Unique and Delicious Pizza Options for North Texas ( DFW ) 2024

Good day, Pizza Lovers!

Pizza Slayer’s and Slanger’s On ABC

First, I would like to thank WFAA ABC DAYBREAK for letting me cohost Trey’s Unique and Delicious Pizza Options for North Texas with my buddy Sean Giggy. We wanted to throw a BIG party so everyone could enjoy some fresh and delicious pizza and awesome, UNFORGETTABLE pizza slang’ers.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably noticed that there are pizza joints on every corner these days. One thing I know for a fact after years or research is that all pizza joints are not created equal.  We set out to discover the most unique and delicious pizza options in the North Texas area. This was important to me, because everyone likes pizza in one form or another. In fact, everyone I’ve ever met LOVES pizza!

If you’re a pizza lover looking for unique, fresh and delicious pizza, then you know it all starts with the dough. The dough is the biggest factor in what sets one joint apart from another. After that, it’s all about the sauce. Some trend towards the sweeter side, while others let the natural acidity shine through. From there, it’s all about using farm-fresh ingredients and vegetables. The combination of these aspects is what we’re looking for when finding unique and delicious pizza options in North Texas. It sounds easy, but believe you me, it ain’t easy to achieve the perfect pizza!

That being said, I think we’ve located some of the most unique and delicious pizza options in the North Texas area for everyone to enjoy. Each one offers something different, and is prepared with passion and love to create some delicious pizza.

Because each pizza joint is unique, there is no specific order to this list. If you love pizza like I do, then I would highly recommend you try each of them or pick one that’s close to you so you can enjoy some seriously delicious pizza. One thing I’m sure of is that you better pack your bags, because you’re going a trip straight to PIZZA-DELICIOUSVILLE!

Get ready and let’s take a PIZZA tour! 

 

Greenville Ave Pizza Co. GAPco

Greenville Ave Pizza Company – GAPCo, Dallas, Texas 

https://www.gapc.co

They have two locations in Dallas and love SLAY’N pizza. Every pizza I’ve tried has been loaded with “GAPCo PIZZA DELICIOUSNESS. ” The don’t have pizza creators, they have PIZZA SLAYERS. Chef Sammy only believes in the best and they are passionate about SLAY’N creative, fresh and delicious pizzas everyone can love. I’ve been enjoying their pizza for years. The LTO Pizzas are the best and always offer creative, insanely flavorful pizzas that are unforgettable. Each bite you take will make you thank the PIZZA FLAVOR GODS because of the unforgettable flavors. YEA, that F#$% delicious! Better buckle up because you’re headed on a ROCKET SHIP to FLAVOR-VILLE baby!

Greenville Avenue Pizza Company is a local from scratch pizza and wings restaurant. The original location started on lowest Greenville Ave. in 2007 and ten years later GAPCo expanded and opened the Peavy Rd. location. As a staple of the DFW metroplex GAPCo is considered one of the best pizzerias in the city and recognized by Pizza Today magazine as an industry leader throughout the country. Check them out and tell them OL TREY SENY YA!

 

Son Of A Baker Pizzeria at Archibald

Son of A Baker Pizzeria – Fort Worth, Texas

https://sonofabakerpizzeria.com

Located inside The Archibald in downtown Fort Worth, they offer fresh and creative ASTISAN-CRAFTED pizzas that are bursting with FLAVOR. When we saw the photos on social media, I knew we had to give them a try. The pizza was LOADED with pizza deliciousness that SLAPPED OUR PALLETTE with each bite. It’s a very small family-run operation and Chef Joshua and his family love creating and slang’n pizzas everyone will love. He offers his CLASSICS and his SPECIATLY pizza, and each was ridiculously delicious. If you love pizza, you’re going to love Son of a Baker at The Archibald. Check them out and tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

Cane Rosso Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza.

CANE ROSSO – DFW Locations

https://www.canerosso.com

When CANE ROSSO came on scene years ago, I had to make the trip because I had heard such great things about the concept. After my first visit in Dallas, I made my way in early one afternoon to the Fort Worth location on Magnolia Ave. If you follow my foodie adventures around the USA, then you know that I love to visit restaurants when it’s slow so I can engage with the managers and staff to learn a little more about the operation and history. That day I learned a lot about CANE ROSSO and understood why I fell in love with the concept.

