The pizza business in Houston must be booming. Earlier this year, Dallas import Cane Rosso planted its first Houston location in The Heights, tooting its horn almost a year before the restaurant was an actual building. In 2015, the arrival of Pizaro Pizza on West Gray was eagerly anticipated by devoted fans who were relieved to have their favorite crust inside the The Loop. Bollo and Pepperoni’s have built up a following amongst Upper Kirby and Montrose residents, and this past spring, Pi Pizza‘s Anthony Calleo, who originally operated Pi as a pizza-oven-on-wheels, thrilled his customers with word of a brick-and-mortar concept headed by Cherry Pie Hospitality’s Lee Ellis.
While most of Calleo’s customers long praised his unconventional pizza topping combinations, his dedication to the science behind better dough is what crust enthusiasts considered the clincher on Pi Pizza being in their regular pie rotation. And now Houstonians need not “find the truck,” but instead can get their fix at the newly opened Pi Pizza location at 181 Heights.
Open only about two weeks as of today, the restaurant is smallish (it seats around 50) and clean-lined with bursts of bright orange and turquoise blue mixed with muted patterns and industrial design. You won’t miss the display of custom skateboards depicting 80’s pop culture on the north wall.
The menu is half pizza (there are 20 signature pies, plus the option to build-your-own combination) and half appetizers, salads and sandwiches. Pizzas come in two sizes, 12″ and 16″ and prices range from $16 to $28. Combinations include classic pizza elements mixed with more unusual ingredients, such as The Herbivoracious (mozzarella and provolone cheese, arugula, roasted garlic oil, toasted almond, fennel pollen and lemon zest) and Sgt. Pepper Redux (blackberries, Dairymaids black pepper Pure Luck Texas chevre and mint pesto).
If you’re a little unnerved by the liberal use of non-traditional toppings, go for the Lee’s Pizza (“not-your-parents’ pepperoni” with house-made Italian sausage and jalapeños) and the Luv Ya Blue (seasoned ground beef, blue cheese and caramelized onions).
While you’ll find common pizza shop sideshows like meatballs and breadsticks as appetizers, don’t bypass the Brussels sprouts ($9, photo below), which are served fried with chunks of Houston Dairymaids’ buttermilk blue cheese. (If you like funk, you’re in for a treat.)
If that flavor combination rings your bell, you should also try the mac ‘n cheese balls ($9, photo below), which are served with a side of zesty jalapeño ranch. It’s a gluttonous delight, but be sure to schedule an extra 30 minutes on the treadmill at your next workout.
The Caesar salad ($10, photo below) was suspiciously good – the croutons were buttery and crunchy, and the dressing was ample. Pi Pizza encourages diners to eat their Caesar salad the way it was originally intended – by taking the large, sauce-y pieces of Romaine lettuce in their hands, tossing a few croutons onto the leaf and eating it like, well, a piece of pizza. If you’re not up for it, simply use your knife and fork to cut your salad into modern day bite-sized pieces.
Served on their special bread (the dough comes from a bakery in Brooklyn) the House Grinder sandwich ($14, photo below) may sound like either a horror film or a dating app, and it’s a little bit of both. Served with a side of fries, the Grinder’s combination of provolone, “magick mayo” and Italian meats – hot capicola, soprasetta, salami and cotto – would induce fear into a tablet of Lipitor and make you swoon. Remember, you can eat one half and save the other half for another meal.
Laurie Harvey‘s led the Cherry Pie Hospitality team in creating some bright, brash drinks for Pi’s beverage program. While the drink menu includes $7 wine on tap and $4 to $5 beer, it is the frozen ($5 for small, $8 for large) and bottled cocktails ($9, photo below) that caught our eye, literally. The near-neon Hanoi High-Five wasn’t the smack of heat that you’d think spicy gin, ginger and green chartreuse might have since it was offset by cooling citrus, lemongrass and cucumber. We found it refreshing and easy. We refilled our glass twice with one serving of the bottled cocktail. Interestingly, the drink menu also offers non-alcoholic and less-than-common bottled drinks such as peach, grapefruit and strawberry Topo Chico as well as Goya ginger beer, Frostie’s orange soda and root beer.
Wondering about delivery? Ellis tells us that it is available now and will soon expand. For now, Pi Pizza’s delivery zone is within a close radius of their address. Call them (the address and phone number are below) to check and see if they’ll bring the Pi to you.
Pi Pizza, 181 Heights, 832-767-2433, pipizzahtx.com
Hours: Mon.-Sun. 11 am to 11 pm