Take a Drive Down the Pizza Corridor
There’s a concentration of excellent owner-operated pizza places along the Highway 290 West between Austin and Dripping Springs that we’ve affectionately begun to call “The Pizza Corridor.”
I’d enjoyed the pizza at these places many times yet it didn’t occur to me that they were all in reasonable proximity to each other along 290 West. Hence the rationale for the corridor name. And there’s no thoroughfare in the Austin area quite like it.
STOP 1: VIA 313
We begin with Detroit styled pizza joint Via 313 in Oak Hill at the corner of William Cannon and 290 West. (We’d have begun with the excellent and iconic Austin Pizza Garden but their unfortunate closing preempted their spot.)
Via 313, like all the places on the corridor, has routinely been on just about every top five list of the best pizza spots in the Austin area. Its Detroit style cheesy thick crust pies have delighted Austin pizza fans since they first hit the local scene in an east side trailer. This affection continued as they opened up their first brick and mortar store in Oak Hill.
STOP 2: STANLEY’S FARMHOUSE PIZZA
Continuing up 290, just off Fitzhugh Road is Stanley’s Farmhouse Pizza on Ceres Park Ranch next to Jester King. Stanley’s serves up a variety of very cool thin crust pies. The name comes from a bull that lived on the ranch and the pizzas (ranging from the Ferdinand to the Willie) are named by founders Mike Gatlin and Chad Nemec after Stanley’s calves.
While Jester King acquired Stanley’s as part of the overall purchase of the ranch along with a promise not to allow the acreage to be developed, the concept and the pizzas that elevated Stanley’s to the upper echelons of the pizza scene have not changed.
STOP 3: PIEOUS
Next on the corridor is Pieous in Belterra Village. Founder Josh Kaner came to Austin with a sourdough starter and a vision for authentic Neapolitan pizzas and he has achieved the coveted VPN (Vera Pizza Napoletana) certification. While some pizza restaurants so honored may not live up to the lofty title with regards to quality, Pieous certainly does. Their cheese and tomato pizza is incredible, with soft yet crispy crust with the requisite amount of char on the bottom.
And Pieous has continued to pursue and achieve that level of excellence. On the side they have a perfectly marbled pastrami. Lines pretty much most nights.
STOP 4: THE PIZZA CAVE
Last on the corridor and certainly not the least (some might argue the best) is Joe Cave’s eponymous Pizza Cave. Joe and his wife Sue have built a veritable pizza promenade off the corridor. Artisanal East Coast pizza is the offering and Joe and his team deliver it (no pun here). You must try the appropriately named Spelunker which along with the other pies is a knockout. The Cave also feature classic Piadas and a wickedly engaging creamy pepper soup along with its signature Piggy Chowder. I always look forward to the next visit.
So there you have it pizza fans. When you’re craving a great pie or slice, drive down the Pizza Corridor and mangia!