I’ve never met owner Jay Jerrier, but I’ve always heard great things about him and his restaurant operations. I learned Jay started his concept after visiting Italy and tasting a true authentic Italian pizza. He fell in love, and the rest is history. Cane Rosso started in his backyard with a custom wood burning oven he had built. He was PASSIONATE about learning and perfecting the art and craft of authentic NEAPOLITAN STYLE PIZZA. They use the highest quality ingredients, handmade dough, mozzarella made in-house daily, fresh pasta, and unique takes on both traditional and modern Italian dishes. All pizzas are cooked at 900 degrees in their custom-built ovens.

He has created an UNFORGETTABLE restaurant and dining experience that you will love, because I sure do. My favorite eats are the MEAT BALLS, CHEESY GARLIC BREAD, and the PROSCIUTTO and ARUGULA PIZZA. If you love pizza, Cane Rosso has to be on your list to try. Check them out and tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

Motor City Pizza Pepperoni, Breakfast and Birria Syle Pizzas w/consommme

Motor City Pizza – Lewisville, Texas

https://www.motorcitypizzatx.com

The name says it all! Slang’n authentic DETROIT STYLE PIZZA that is savory, thick and delicious. If you don’t know what DETROIT STYLE pizza is, then you’ve been missing something very unique. Detroit-style pizza is a deep-dish rectangular pizza topped with Wisconsin brick cheese and a cooked tomato-based sauce. The dough typically has a hydration level of 70 percent or higher, which creates an open, porous, chewy crust with a crisp exterior. Detroit-style pizza was invented in 1946 by an Italian immigrant named Gus Guerra, although the exact details are controversial. What can be agreed upon is that Guerra invented the style while trying to add new menu items at his neighborhood bar.

You are going to love the flavor profiles and deliciousness that Motor City offers. I’ve enjoyed the NEW BRUNCH/ BREAKFAST pizzas that are slathered in house gravy, OMG! OMG! Yea, I said GRAVY! GET YOU SOME OF THAT! I’ve also tried the DETROITER with OLD-WORLD PEPPERONI, and it was a F#$$% ticket to deliciousville. I also enjoyed the NEW BIRRIA PIZZA with house chili infused beef broth for drip’in. Oh, I had to have extra drip’in sauce because it was DRIPP’IN with DELICIOUSNESS. Head over to Lewisville and tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

South Polk Pizzaria

South Polk Pizzaria – Dallas, Texas 

https://southpolkpizzeria.com

They’re a NEW family-run, chef-driven pizza operation specializing in NEO-New York Style Pizza using the highest quality ingredients with classic and custom flavor profiles you will love.  They also offer wings, salads and other delicious items you will enjoy. What is NEO STYLE? Simply put, Neo-Neapolitan pizza refers to a pie that takes its basic inspiration and baking process from the authentic Neapolitan pizza, but pushes the flavors and ingredients into new and exciting directions that are outside of the strict Neapolitan tradition. To keep it simple: SOUTH POLK is slang’n EXTREME PIZZA DELICIOUSNESS that you will love. I love their passion for creating fresh and unique pizza options. Check them out, you’re going to love this place. Tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

DELUCCA GAUCHO PIZZA

 

DELUCCA Gaucho Pizza and Wine, DFW Locations

https://www.delucca.com

You want to talk about UNIQUE pizza options? Then DELUCCA is right there at the TOP. They are a Brazilian Rodizio-Style Service, offering Global Flavors that are the BAROMETER for UNIQUE pizza deliciousness. They are an upscale pizzeria slang’n exceptional wines at a great value, craft cocktails, bossa nova and a continuous variety of savory and dessert pizzas. It’s an endless pizza experience perfect for a fun date night or group celebration. When I say endless, it’s ENDLESS. You keep enjoying the pizza options and they keep bringing them to your table. ALL CAN YOU EAT, and each PIZZA is LAYERED with flavors to create an unforgettable dining experience. Check them out and tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

Orestes New York Style Pizza

Orestes New York Style Pizza – Trinity Groves, Dallas, TX

https://www.orestespizza.com

If you’re looking for some delicious pizza and Italian food, then NEW ORESTE’S has to be on your list. I’ve known Chef Jay for years, and he’s passionate about his chef-driven culinary experiences. Oreste’s! Named after Saint Rocco’s dog, Oreste’s is a quick-serve version of Saint Rocco’s. While the menu will focus on lunch service, they’re open for dinner and breakfast too! They’re a full-service experience – serving pizza, pazzini’s, Italian street food, cannoli’s, and Italian soda’s, as well as lunch entrees to include classics like Chicken Parmesan. OMG this is DELICIOUS! They offer a full-service bar with coffee, tea and espresso drinks available, as well. He offers a New York style pizza, which is made with a characteristically large hand-tossed thin crust, often sold in wide slices to go. The crust is thick and crisp only along its edge, yet soft, thin, and pliable enough beneath its toppings to be folded to eat. It’s ridiculously delicious with each bite. Check them out and tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

