San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
After 52weeks of pizza, just the best
Pizzerias offer slices of heaven in a hell of a year
After 52 weeks of devouring pizzas throughout the San Antonio area, it wouldn’t be a stretch to discover that mozzarella and marinara is now showing up in our blood tests.
As was the case with the 2019 “52 Weeks of Burgers” series, there were more pizzerias in the area than the calendar allowed, and we canvassed the pizza scene as best we could. San Antonio hasn’t gotten recognition for its pizza, but our conclusion is that maybe it should.
Plenty of pepperoni and sausage were consumed, but we discovered pizza that went up and down the flavor spectrum, from al pastor to dessert varieties and everything in between, with crusts that ranged from a crackerlike crunch to classic deep dish Chicago.
Here is the definitive list of the best pizzas and pizzerias we tried in our yearlong quest for pizza perfection:
10 best pizzas
10. Quattro Formaggio: Volare Italian Restaurant, 3902 McCullough Ave., 210-251-3424, volarepizzasa.com
9. Texas Smokehouse Chicken: Pizza Italia, 3023 Thousand Oaks Dr., 210-494-8646, pizzaitaliasa.com
8. Fun Guy: Il Forno, 122 Nogalitos St., 210-616-2198, ilfornosa. com
7. Is There A Problem Here: Playland, 400 E. Houston St., 210-908-9362, playlandsa.com
6. Angelo’s Special: Little Italy, 824 Afterglow St., 210-3492060, littleitalysatx.com
5. Sausage, red peppers and ricotta: Truth Pizzeria, 1602 E. Houston St., Suite 111, at the Hackberry Market, 210-600-3211, Instagram: @truthpizzeria
4. Chicago-style pizza with pepperoni, sausage, green peppers and sliced tomatoes: Chicago’s Pizza, 5525 Blanco Road, Suite 115, 210-349-8005, Facebook: @ChicagosPizza1
3. Screaming Vegan: The Last Slice, 3021 MacArthur View, 210994-5661, lastslicepizza.com
2. Ezzo’s Cupping Pepperoni: Dough Pizzeria Napoletana, 6989 Blanco Road, 210-979-6565; 518 S. Alamo St., 210-227-2900, doughpizzeria.com
1. Capo’s Supreme: Capo’s Pizzeria, 8522 Broadway, Suite 105, 210-362-1901, capospizza sa.com. Also at 16350 Blanco Road, Suite 103, 210-248-9616.
Top 10 pizzerias
10. Fralo’s: Among the priciest pizzerias in this series, Fralo’s backs it up with craft and style in a sprawling space that includes a big-top patio, twinkle lights, a bar and a full Italian menu. Try a sampler pizza that’s like a pie chart of Fralo all-stars. 23651 Interstate 10 W., Leon Springs, 210-698-6616, fralos.com
9. Chicago’s Pizza: Tucked inside the Towne Square shopping center at the intersection of Blanco Road and Oblate Drive, Chicago’s Pizza has been in business since 1993. Its take on the famed deep dish pie, which is layered like a lasagna and will fill you up with two slices, is pretty close to what you will find off the shores of Lake Michigan. 5525 Blanco Road, Suite 115, 210-3498005, Facebook: @ChicagosPizza1
8. Maars Pizza & More: Forget about the alien “take me to your leader” line, just take yourself to Maar’s. This is a serious pizzeria that doesn’t need a gimmick to get attention. It simply serves pizza in a style that is more neighborhood American than classic Italian, with puffy hand-tossed crusts or a thin crust option that is flat as a pancake and crunches like a cracker loaded with a bounty of toppings. 14218 Nacodoches Road, 210-5997400, maarspizzaandmore.com
7. Truth Pizzeria: Coming off six years of running the Sulla Strada Pizza truck, John Winkler fired up his brick oven on the East Side this summer at Truth, where he threads a righteous line between New York and Neapolitan style crusts for a short, smart menu of traditional pies. 1602 E. Houston St., Suite 111, at the Hackberry Market, 210-600-3211, Instagram: @truthpizzeria.
