San Antonio Area - New Restaurant Openings -and- Restaurant Closings (Austin: root canal, to stay)

[mamatotex97]

Not a fan of Kennedys. Tried it recently for the first time. For the first time I threw out a pizza.

For San Antonio, Grimaldis is my fav. My real fav pie is at a place in DFW.

Been wanting to try Rays Pizza here though...........

[ranchodrive]

Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas

The quality of pizza isn't determined by the employee attitude. A multitude of things make a pizza decent, including altitude, water supply, tomato sauce sourcing, etc.

It's either decent or it's crap: There's little middle-ground on a slice or pie with me. Furthermore, unless you're talking about the thin, flatbread-based pizza that originated in Gaeta, Italy, most of what we know as 'NYC' or 'Chicago' style pizza is purely an American creation... Very little to do with original Italians and bastardized beyond initial recognition these days. In San Antonio, Dough seems to be the standard for Neapolitan-style. It's decent if you can handle the standard wait times.

Everyone seems to love Kennedy's: I'm not one of them. Mr. Kennedy is from the burbs of Chicago and when talked to from this native inner-city Chicagoan, he failed my standardized Chicago exam. His pizza was okay, but nothing that a place like Connie's Pizza in Chicago couldn't take down with ease.

For true NYC-style, I still love Grimaldis. Yes, a chain, but a chain that knows how to properly make a coal-fired, Coney Island-style pie. It's delicious. I'm slobbering now just thinking about it. It's comparable to 'New Haven' style pizza in CT, which is where Joey Garlics started, the pizza joint co-created by Diners, Drive-ins and Dives host Guy Fieri.

Chicago-style in this city just hasn't hit me yet. It's all about cooking it in the right oven and sourcing the exact kind of sausage, tomato and cheese. You don't do pieces of sausage... You do a thick sheet. Same goes for the cheese. I want to see a BERLIN WALL of cheese on my pie.





BN

I'm talking about "american creation" pizza by Italians" here in San Antonio.
I have tasted the "pizza" from Florence Italy & it is totally different . Over
there it's made from their own prepared cheeses & regional tomatoes. It's
mostly rectangular shape & options like fried eggs on top is popular there.
My Italian wife says that in the "trattoria" where the locals dine...there is a
certain "tude". Something that one doesn't see as much in other areas where
tourists are there main customers.
I was thinking of making my own but....
She told me even if you know all the right ingredients ..unless you
have the kind of stoves with the aged fire bricks & right temp. & all....
" it ain't gonna happen paisano !!!

[sapphire]

Originally Posted by mamatotex97

Not a fan of Kennedys. Tried it recently for the first time. For the first time I threw out a pizza.

For San Antonio, Grimaldis is my fav. My real fav pie is at a place in DFW.

Been wanting to try Rays Pizza here though...........

We tried the one on 281 and really enjoyed it. It was very flavorful, full of ingredients, and one slice was plenty. It's an old Shoney's that has been painted red and green, really has no ambience at all but we did like the pizza. Of course nothing beats Chicago pizza IN Chicago. We didn't want to wait (2 hours) for Lou Malnati's so we "settled" for Gino's East and it was a great experience. That said, I'm not really a fan of thick pizza so my favorite in SA is Little Italy's plain cheese pie.

(DFW---Carmens?) We haven't found our favorite spot here yet but we'll gladly keep looking. We don't usually throw pizza out either, since we own a 16 yr old with a cast iron bottomless stomach but we actually did toss Joe's Pizza about 45 minutes after it arrived. Awful stuff.

[mamatotex97]

I went to the one off Potranco and it was just like a can of tomato sauce. The place smelled so good when I went inside too so I was disappointed.

Yep, you got it, Carmines in DFW = Love.

[JuanValdez]

The Chacha's on Babcock is toast and the location is for sale. That place was either packed or a ghost town every time I ate there. Used to take visitors as an example of a "decent, but touristy" place. Sad to see it go - La Fogata hasn't impressed me lately.

[blizzrd]

Originally Posted by sapphire

It's an old Shoney's that has been painted red and green, .

Nope, it was a Jim's. hope to try it soon.

[heimerswt]

Originally Posted by blizzrd

Nope, it was a Jim's. hope to try it soon.

Sapphire was correct though, Shoney's built it and occupied it for years before Jim's moved in for a few.

[sapphire]

Originally Posted by heimerswt

Sapphire was correct though, Shoney's built it and occupied it for years before Jim's moved in for a few.

Thank you.

[sapphire]

post 3004 has already been reported. all subsequent posts will likely be deleted in addition to the one above telling us to stay on topic. honestly, who gives a rat's butt if it's a shoney's or a jim's? Who does that???

[BenjaminNicholas]

Originally Posted by sapphire

post 3004 has already been reported. all subsequent posts will likely be deleted in addition to the one above telling us to stay on topic. honestly, who gives a rat's butt if it's a shoney's or a jim's? Who does that???

Just what we need... More folks to come in and 'modify' thread.

Happens too much already. Good info is lost. *sigh*




BN