Best Bites: Dining out in Dallas-Fort Worth February 22

by Teresa Gubbins

One day, every new restaurant that opens in Dallas will serve pizza. Wait a minute, that day is here. Pizza has become Dallas' biggest trend in the past couple of years, with two -- Brix Pizzeria in Fort Worth and Pulcinella on Henderson -- opening last week, and now news of two more:

1. Schiano's Pizza in Richardson comes from the Schiano family, and damned if they are not making thin-crust New York-style pizza, available not just by the pie but also by the slice, the telltale signifier of a New York joint. They moved here from Brooklyn by way of North Carolina (where they also had a restaurant called Schiano's, now closed). Eddie, who runs the place, learned to make pizza from his father, who's retired now but owned 9 restaurants in New York, back in the day, and that's how Eddie grew up.

They bake the pizza in a stone oven, make their dough from scratch, and their sauce from tomatoes. Strombolis are the biggest seller, probably because they're so darn huge, but Schiano's also makes pastas, steak, and most of their own desserts, including cheesecake and cannoli. For now, they're a little out of the way up in the far northeast corner of Richardson, but there's a new Starbucks next door, which is exactly the location that most business owners want.

2. Cavalli Pizza in Irving sure does look like the real deal. Mom-and-pop owners Paolo and Clara are first-generation Americans who modestly point out that their recipe is protected by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which implies certain ingredients and techniques, and who else can say that. (According to this story, "20 restaurants in the U.S. hold the distinction.") The tomatoes are imported from Italy, the dough is made on the premises "according to the strictest standards", including the use of Caputo flour, and leavened for 1 to 2 days, which enhances both flavor and texture.

All of this is aces, but look also at the toppings. A "Margherita Extra" has buffalo mozzarella with those Italian San Marzano tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and salt. There are at least two pizzas without cheese. There is a pizza with potatoes and rosemary, and another with ham and egg. Egg! Pizza with egg is awesome. There are also four dessert pizzas including one with fruit and ricotta cheese. Yes.

Whither Cosmic Cafe

A fire that broke out in the kitchen at Cosmic Cafe on Sunday February 10 has the revered vegetarian-Indian restaurant shuttered, but will not close it down permanently. Owner Praveen Sachdev has already initiated repairs and hopes to re-open within the next four to six weeks. Aside from the interruption it's creating for those who appreciate its healthful food and self-serve hot Chai tea, it's also disrupted the community services it hosted, including meditation and yoga classes, which have taken up temporary residence at Chi Dallas, a beautiful new yoga studio in Fair Park that's coincidentally in the same location as the new Hillary Clinton office. Chi is offering $5 classes through February to introduce itself.

Dither Gordo's

Someone recently emailed and asked what the word was on Gordo's, the old-timer Italian restaurant booted out of its previous location on Lovers by the Tollway. Call the Gordo's phone number and you hear the following recording (verbatim):

Hello, and thank you for calling Gordo’s restaurant. We are aware that everyone is wondering where we are going to end up with our new location. As we mentioned on the last message on this recording, we were about to sign a lease on 3830 W. Northwest Highway, which is about 3 miles west of Preston Center. However the Preston Center location has surfaced and we are trying to make a decision between Preston Center and Northwest Highway. We will know within the week which location we will pick and start construction. We appreciate everybody following us and everybody trying to support us for many years. Please know that my computer got crashed and I have lost most of my best friends' and customers’ and patrons' email address. If you will, please leave me your email address again, although you may have done this before, so I can have an updated email and notify upon our opening and hopefully have a grand opening. Thank you for calling Gordo's restaurant.

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