6. Playland: Named after the former Playland Park off Broadway, it’s one of three downtown restaurant properties from the duo of Andrew Goodman and chef Stefan Bowers. Playland’s sourdough crusts, fired in a wood oven that weighs as much as a truck, are the anchor to the menu. They won’t win any beauty contests, loaded with dough bubbles and a look that could be mistaken for intentionally burnt, but they are some of the best in the city. 400 E. Houston St., 210-908-9362, playlandsa.com
5. Il Forno: The beauty of a pizzeria from a hyperactive chef like Michael Sohocki of Restaurant Gwendolyn fame comes from a menagerie of ingredients that might include forest mushrooms, chard, guanciale, even cranberries and pecans on crackling Neapolitan crusts from a brick oven built by Sohocki himself. 122 Nogalitos St., 210-616-2198, ilfornosa.com.
4. Florio’s Pizza: Florio’s has been serving some of the best New York-style pizza in the city for more than 30 years. Florio’s pizzas exude confidence and attitude, with the perfect ratio of herb-infused sauces, cheese and toppings served on a slightly charred crust. Order anything off the menu and you won’t be disappointed, but we suggest the meatballs. 7701 Broadway, 210805-8646, no online presence
3. Dough Pizzeria Napoletana: The success of the pizzas from Dough, which now has downtown and Castle Hills locations, is based on two factors: fresh mozzarella made on-site daily, and ovens that were handbuilt and imported from Naples, Italy. The ovens are equipped with lava stone and can hold
800- to 1,000-degree temperatures with ease, allowing the pizzas to be cooked in 90 seconds with fiery thin crusts dotted with the appropriate amounts of speckled char. 6989 Blanco Road, 210-979-6565; 518 S. Alamo St., 210-227-2900, doughpizzeria.com
2. The Last Slice: Offering pizza with a take-charge crust, sauce with personality, and toppings engineered to bounce off and balance each other, The Last Slice is part walk-up street-slice joint and part high-tone sauce lab in the hands of Alejandro Aziel Perez, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio. 3021 MacArthur View, 210-994-5661, lastslice pizza.com.
1. Capo’s Pizzeria: Capo’s earned the first “worth a drive rating” of the series, and we never looked back. Straight out of Buffalo comes Rick Perna and his sons Nick and Ricky, doing serious pizzas with cheesy names like Moe Greene, Clemenza and Corleone, served on checkered tablecloths in a pizzeria that smells like baked bread and all-day marinara. 8522 Broadway, Suite 105, 210-362-1901, capospizzasa.com. Also at 16350 Blanco Road, Suite 103, 210-2489616.
3 best vegetable, no-meat pizzas
3. Vegetarian Deluxe: Rome’s Pizza, 5999 De Zavala Road, 210-691-2070; 10038 Potranco Road, 210-680-5000; 12411 Bandera Road, Helotes, 210-695-9933, romespizza.com
2. The Bianco: Pizzeria Vesuvio, 1110 S. Alamo St., 210-245-7478, vesuviotruck.com
1. Grilled Veggie: Ray’s Pizzaria, 5252 Fredericksburg Road, 210-257-8520; 455 McCarty Road, 210-348-9090, rayspizzaria.com
3 best traditional meats
3. Area 51: Maar’s Pizza & More, 14218 Nacogdoches Road, 210-599-7400, maarspizzaand more.com
2. Meatball and onion: Goodfellas Famous NY Pizza, 118 Jefferson St., 210-541-4230, Facebook: @goodfellaspizzasa
1. Meatball and garlic: Florio’s Pizza, 7701 Broadway, 210805-8646, no web presence
3 best Mexican-style
3. Down South: Bootleggers Pizza Parlor, 197 S. Seguin Ave., New Braunfels, 830-327-1199, bootleggerspizzaparlor.com
2. Jimmy’s Mexican Pizza: Jimmy’s Family Pizza, 226 E. Fest St., 210-212-8225, jimmyspizzasa. com
1. Famous Al Pastor: Hungry Chameleon, 1053 Austin Highway, 210-822-5555, ungrychameleon. com
3 best margherita
3. Margherita: Fralo’s, 23651 Interstate 10 W., Leon Springs, 210-698-6616, fralos.com
2. Margherita: Fratello’s Italian Market and Deli, 2503 Broadway, 210-444-0277, fratellosdeli. com
1. Margherita: Il Forno, 122 Nogalitos St., 210-616-2198, ilfornosa.com