By Ginny, on March 1st, 2012% As a member of the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance, I am joining a team of fellow foodies in creating a City Wide Dining Guide detailing the best of the best Austin has to offer. Is there really anything better than pizza? Any genre of food which combines cheese, bread, and tomatoes is worth celebrating in my world. Building a perfect pizza is all about the crust, whether that be thin and crisp or thick and pillowy. No matter your personal preference, Austin’s pizza purveyors have the bases covered. 
Bola Pizza – Austinites have had a reason to get up early on Saturday mornings ever since Bola Pizza set up shop at the downtown Sustainable Food Center farmer’s market. From the dough to the toppings, Bola Pizza puts TLC into each and every pie. The dough undergoes a special three day fermentation process before being layered with inventive combinations of the freshest ingredients. Cooked to perfection on wood fire oven imported from the Motherland, Bola’s trademark crust is chewy on the inside with a crispy char on the outside. Whether it’s a simple pizza like the ‘Polka Dot’ topped with mozzarella, fried sage, and tomatoes or the fancier Bolognese, Bola Pizzas are hard to beat. As for those earlier risers, they get first bite at one of Bola’s famed breakfast pies generously topped with seasonal produce, meats, and farm fresh eggs. Bola Pizza is available by private event catering or at the SFC Farmer’s Market at Republic Square Park every Saturday from 9am-1pm. Additionally, Bola Pizza recently released a line of frozen pies available at various locations around Austin.  Bola Pizza Homeslice Pizza – Homeslice serves the very best New York City style pizza in Austin. Hand tossed dough is sauced and topped before baking to perfection. The crust has a nice outer crunch yet still chewy inside. Their large custom pies are always brimming with a plentiful amount of toppings. The Margarita is a bit lackluster but the sausage, red pepper, and ricotta pie ($18) is outstanding. Aside from pizza, Homeslice also features one of the best Greek salads in Austin, especially when served with a few extra garlic knots. The owners ensure the highest quality pies by taking the team on yearly trips to the Big Apple to learn new techniques and make sure the Homeslice pizza is as authentic as possible. Homeslice is one of those places that no matter when you go there is always a wait, but it’s worth it every time. Homeslice Pizza. 1415 S Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78704-2434. (512) 444-7437.  Homeslice Backspace – Nestled on a corner of 6th Street known more for bars than fine dining, Backspace is a refreshing escape from downtown’s hustle and bustle. Its quaint dining space is both comfortable and romantic making it a perfect spot for a date or place to regroup before a night on the town. Candlelight tables surround a cozy open kitchen where Backspace’s team carefully creates one glorious pizza after another. Like the space, Backspace’s menu is wonderfully simple and approachable, consisting primarily of antipasti, salads, and Neopalitian pizzas. Despite the downtown location and upscale feel, Backspace’s price points are surprisingly reasonable as well, with most pies priced between $9-$15. In fact, the only thing absurdly fancy about Backspace is its amazingly authentic pizza oven. The restaurant’s crown jewel was custom built in Naples and is the only of its kind in Austin. Needless to say, it’s one investment paying off quite nicely. Backspace. 507 San Jacinto Austin Texas 78701 phone:512-474-9899.  Backspace House Pizzeria – Somehow Formica booths feel cozy at House Pizzeria, thanks in part to exceptional service and a killer jukebox. The daily menu features ten pizzas, each topped with no more than five topping combinations. House Pizzeria’s ingredients are almost exclusively sourced locally, and the freshness of toppings shines through in the pizza. House Pizzeria. 5111 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78751. 512.600.4999.  House Pizzeria Continue reading Austin Dining Guide: Best Pizzas in Austin
By Ginny, on January 23rd, 2012% Second Bar + Kitchen ‘s well priced and diverse menu and casual trendy atmosphere make it an ideal spot for a group dinner downtown. With visiting friends in town and a birthday to celebrate it was the perfect Saturday night dinner spot. We started with an order of chicken fried olives and a cheese board along with a round of Moscow Mules. The olives were salty, unusual, and begged to be eaten while sipping a martini. Second’s cheese board features a lovely rustic presentation of five different cheeses served with housemade crostini. While it’s no secret there is nothing I fancy more than a cheese plate, I would advise sampling some of Second’s other small plate offerings because it is there the menu really shines, as showcased in our second round of appetizers.  Chicken Fried Green Olives - $6 Arriving next were blue crab and corn fritters and veal meatballs. The fritters’ spicy glaze and decadent filling were tasty, but almost overlooked when unfairly served next to the amazing veal meatballs. The delicate meatballs were moist, tender, and full of earthy Italian flavors. A warm marinara sauce topping brought out a subtle fennel flavor to create a little bite of heaven. A last round of appetizers included goat cheese and ricotta fondue and a few bowls of Second’s famous pepperoni soup, which were both delicious as always.  Veal Meatballs - $8 Continue reading Second Bar + Kitchen
