Mario’s in Bulverde has the upper crust

Dough holds up under pile of toppings

One thing you have to say about Mary and Gerry Gerardo is that they’re dedicated to the pizza business.

They opened Mario’s Pizza and Wine Bar in Bulverde in February, just in time for the pandemic to pump the brakes on business. But they’ve kept it alive as a more stylish, sit-down alternative to their more casual Mario’s of NYC, which opened in 2016. That shop, located on U.S. 281 just a few miles south of the new location, is open only for takeout right now. Another Mario’s that opened in 2017 on Blanco Road closed in 2019. Nevertheless, the Gerardos persist.

Another thing you have to say about the Gerardos is that they make some of the best pizza crust in this series. The dough’s delivered from New York City, where Mary Gerardo’s from, to San Antonio, where Gerry Gerardo’s from.

At Mario’s Pizza & Wine Bar, that dough is put to good use, forming a crust that’s rugged, chewy, salty, dusty and toasty. It’s thick enough to carry the weight of specialty pizzas piled high with adjectives and add-ons, but not so thick that it’s like eating a loaf of bread.

For Bulverde, which doesn’t have a surplus of restaurant options, Mario’s Pizza & Wine Bar fills the need for a place to get a bottle of wine, a bowl of spaghetti, hot pepperoni rolls and pizza that’s New York strong in a setting that’s San Antonio friendly.

Best pizza: “Arrabbiata”

means “angry” in Italian, a label lovingly applied to spicy food with red pepper heat. At Mario’s, Mary’s Arrabbiata pizza ($25 for a 16-inch pie) trades heat for sweet, leaning on roasted red peppers and sauteed onions for a twang augmented by rich red sauce. But it’s a good trade-off on a pie that balances sweetness with lush ricotta cheese, pull-apart mozzarella and ground Italian sausage.

If $25 seems like a lot to pay for a pizza, there’s two things to know. First, Mario’s loads up on the toppings, with a taste of everything in every bite. Second, every specialty pie’s available in a smaller size, even though it’s not listed on the menu. They call it “individual,” but it’s more like a medium for around $16.

Other pizzas: You might dismiss a pizza covered with arugula and balsamic dressing as salad on a bread plate. But with the pizza that Mario’s calls The Prosciutto ($15.50 for an individual-size pie), you’d miss out on everything underneath, starting with razorthin slices of salty, fatty, glorious Italian ham and rolling into ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, all turbo-charged with garlic butter. Also: Arugula behaves more like cracked black pepper than wimpy lettuce greens, and if you call it salad one more time, arugula would like you to step outside.

Mario’s shows a more subtle side with a margherita pizza ($15.50 for an individual-size pie) that’s just tomatoes, sauce, mozzarella and basil, all working in harmony, finished with a fourleaf clover of whole basil leaves.

I’m a sucker for homemade meatballs at a pizza place. But by the time Mario’s meatballs were crumbled up and baked into a pizza with mushrooms, they had practically turned to powder, as dry as sawdust and about that bland ($12.50 for an individualsize pie).

Photos by Mike Sutter / Staff Pizza options at Mario's Pizza & Wine Bar in Bulverde include, clockwise from top left, Mary's Arrabbiata, margherita, The Prosciutto and a pizza with meatballs and mushroom.

Pepperoni rolls incorporate crust, mozzarella, red sauce and pepperoni at Mario's.