Mama’s Pizza

Mama’s Pizza – DFW Locations

https://mamaspizzas.net/location/

MAMA’S has been around for decades, and I even worked at MAMA’S on Camp Bowie in Fort Worth slang’n pizza in high school during the summers. It never got old to me, and I love the MAMA’S unique flavors and the pillowy style crust. It’s what I like to call the MAMA’S FACTOR of DELICIOUSNESS. 

Mama’s Pizza was founded in 1968 by Ed Stebbins on East Rosedale Street in Fort Worth. The Connecticut native, whose mother was from Naples, Italy, was then a student at Texas Wesleyan University and opened the pizzeria right across the street from the university. Stebbins couldn’t think of a good name for the pizzeria but decided upon Mama’s. In 1970, his mother-in-law, Elizabeth Biggs, joined the Mama’s staff and began taking orders behind the counter. She became known as “Mama,” and the moniker stuck. Jordan Scott inherited Mama’s on 2003 and has taken MAMA’S to new and exciting heights while retaining the MAMA’S FACTOR of DELICIOUSNESS. I love to order a double pepperoni and chow down. If you love PIZZA, then MAMA’S has to be on your list. Check them out and tell them OL’ TREY YA!

 

GRIMALDI’S PIZZERA

GRIMALDI’S COAL BRICK-OVEN PIZZERA – DFW Locations 

https://www.grimaldispizzeria.com

We discovered them by accident years ago. After our first visit I couldn’t believe the pizza was so delicious. Since that day we’ve made several trips to various locations and fell in love with GRIMALDI’S. The cook process is unique and one that requires skill and passion to facilitate properly. They do a masterful job at creating PIZZA DELICIOUSNESS for everyone to enjoy.

Grimaldi’s family business began with the opening of their first location under the Brooklyn Bridge in the borough’s DUMBO neighborhood. Grimaldi’s Pizzeria serves traditional coal-fired brick oven pizza using pizza-making traditions originating in Brooklyn over 100 years ago. Using only the freshest ingredients, and their ‘secret recipe’ dough that’s hand-tossed and made in house daily, their pizzas are prepared in their signature Coal-Fired Brick Ovens, which helps us deliver an authentic taste that’s not found in conventional oven pizza. They’re a family-friendly, casual, yet upscale, New York-themed restaurant. It’s their passion for pizza that made them a “must eat” for pizza lovers everywhere! I LOVE the unique flavor profile and their PIZZA DELICIOUSNESS you get from every single bite. Check them out and tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

Zoli’s NY Style Pizza & Casual Italian

ZOLI’S New-York Style Pizza & Casual Italian – DFW Locations

https://www.zolispizza.com

A few years ago, I met someone in Fort Worth and they asked me if I’ve ever tried ZOLI’S? To which I replied, “WHO? WHAT IS A ZOLI?” The rest is HISTORY! We headed over the next day to chow down at ZOLI’S, and it was a fantastic restaurant and pizza experience. We discovered in our conversation with the manager that it was the sister company to CANE ROSSO, another love of mine. That’s when I understood why the deliciousness factor was in full-tilt-boogie.

It’s a NEW YORK style pizza and authentic Italian joint offering from scratch chef and pizzas that are loaded with delicious flavor profiles that are highly addictive. They offer snacks, sharables, sandwiches, a O.D. Burger which I love, sweets, cocktails and of course pizza. My personal favorite is the HONEY BASTARD 12 x 12 square pie. OMG, HOLY SMACK DOWN! The texture, slight crispy edges, and sweet heat flavor is RIDICULOUS. Each bite of this pizzas is a TRIP STRAIGHT to pizza delicious-ville. Check them out and tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

Mister 01 EXTRAORDINARY Pizza

Mister 01 Extraordinary Pizza – DFW Locations 

https://www.mistero1.com

I received a call a few years ago and was asked to try MISTER 01, an artisanal style Pizza joint, and I’m glad we did. What we experienced was a unique and unforgettable pizza dining experience. They offer much more than pizza, but the pizza was so f#$%$% delicious that we made several trips back to enjoy even more of MISTER 01 PIZZA DELICIOUSNESS. They have multiple locations now in DFW, so everyone can have the opportunity to enjoy their experience.