By Ginny, on August 16th, 2011% A recent visit to Red House Pizzeria proved Manor’s top pizza place is still worth the trip, but not without a few ups and downs. Red House Pizzeria is located on the East Side’s strip of restaurants along Manor Road, which is one of my favorite areas of town. Since Red House is good for groups and serves pizza alongside a full bar, it is somewhat of a go to spot for a relaxing weekend night. However a recent foray was a bit of a disappointment compared to past experiences. Continue Reading [expand title=Here] While Red House’s outside patio is relaxing, laid back and the perfect place to drink a glass of wine, the inside is quite a different scenario. The bright lights and nondescript space lack the charm of the outside and doesn’t leave diners with a hankering to come back for more. The stiffness of the interior juxtaposed against the tranquility of the outside is almost disconcerting. Like the ying and yang of the eating areas, my experiences at Red House have seemingly been varied as well. The service was lackluster to say the least. I am fully sympathetic to the fact waiting on a large group is no easy task, and certainly a good amount of leeway is allotted because a table of 15 is not going to get the same service as a table of two. That being said, our group was the only table in the room where we were sitting, and yet we had a challenge in even placing our order. Dinner started on the wrong foot when part of our group’s initial drink order failed to make it to the table. After waiting 30 minutes, we finally took matters in our own hands and ordered at the bar, something that became a trend throughout dinner. Once we received our food, we did not see our waiter again until finally asking a few people for the bill. With the recent revamp of appetizers, I was excited to try a few. I ordered the bruschetta featuring balsamic tomatoes and lemon ricotta, which was a solid combination of flavors. However, topped with shredded parmesan cheese and parsley and served on cold, previously toasted bread, the whole dish felt a little thrown together. I understand it is a simple dish and doesn’t take much to create, but without a little attention, it was a generic and forgettable dish. Similarly, the salads we ordered suffered the same fate; the flavor combinations were there, but execution was not. The pizzas, thankfully, had better results than the precursors. The tomato sauce was sweet and a nice base for the salty mozzarella. The meatballs on one order were full of good Italian flavor. While the Margarita could have used a bit more tomatoes on top, it was still a nice representation of the simple classic. After we finished dinner, a few of our group stayed on to enjoy a glass or two more of wine on the patio. While sitting there, I realized the things I love about Red House normally, the atmosphere and attitude found outside. Red House is still a great place to meet a few friends for a casual night of pizza and a couple drinks outside, but for food, décor and service there are a couple other similar places to think about. While my dinner experience this time around was not the best at Red House Pizzeria, I hope on my next venture I will be reminded of ventures like this. [/expand] Or check out the food below… Red House Pizzeria. 1917 Manor Road, Austin TX. 512.391.9500. http://www.redhousepizza.com/  Large Meatball Pizza - 12.50 Continue reading Red House Pizzeria
By Ginny, on March 28th, 2011% Today’s dish(es) of the day are from another wonderful experience at the Austin Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning. Even if you aren’t on the hunt for fresh produce or new items to plant for spring, the Farmer’s Market is a great place to go try out local businesses for a mid morning meal. Featured below are two dishes from a recent visit. The first is the ever so delightful Bola Pizza. It is no secret I am a pizza fanatic, and Bola’s woodfire grilled version was something I have been dying to try. Because Bola is only available for . . . → Read More: Dish of the Day, Farmer’s Market Edition: Bola Pizza + Rio’s Brazilian By Ginny, on March 24th, 2011% Roberta’s Pizza The visiting food vendor from Brooklyn served up perfectly cooked pizzas to hundreds of hungry concert goers with ease and perfection. Fresh mozzarella, chewy crust, and an efficiently run system made Roberta’s a must eat for me! By Ginny, on March 24th, 2011% Backspace. With