Best Pizza in North Dallas?

Help me please! I'm a Chicago boy commuting to Dallas for business for the past few months. I'm struggling to find decent pizza (thin crust, rather than Chicago style). The closest to reasonable I've had is Campisi's, though I wasn't overwhelmed.

Any alternate suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[jjerrier2450]

Cane Rosso at Preston Forest is no longer open. Sorry everyone!

[gelofool]

I definetly agree with Grimaldi's in the West Village but the new Pizza Lounge is EXCELLENT. It is right across from Fair Park by the Merridian Room. They have "foodie" toppings, overall its very well done and different.

[intence]

Cavalli Pizza in Irving, near Beltline and 635. It's not "commerical" pizza, but rather authentic style pizza baked in a wood oven.

-----
Cavalli Pizza
3601 Regent Blvd, Irving, TX 75063

[ShanghaiSam]

Second Olivella's..but wanted to add Grimaldi's to the list. It's located in West Village (Uptown area) and has great coal-oven fired pizza....it's the same restaurant as the one under the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC (though the pizza here is not nearly as good)...but it's pretty good pie.

[FoodChic]

Musko - I'm also from Chicago and good pizza can be found here. Don't ask people from Texas for pizza, as it's like asking Chicagoans for good BBQ...they just don't know "good."

Anyhoo...Checkout Coal Vines in Dallas and Fireside Pies at 5717 Legacy Drive, Plano.
Those two places produce some damn fine pies!

-----
Fireside Pies
5717 Legacy Dr, Plano, TX 75024

[DallasDude]

For those not keeping track, Cane Rosso opens again tonight. Jay said something somewhere about a second location for the weekend (Zinsky's???) for a charity deal.

[jjerrier2450]

We did re-open tonight at Chocolate Angel...I received my repaired oven about 3 hours before service. Delivered through a snow storm with the door open - so it was NOT a good service night for us. The oven was running so hot in an attempt to dry it out that I singed what's remaining of my hairline.

It was a Charity Night benefitting Dallas Furniture Bank at both Cane Rosso and Zinsky's tonight. Cane Rosso will be at Times Ten Cellars on Wed starting in April.

[OCNC]

I can't wait to try your pizzas, I have heard so much good about them! We're still trying to find pizza here as good as we have had in Italy.

[pgwiz1]

Wow, this is so awesome! I LOVE Neapolitan style pizzas (one of my favorite pizza places in Washington DC is called Two Amys and they are DOC certified). Can't wait to try this soon! Really excited about the x10 cellars location.

[taldeac]

Love Cane Rosso at Chocolate Angel. Very good pizza. Different to me than some of my other favorites but I love it. Thin crust but not too thin. And BYOB which is nice.

[jtmetcalfe]

I think Cosmo's on Live Oak/Skillman has pretty awesome pizza. Large cheese for $12 was more than two people should have eaten. Great atmosphere.

[DarnellErwinFletcher]

I've been in that kitchen and have seen the "crust"... think Boboli except Sysco's version.

[DallasDude]

The Sysco version you would be referring to is called 'Arrezzio'.

[Liveitloud]

Last night ordered a delivery pizza from Joe's Pizza in Plano. Did not expect much from a delivery pizza. What I got was a pleasant surprise. This crust was very thin and crisp but not cracker. Good distribution of sauce to cheese. Lots of meat, onion and mushroom. Also order a pasta dish. It came with bread and salad. The pasta came so hot that it must have continued to cook in the container because it was a bit over cooked imo. Overall I was very happy with the quality of the pizza for anyone out there that might be interested.

[pgwiz1]

I have heard from a few people that Coal Vines in Uptown is really good. Still have to make it there to check it out, but depending on where your work location is, might be an easy one for you to check out....

[twinwillow]

I'm not a fan of Coal Vines.

[DarnellErwinFletcher]

I think Coal Vines is good, but you should just stick with the cheese pizza.... adding anything else sogs the crust.

[DallasDude]

Have them bake the pie just a bit longer than normal, and stick to pizzas that are less sauced or ask for less sauce. It really is a good crust and pizza at Coal Vines.

I am not saying another word about Louie's until Jon joins me for a pizza there.

[DallasChowChick]

Bad crust and horrible service....You're actually considering giving them another shot?

[mahalan]

I've been to Coal Vines more than a dozen times in the past year. During that time, I've had a soggy crust once when I had a pizza with five or six toppings on it. I've never had that problem with their white pizza or with a pie that only had 3-4 toppings.

[Jayzee]

Good luck, I have been trying since 1986 when I moved here. I second Louie's. There is a Rosatis - now called Chicago's Finest - it is in Plano.

[twinwillow]

I also like Louie's pizza. Actually, I like everything at Louie's.

[wanderingpilgrim]

I'm not a real pizza connoisseur, but I really like the pizza at Angelo's Spaghetti and Pizza House in Irving (1330 W. Pioneer Dr). Their pasta doesn't have a great reputation, but the pizza is pretty darn awesome.

[twinwillow]

Arguably, the best pizzas in Dallas:
Il Cane Rosso. Thursday-Saturday only. Preston Forest. www.ilcanerosso.com
Olivella's (possibly, the very best) on McFarlin off Hillcrest close to SMU.
Campania. West Village.
Nonna. Lomo Alto in Highland Park. The only white sauce clam pizza in Dallas. Addictive!
Lover's Pizza & Pasta. Lovers Lane. Really good NYC style pizza.
Stay away from Campisi's.

