Pizza. They serve up great Neapolitan-style pies with excellent Greek salads and strombolis. They make a killer sausage and mushroom pie. And while they claim to have clam pizza just like New Haven, I would have to beg to differ. It’s good, but not quite New Haven quality. Still, my hat’s off to them for trying. They’ve also added a second storefront adjacent to their first store.

And then up north at 11416 620, Dan Saccone is still making great New Jersey-style pies at Saccone’s. He has a new sweet sauce that is hard to resist and his crusts are as good as ever. He now has just the one store off 620 and that’s too bad for the folks in Round Rock. But Saccones is as good as it ever was and that’s damned good.

Had Corvina pizza in Round Rock stayed around, I would have had to expand to a Top 6. But alas, they closed earlier this year. Nonetheless, they had terrific coal-fired pizza. But this was an adult-styled restaurant and the neighborhood was apparently looking for a Gatti-town experience. Too damned bad for pizza fans in RR.

Bubbling under the Top 5 there are many other very good pizza joints in Austin. Stan Adam’s Brick Oven restaurants were a life-saver for my family back in the days when none of the restaurants mentioned earlier existed. My kids literally grew up on Brick Oven, particularly the location on Jollyville. We loved their Vegetarian Pies as well as the Sausage and Onion. For that matter, we still do. Another classic is Milto’s on Guadalupe. They blend pizza, Greek salads, and gyros in a very appealing combination. And they’ve been doing it well for years.

And what’s not to like about Ropollo’s on 6th St. Many a late-night bar crawl has ended with a visit to their take-out window. They are famous for BIG pizzas and I mean big! I defy you and a small group to finish one of their extra large sausage pies. But the key is their pies have great taste as well as size.

Down 6th St., Rounder’s Pizzeria is alive and well although I’m surprised it’s not packed every night. They have exquisite garlic knots here and a variety of pies that have a unique and singularly sweet flavor.

And of course Frank and Angie’s, the companion Italian restaurant to Hut’s is really best known for its pizza. Sugar’s nightclub GM and local legend Don King turned me on to this place and I am forever grateful. The White Pizza with Garlic is one of my favorites and they sell by the slice as well.

Another favorite is Austin Pizza Garden on 6266 Highway 290 near Oak Hill. The place looks closed when you drive by the front, but it’s most definitely open and has devoted fans, me included. I love the Colossus.

And you’ve got to enjoy the pies at the Southside Flying Pizza. The name is quirky and so is the joint. But its consistently good. Great sausage and onion pie.

Still going strong is Yaghi’s New York Pizzeria. We used to go to the store on Highawy 71 when we lived in Westlake and everybody in my family enjoyed the pies. Great crust and great texture on all of them. Another place that kept us going when we lived in Westlake was River Hills Pizza on Bee Caves Road. This mother-son team really gets the art of the local neighborhood joint. Great wings as well and they deliver.

There’s a new player down by the UT campus at 28th and Rio Grande called Jax. The owner hails from the Wilks-Barre, PA area where they are as passionate as anyone in the country about their pizza. This pie is not really deep dish and not thin crust but stands on its own: a unique design and flavor with a wonderfully crunchy crust. Another serious local player with multiple locations is CraigO’s Pizza. The pizza is uniformly thin-crust-style good and the Antipasta is one of the best around. Great subs as well. And fans of the Austin Onion will note that the place has moved from its old W. 5th St. location to 408 Brazos. This joint makes pies with a lot of soul and a lot of flavor. They deliver to the downtown area as well.

Then there’s the Italian restaurants that make very serviceable pizza as well. This would include Vespaio Enoteca on South Congress. My favorite is still the Calabrese Sausage Pie. Wonderful flavors. Also you’ve got to love the Aglio and Salciccia (sausage) Pie at Sagra, one of our favorite little Italian restaurants on San Antonio. Chef Gabe knows how to coax some serious flavors from his pizzas. Cipollina is another restaurant across from Jeffrey’s on West Lynn that serves up some delightfully creative and tasty pizza. Owner Peggy Weiss has it going. I’m still knocked out by their use of goat cheese in their crispy pies. And let’s not forget Gino’s up in Round Rock. Their meat-lovers pizza is pretty damned good with a nice, sweet sauce.

The northern and southern burbs are not without their fare representation of decent pizza. Mangieri’s on Slaughter makes a killer sausage pie with a healthy and tasty whole wheat crust. They cut it in squares which reminds me northern CT. They also have a store in Lakeway. Another suburban location is Brooklyn Pies which does credit to its name. I tend to go to the one in La Frontera Mall in Round Rock just behind Chase Bank. This is a seriously good by the pie or by the slice. And the venerable Reale’s on Research is a family-owned gold mine for pizza fans in the area. The Pepperoni is the bomb and the crusts are crispy and just a little charred. Perfect! Given the recent surge in gluten-free requests from readers, we should call note to another pizzeria in Round Rock. Their name is Promise Pizza and they deliver a reasonably tasty pie that is completely free of gluten. At least that’s a start for gluten-challenged readers who want to have their pie and eat it too.

So there you have it pizza fans. If I missed one of your favorite places (has to be local) write and let us know (info@diningoutwithrobbalon.com). If not, enjoy this abudanza of great pizza dining opportunities that Austin now offers.

[Originally posted 03/25/2011]