Anyone been to Pulcinella on Henderson yet?
I know there's one in Katy. But, the Dallas restaurant just opened and I'm curious to see if anyone has tried it?
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twinwillow
Aug 9, 2008 02:15 PM
I wish them well but, I'm afraid I won't be back The "Italian" food was just, average at best.
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Drove by yesterday and saw some little yellow signs out that indicate Pulcinella is open for lunch.
Anybody been? Is there a special lunch menu?
Seems like the reviews here were this way and that. Anybody been lately for dinner? I went to The Capitol on Saturday and it seemed as if Pulcinella had a nice crowd.
I've got to get back to see for myself if they have worked out any of the kinks, but I thought maybe some of my fellow ChowHounders could fill me in first.
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re: Fallonized
I wouldn't call it heresy. I live in Irving and discovered Cavalli's in a new strip mall near my house. They claim to be the only pizza joint in Texas certified by the Italian government. The 800 degree oven cooks the pizza in ab out 90 seconds once it is assembled. My family and I really enjoy the pizza. The owners and employees are extremely nice. I believe they were named in the Best of in D Magazine, so that seems to be increasing their business. Folks should stop by and visit them if they are around 635 and Belt Line Road. It's a don't miss place for sure.
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I had been dying to try Pulcinella...but also left disappointed. The sauce was the best part about the pizza - I believe it is just simple crushed San Marzanos. I was there right when they opened on Sunday evening - so I don't think the oven was actually at the 800 degrees or so that you need to make real Neapolitan pizza. The crust was not good.
This is probably heresy, but the most authentic Neapolitan pizza I've had in Dallas is at Cavalli Pizza in Irving (www.cavallipizza.com). Yes I like it better than Olivella's - but it is in a strange location.
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Went this weekend to check this place out especially since it claims "real, authentic Neapolitan pizza! We were SOOOOO excited to go but left sorely disappointed. We tried the cannelloni and lasagna as well as the Margarita pizza. Didn't care for the cannelloni since it had chicken in it (which is not normally done. Ham is a better choice for this) The Lasagna was good. I like that it was not a compact, 100 layer piece that weights 10 lbs, rather it was "lighter and fluffier" with fewer layers. So we enjoyed that and THEN the not so real, not so authentic Neapolitan pizza came. The only thing that was passable on this pizza was the sauce - nice San Marzano tomato taste. The crust was not thin enough in the middle and not crispy enough around the edges - which is the way it is done in Naples. We also questioned whether or not they put Bufala mozzerella on the pizza or not. The waitress said this is what they use on the Margarita at Pulcinella. However, we think it may have been a local handmade mozzerella (which is not bad however, once again this is not an authentic Neapolitan thing to do). And lastly, the pizza was not finished off with a drizzle of olive oil upon being pulled out of the pizza oven. It was lacking in that flavor so much so, that we had to ask for a little side of olive oil just so we could drizzle it on ourselves and 'pretend' we were having a fantastic pie. Overall, for what we spent there, i would either A) go to Olivella's and have way better and more authentic Italian Pizza with a whole bottle of wine (we didn't even get a whole bottle and got out of there for way more than expected) or B) go to Coal Vines to have NY/Connecticut pizza, with a bottle or wine or C) go cheap and get really good bar pizza down the street at Louie's! It is such a shame that all of these new places in town are claiming Neapolitan pizza (hello Villa-O, you too!). Especially for all of you who have not had the pleasure of living or traveling to Naples and experiencing the real thing - that is just plain old false advertising.
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re: Mr Pulcinella
I don't think the link is working.
In any case, i have a very clear understanding of a real Pizza Margarita. As i mentioned above...."The crust was not thin enough in the middle and not crispy enough around the edges - which is the way it is done in Naples". In addition, upon watching my local pizza guy every friday night when i lived in Naples, drizzling a tad bit of olive oil AFTER it comes out of the oven seems pretty standard in Italy. Maybe the Pizzaiola was off that night at Pulcinella? The pizza at Pulcinella is not bad, in fact it is tasty, but claiming to be 'authentic' seems to be such a trend these days to add to ones restaurant title.
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I had the pizza a couple days ago. It is thin crust. It was OK, but I'm going to have to give them a second chance because they weren't even officially open when they served me and they didn't have the full menu.
I'm gonna try to go for dinner in the next couple days - I'm hoping they'll have the full menu.
Anybody else been?
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re: Epicurious Esquire
Ok, here's my reply to my own post.
The pizza is MUCH, MUCH better than the first time I tried it. The oven, which I believe was imported from Italy, is firing much, much hotter than 2 weeks ago. The thin crust was slightly charred, crisp enough and is very light in texture.
In addition to the basic Margheria, I also had the Greco, which is toped with salty feta and roasted red peppers and finished with a honey drizzle. I thought the honey was a nice foil to the salty feta, and overall the pizza was very, very pleasing.
It provides a nice alternative to the gloppy, gut-busting pizza at Fireside.
I live in the M Streets and am VERY, VERY excited about the Shops on Henderson development. I'll definitely be back for more Pulcinella Pizza and I can't wait for Sushi Axiom to open.
That whole strip seems to be buzzing with electricity.
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re: margiehubbard
Pizzas are $12-16, which I thought was reasonable.
This goes more to my lack of self-control than anything, but I like the fact that they are not huge, massive pizzas. For a guy with an appetite, a salad and a pizza would be a nice meal, leaving you satisfied but not completely stuffed.
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re: Epicurious Esquire
Bhutani
Mar 21, 2008 09:09 PM
Went for dinner tonight and can't say that I will be returning. From the looks of the menu online, I wasn't expecting much. It read like your standard suburban Italian restaurant. My wife is always in the mood for Italian and the restaurant is fairly close to us so we decided to check it out.
We each had one of their wood-fired pizzas. I did appreciate the thin charred crust but there was something missing. We also shared a salad that was good but nothing that would necessarily draw me back.
Overall, I would think about returning if I lived out in Katy and had few non-chain options. I just don't think the concept works quite as well with so many other restaurants nearby serving far better pizza.
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re: Bhutani
vktp
Mar 22, 2008 05:14 PM
My 2 cents: I wasn't expecting much from Pulcinella's, since I feel a little pizza-d out, but I was pretty pleasantly surprised. On my first visit, we got started with a margherita pizza. Like several other places around town, Pulicinella's touts itself as authentic Neopolitan pizza. Never been to Italy, so I can't vouch for it's authenticity, but it was good. The secret is in the sauce-- which wasn't overly sweet or tangy. Rather, it had a fresh bright taste that carried the entire pizza. The mozz was sparing-- silver dollar sized circles dotted each slice. The crust was thin, crisp, and perfect. Since they had comped us the pizza, I felt obligated to order an entree to follow. Chose the special of the day: penne a la vodka sauce. The pasta was perfectly al dente, and the sauce was balanced. My friend had the eggplant soup, which she loved as well.
I immediately dragged yet another friend back last night, but had a moderately different experience. We had the salami pizza. There was a heftier portion of mozz, and there was something missing with the sauce. The pizza was crisp, but didn't reach the level of perfect texture they had achieved earlier in the week. It lacked the wow factor overall.
Still, Pulcinella's is putting out good product and is worth a visit.
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Dallas Alice
Feb 25, 2008 05:56 PM
I live in the neighborhood, and haven't heard of it -- where is it? What is it?
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