[twinwillow]

I'd like to add, Farnatchi. Adjacent to Knox Avenue. Not quite as good as those I listed above but still, very good. Dough is made on site.

[air]

Good call on Il Cane Rosso for neapolitan, I'm starting to think they are my favorite pizza in Dallas. Outstanding well-formed pizza with perfect crust and quality ingredients.

For NYC style pizza by the slice I also like:
Carmine's in Richardson
Maestro's in Addison

[air]

More on Il Cane Rosso:
http://madewithair.vox.com/library/po...

[twinwillow]

air: Your photo report is terrific. Thanks!

[DallasDude]

Agreed, thanks air for the blog and pics on this sweet new venture.

[air]

Thanks for the feedback.

I want to share more insight on pairing beer with pizza since the BYOB allows for many different combinations for contrasting or enhancing flavors. I'm sure someone could provide some good input for wine too.
While I prefer Belgian ales, lighter pilsners/lagers are commonly used too. Think Stella Artois, Victory Prima Pils, Brooklyn Lager, Shiner Bock. I also had Rogue Chocolate Stout pictured, and it was an outstanding match with the zeppoli dessert.

Another useful link:
http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/0...

[amokscience]

Maestro's seems closed (their website says they'll re-open somewhere else).

Time to visit the Galleria/Addison corridor for some pizza sampling

[air]

I was driving down Belt Line last night and saw that Bacci's Pizza had a "Grand Opening" sign yesterday in the space formerly occupied by Maestro's. Hope this new place makes it. The pizza tasted similar to Luigi's over by Love Field (crispy crust, smooth cheese, sauce not too sweet). Wasn't bad, I'd come back again and I'm glad they're in the area.

[twinwillow]

I like "Fireman 4" and anything by "Dogfish Head".

[LewisvilleHounder]

Il Cane Rosso is the best pizza I have had since I came back from my honeymoon in 2008 in Rome. The sauce was not bitter and not sweet but let the tomatoes do their work (San Marzanos). The cheese was light and did not overwhelm nor did it compete with the crust. The crust was high quality flour and salt. It was light, airy, and crisp from the wood fired oven. The toppings were high quality (no processed pepperoni here, only sopressata picante).

High qulaity ingredients do make a difference as does a trained pizzaiolo. This is by far the best pizza in North Dallas.

[scjohann]

I used to love Carmines pizza but seems like the quality has gone down quite a bit in the last 3-4 years.

[Scagnetti]

I agree, Carmine's has taken a nosedive. I think the original owners sold out and it's not been the same since.

[jamma422]

There are 2 places that are miles past the rest, the first is Olivella's it is a hole in the wall with maybe 15 tables, but they do a pretty traditional Neopolitan pizza that is pretty outstanding. The other is Eno's which is located in the Bishop Arts District in South Dallas, they have more of a gastro pub feel with an extensive beer menu and a bunch of good thin crust pizza. But those 2 are miles past the rest, but they do a really thin crust pizza which is crispy on the bottom. If you want a decent New York style pizza Stomboli's on Mockingbird isn't bad but I have yet to find really good Chicago or New York style pizza in Dallas.

I like the thin crust at Chicago's Finest Pizza in Plano on Independence and Spring Creek. They also have Italian Beef. It is carry out/delivery only.

Try Louie's on Henderson. They just got voted best pizza in Dallas by D magazine. I hear all their food is great. I know they make their own sausage.

1839 N. Henderson
Dallas, TX 75206
[phone]

[pgwiz1]

I thought they got their sausage from Jimmy's???

[DallasDude]

They do

Pizza and Texas are a contradiction in terms.
Being from Chicago with transplanted kids in Dallas who always want us to bring Giordannos pizza with us when we visit, I would suggest you either bring your own or give up.
After all, Texas has many glorious foods to enjoy. Be adventurous and find the best foods of the region. Then, perhaps, when you're back in Chicago you can tell your friends about the great stuff you've found in Texas but can't find here!

You will not find any exceptional pizza in Dallas but you might give these places a try:

Sal's Pizza
2525 Wycliff Ave
Dallas, TX 75219-2592
Phone: [phone]

Lovers Pizza Pasta
5605 W Lovers Ln
Dallas, TX 75209-4309
Phone: [phone]

When I lived in Irving a few years, I Fratelli made a really great pizza. Don't know how accessible that is to you...I believe they now have a few delivery outposts in addition to the main restaurant. Great stuff, and better than anything I've had since moving to Chicago, actually. The pizza's (though not the restaurant) along the same lines as Vito & Nick's, a Chicago joint at like 85th and Pulaski. Nice thin, crisp crust, good tang to the sauce, fresh ingredients. Good luck,

Aaron

I Fratelli
7750 N Macarthur Blvd
Irving, TX 75063-7514
972-501-9700

You won't be overwhelmed by any pizza in Dallas. Marco's is good (carryout only), and different from Campisi's, but the pizza situation in Dallas is just not so great. The original Campisi's on Mockinbird Lane is supposed to be better than the branch locations. Scallini's in Lakewood is similiar to Campisi's and pretty good.

We do have some overwhelmingly good chow here -- see below -- just not pizza.

Dallas pizza possibilities: Cafe Roma(151 W. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano), Dino's Italian Restaurant(3022 Motley Drive, Mesquite), and Pastazio's(5026 Addison Circle, Addison).

Haven't actually been to any of those, but they're on my list of places to try if I'm ever in Dallas and hankering for pizza.

Try Marco's at Preston and Royal.