Mister O1 was born from the idea that an extraordinary pizza requires the utmost attention to detail and the finest ingredients, the necessary tools for an artist to produce a masterpiece. The recipe for success was simple: quality and consistency. These would be the hallmarks of Chef Renato Viola’s pizzas. They use only the finest and freshest ingredients and most of them are imported from Italy or locally sourced. The artisanal pizza is a delicate thin crust style with a very light dough, which is prepared and rests for a minimum of 72 hours into natural levitation before being served. It’s so F@#$ DELICIOUS you’re going to have naughty pizza dreams when you leave. Check them out and tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

400 GRADI & GRADI ZERO

400 GRADI Ristorante Italiano – Dallas 

https://www.400gradiusa.com

Woo-Wee! What can I say about the AMAZING 400 GRADI! Their story is a great one and when I heard about 400 and their beautiful custom-made pizza ovens, I had to make the trip to check them out and chow down. Chow Down we did! I think I had to waddle out of the restaurant because I enjoyed so much pizza deliciousness. They offer a NEOPOLITAN STYLE PIZZA, which is a type of pizza that originated in Naples, Italy. This style of pizza is prepared with simple and fresh ingredients: a basic dough, raw tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and olive oil. When you prepare it hot, fresh and delicious like 400 GRADI, its flavors are unforgettable.

400 GRADI was established in 2008, with their flagship site in the heart of BRUNSWICK. Like most Italian families, they’ve grown. They have locations all around the world now, with passionate teams committed to offering the BEST PIZZA and other heartfelt cuisine in a warm, friendly atmosphere. My FAVORITE eats are the BURRATA, THE MEAT BALLS with HOUSE BAKED BREAD, GNOCCHI DI LUIGI, and the VESUVIO pizza. You will love 400 GRADI, and when you get finished with your delicious pizza you can visit one of their SWEET SHOPS named ZERO GRADI. Truly UNFORGETTABLE! Tell them OL’ TREY SENT YA!

 

Sauce’d Grapvine

Sauce’d Pizza – Grapevine

https://www.sauced.pizza

Oh yea! Home to the original TEXAS crust. That’s what I said: TEXAS CRUST! It’s worth the trip to chow down and find out what it’s all about. All their pizza crust and dough are prepared in-house using the freshest ingredients. They hand toss each one before adding fresh toppings. This gives you an authentic pizza flavor of deliciousness. I’m telling you it’s so delicious and be careful because IT’S ADDICTING!!! They offer a TEXAS CRUST and a NEW YORK STYLE CRUST – you can take your pick from their unique and delicious pizza crust options.

I absolutely love this little pizza joint and their passion to serve the customer. If you’re in the mood I would highly recommend you add one of their award-winning smash burgers to your order. it will make a nice side, and it will be loaded with smash deliciousness. Your visit will be unforgettable, and you will be thanking the pizza GODS from above.

 

Gepetto’s Pizza Truck ( Mobile )

www.gepettopizzatruck.com

I’ve been enjoying the Gepetto’s pizza deliciousness for years in Fort Worth. They believe in nothing but the very best using fresh prepared dough and the finest locally sourced ingredients to create fresh flavorful pizzas. Yes! The pizzas may be prepared in a truck but that doesn’t matter. They love being mobile because the possibilities are endless. They can go where the party is for home, office, events, food truck parks, you name it they can ZOOM THERE. They also can create a custom menu for your event or party.  They’ve won award after award for their fresh and delicious pizzas. If you love pizza, then you need to check out Gepetto’s Pizza Truck because they are one of the top pizza slang’ers in the DFW area. You’re going to thank me bite after bite!

 

Trey’s Take:
Each one of these pizza operations are truly unique, unforgettable, and delicious. Each offers house favorites and some have seasonal flavor profiles that change, so you will always have something exciting and new. Some of them also feature (LTO) Limited Time Offerings. They’re all officially approved Trey’s Chow Down Delicious Destinations and are worthy of your visit.

Thank YOU so much for reading and following our USA foodie, chef and travel adventures.

Trey (CHOW DOWN) Chapman

The 50 Best Burgers in North Texas 2021

Howdy Burger Lovers!

I’m honored to present this year’s BEST burger winners. Any burger on my list is here because they are fresh and delicious. Please support local and try all of these burgers. Below at the end of the blog we created a full color poster of this years winners. You may screen shot from your phone or print it off and plan your BURGER adventures of 2021. By saving our list you will have instance reference for your barbecue cravings. 