special SXSW hours, the Italian spot in the heart of all the madness handled the crowds very well as our food and service were both excellent. There is something to be said for a perfect salad. The amazing pizza. By Ginny, on January 31st, 2011% Saturday morning I got my lazy bones out of bed and headed to the wonderful farmer’s market downtown on 4th and San Antonio. For as much as I love local food and cooking, I am shamefaced to say that this adventure marked my first foray into our little gem of a market. I can’t believe what I was missing! So many choices of vegetables, meats, dairy, etc from local farmers and retailers it is a homecook’s dream! I picked up some shrimp caught off the coast of my hometown of Corpus Christi that were the freshest I have ever bought from anywhere else in Austin. Even if cooking isn’t your thing, there were several different booths serving up fresh food from Tacodeli’s tacos, Bola’s woodfire pizza, kolaches, duck and oyster gumbo, and tamales, to name a few. We went a little late to get all the good stuff, but I will be going back early next time to get some farm fresh eggs and fish straight from the Gulf. Considering how easy it was to park and walk through, I am kicking myself for not going before. Be sure to bring cash as most booths prefer or only accept cash. While you are there, you can pick up a Go Local card and keep the good will going by continuing to support even more local businesses! 
Austin Farmer’s Market 
Fresh Shrimp Continue reading Austin Farmers Market
By Ginny, on January 28th, 2011% A few nights ago, a couple of friends and I headed to one of the other new kids on the block, backspace, for dinner before a night on the town. Backspace, which I first wrote about here, is chef Shawn Cirkiel’s conjoining sister restaurant to the gastropub parkside. As I have previously mentioned I am a big fan of both parkside and Cirkiel, and I am happy to report that backspace was just as lovely as I expected. It is no secret that I am a big fan of pizza, and backspace’s pizza just about defines my ideal pizza pie. The crust was thick, yet somehow light and airy, the toppings were high quality and copious, and the wood fire oven gives the pizza a rustic, hearty flavor, leaving our table singing its praises. Needless to say, this pizza snob was impressed because if I were to open my own pizza place tomorrow, this is the pizza I would try to emulate. When I went to backspace for my second go around, I knew the pizza was going to be excellent, that was kind of a given. No one puts the time, care and effort into obtaining authenticity with the star of the menu like backspace’s team did and serves up anything but something great. I was most interested to see how the rest of the menu and overall restaurant had come together since my preopening visit. The space is very small and does not take reservations, so most likely you will be waiting for a table. I am sure this can be overwhelming for the bartenders and staff at times, but you wouldn’t know it by their friendly service; while we had a few glasses of wine, someone came by to give us updates and see how we were doing several times, completely unprompted. Also, every staffer in the restaurant seemed excited about the food and the concept. Our waiter was ready with suggestions, descriptions, and favorites and our bartender was seamlessly giving a rundown of the pizza methods and ingredients to a patron who asked him a few questions. Beyond the pizza, everything else we tried was very good as well. My favorite was the ricotta appetizer, which was a simple yet a perfect combination of bright, fresh flavors. The prosciutto wrapped mozzarella was another hit, with each component good enough to stand alone. With the most expensive menu item around $15, backspace’s menu is shockingly well priced compared to other downtown restaurants, especially for the quality. The wine list is all Italian speckled with equal parts low and high so any budget can be satisfied. Our waiter said that each was chosen to go well with the food, which is a plus for sure. The interior is fairly simple, with the main focal point being the open kitchen and custom made oven. The open oven can make the temperature a little toasty at times, which is nice now with the cold weather, but I am not sure about when the dog days of summer arrive! As a mentioned, there might be a wait once the secret is out, but it will be well worth it, I promise! I am not sure if you can do this because I did not ask, but if the bar is too crowded it might not hurt to see if you can go next door to parkside’s bar for a drink while you wait. Not the best for groups, but great date spot or place to grab a glass of wine with a friend. 
Roasted Mushroom Pizza – $13. Too good to leave one bite. Continue reading backspace
| | AboutGinny’s Austin is one girl's take on everything happening around Austin, focusing primarily food, music, and events around town.  |
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