WOW! What a year 2020 was for the restaurant, food, and culinary world. In my five decades in the restaurant business, I’ve seen disasters of all types and nothing comes close to the devastating effect Covid-19 had on our economy. Restaurants, chefs, pitmasters, and restauranteurs had to make big changes if they wanted to survive the pandemic. Nationwide, we lost over 251,000 restaurants forever and 2.5 million restaurant jobs at the latest estimate. The good thing is that NOW we are on the mend and the Texas economy is in full giddy-up mode! This is why it’s so important to support local restaurants to keep us in giddy-up mode.

Even though things were crazy due to Covid-19 we still worked hard reporting on food and hunting down the best burgers we could locate in North Texas. The pandemic allowed us plenty of extra time to chow down on some tasty burgers; it also allowed burger creators time to come up with some new delicious and creative burgers for all of us to enjoy. If you follow me, you know how much I enjoy a great and tasty burger.  This is our seventh year for the BEST BURGER contest in Texas and I’m excited to tell everyone about my delicious burger discoveries.

Did you know that burgers are one of the most sought-after sandwiches in the world? The burger business is crazy in the U.S.A. I don’t have the newly updated numbers of burgers sold in 2020 during the pandemic (and it would be an oddly skewed amount), so we are using the last updated numbers. A national research company states that we sell 6.48 million burgers a day, and around 75 burgers a second! What? Yes, 75 burgers a second! This roughly breaks down as 4,500 burgers every minute, 270,000 every hour, 6.48 million a day, and 2.36 billion burgers a year. A worldwide research study states we sell 50 billion a year worldwide. 50 Billion a year that to me is shocking, but I know how many folks just love a succulent, savory, and delicious burger.

Best Chicken Dishes In North Texas

ABC DAYBREAK Kara and Trey’s Chow Down

I bet everyone is tired of turkey and ham at this point right after the holidays.

After we spoke with the producer at ABC DAYBREAK about a new BEST food segment we decided to locate and try some of the most savory and delicious chicken dishes in the North Texas area. I’ve eaten chicken from East Texas Sulphur Springs area all the way west to Weatherford trying to locate the most unique savory dishes that everyone can enjoy.

Although this is Texas, and Texans love beef, these days creative chicken dishes grace almost every menu in Texas.

Beef still rings king in Texas but chicken has to be number two without question.

I love telling food stories and I truly believe food always tastes better with a story and a little food history never hurts either.

Ever since I was a little boy I’ve been passionate about food, but I’ve LOVED me some chicken. I like it fried, roasted, baked, grilled, dry roasted, rotisserie-cooked, and even cooked on a trash can lid. Yes, you read that correctly, cooked on a trash can lid. Let me explain!

Rapscallion Dallas Massive Rotisserie

I was traveling through Jamaica just chowing down on everything I could find (like I’ve done many times before). I was riding in a van and we passed this guy cooking right off the other side of the road. I couldn’t see what he was cooking, but I could smell it. Man… did it smell delicious. Now you have to understand he was cooking roadside in a hut style that was anything but normal looking. It was basically falling down! The food was on top of two trash cans cooking. I could smell and see the smoke. I yelled at the driver, “Hey man what’s that dude cooking and why is he roadside?” The driver yelled back, “Man, that’s authentic Jamaican jerk chicken he’s cooking and he’s selling it”! I told the driver I want to stop when we come back and everyone looked at me like I was crazy. The driver yelled back, “Yea man, gotcha!” We did make our stop and I’ll never forget how incredibly delicious that authentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken tasted coming off that trash can lid. I’ve never tasted that flavor profile again. I purchased three more of those farm-fresh trash can chicken dishes for the road, and off we went.

I don’t care what it’s called I love me some cluck cluck. You just can’t go wrong with a savory delicious chicken dish. Especially when it’s prepared fresh by a creative chef even on a trash can lid.

Here is a little chicken history for everyone;

The History of the Chicken is simple. Domestication of the chicken dates back to at least 2000 B.C. and their ancestry can be traced back to four species of wild jungle fowl from Southeast Asia. … The chicken belongs to the genus Gallus of the family Phasianidae. Domestic chickens are simply classified as Gallus Domesticus. I bet you weren’t aware of that. That where all eating Gallus Domesticus! To tell you the truth I didn’t either until I did a little food research.

I truly don’t care what we call it but I know is delicious!

A talented chef can create so many options for a savory chicken dish using any part of the chicken. There truly are no limits to the deliciousness of chicken. Please enjoy our best chicken dishes choices.

Michael’s Cuisine Restaurant