Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Grimaldi’s Pizzeria opens in Allen at Watters Creek center
ALLEN — The highly anticipated Grimaldi's Pizzeria in the Watter's Creek Development in Allen is now open, serving award-winning, hand-tossed, coal-fired brick oven pizzas as well as calzones, salads, and desserts. With Frank Sinatra crooning in the background, Grimaldi's brings to Allen over 100 years of pizza-making traditions and the tantalizing aroma of pizza and calzones baked to perfection in the signature coal burning oven.
Grimaldi's pizza on pizza peel with pizza oven in background, all combining to create a pizza-esque atmosphere.
In the world of pizza, Grimaldi's is an institution it has garnered more awards than any other pizzeria in the country with more celebrity sightings than most 5-star restaurants. Using only the freshest ingredients, "secret recipe" pizza sauce, homemade mozzarella cheese and dough, Grimaldi's serves traditional pizza (as it began in Naples, Italy) in an upscale yet casual, family-oriented pizzeria.
Patsy Grimaldi is a purest when it comes to pizza, learning the trade from his Uncle Lancieri who trained with the man credited with opening the first pizzeria in America in 1905. Lancieri opened Patsy's Pizzeria in East Harlem (1931) where Grimaldi learned the art of coal-fired brick ovens pizza at just 10 years of age. Eventually Grimaldi opened his own Pizzeria in Brooklyn and the smoky taste of his coal-fired brick oven pizza became a must have for hundreds of celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Vince Vaughn and Mayor Rudy Giuliani to Danny DeVito.
Designed and built by hand, the coal-fired oven at Grimaldi's Pizzeria delivers a unique flavor and consistency that is just not possible from wood or gas ovens. Weighing in at 25 tons and heated by 100 pounds of coal per day (cleanest burning fuel available and environmentally tested), the oven heats up to 1200 degrees. The intense heat of the oven evenly bakes the pies to create Grimaldi's famous crispy and smoky crust that Zagat has voted best pizza year after year.
It has been said that the secret to true New York-style pizza is the water. Grimaldi's believes that too, going to great lengths to keep the integrity of the water used in the Brooklyn pizzeria by hiring a chemist to analyze and recreating the mineral content and exact composition of the water to ensure the dough tastes the same in Allen.
"I speak for all of us within the Grimaldi's family when I say we are very excited about opening here in the growing community of Allen," comments COO Eric Greenwald. "We're thrilled to be a part of the Watter's Creek development."
With locations in New York, Las Vegas, Arizona, Dallas and now Allen, additional locations in Houston, and San Antonio are on the drawing board.
Located at 836 Market Street in Allen , Grimaldi's Pizzeria is open 7 days a week from 11:00am -11:00pm. Grimaldi's offers guests a full bar with an extensive selection of beers, wines (by the glass and bottle) and specialty cocktails including their famous martinis. Self-park lot and valet available. For reservations for 5 or more people call 214-383-9703 or visit the Web site.
Source: Grimaldi's
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$2 - $4 per topping is pretty steep, imo. I imagine a beer is $5, too. Am I going to need to change my underwear after tasting this stuff? Anybody ever eaten at the Dallas loc in West Village?
Scott Doyle Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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A (draught) beer is $5. A personal + 1 topping for $11 is a decent sized meal and probably worth it if you want to try out that type of pizza.
luniz Anonymous
1 year, 3 months ago
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So I can pay $11 + tax/tip for a personal pepperoni pizza and probably another $10 for a couple beers...
Or I could pick up a 6-pack and top o' the line frozen pizza from the supermarket (for much less coin) and enjoy it in my skinnies. Latter is much more appealing to me, personally.
Scott Doyle Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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Grimaldi's is a fave of the LR's. The West Vil. location may even be better than any Patsy's in Manhattan (incl. service), and that's saying something.
The Law Reviewers Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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Well now, that finally says it all, and nails that taste coffin shut for good. It's always nice when a patsy shoots themselves.
Since Grimaldi's can't cook a consistent pie at West Village to save their lives...
Billusa99 Anonymous
1 year, 3 months ago
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"...by hiring a chemist to analyze and recreating the mineral content and exact composition of the water to ensure the dough tastes the same in Allen."
Yes, their chemist ensures that precisely two atoms of hydrogen are covalently bonded to every one oxygen atom. Painstaking work, but absolutely necessary to recreate Brooklyn water in Dallas.
Scott Anonymous
1 year, 3 months ago
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William: Pizza's a very touchy subject everywhere. Hopefully, at least you'd agree that pizza is like a day off - even when it's bad, it's good. Any particular places that you'd recommend over Grimaldi's (Olivella's comes to mind), or are you just in this argument for the snark?
The Law Reviewers Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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I've been to the Grimaldi's in Brooklyn a ton and the Dallas location is pretty close to the real deal. I'm pretty sure this is a spin-off of Patsy's in NYC but they use the location under the Brooklyn Bridge (Grimaldi's) in their advertising. Either way, they are all related so it's pretty much the same as far as brick oven pizza is concerned.
Scott, I can't take you seriously when you compare it to frozen pizza. Ridiculous. Give it a try and then let us know.
Chris Curotolo Staff
1 year, 3 months ago
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Chris: Relatives of Pasty Grimaldi went their separate ways a while back and started their own restaurants, so the pies are related, literally.
The Law Reviewers Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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That's what I was looking for - a few supporting comments.
The 'rents live north; maybe I'll convince them to check this place out next time we get together. Will report back if so.
Scott Doyle Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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No frozen pizza is going to have a crust that even approaches Grimaldi's. If you're satisfied with a much lower quality pizza, then yea it's not going to be worth it to spend the money. Likewise if you think Pizza Hut style pizzas to be the epitome of what a pizza should be, I'd say save your money. Grimaldi's is only going to be worth it if you're fairly picky about the style of pizza you want. Since I only eat pizza two or three times a year, it's worth it to pay a little extra to get exactly what I want (well, close enough).
luniz Anonymous
1 year, 3 months ago
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luniz, only 2-3 times a year? wow. i'm like once a week. no mozzarella cheese though - yuck. i just like the crust and a few toppings
Teresa Gubbins Staff
1 year, 3 months ago
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Umm, was simply saying if nobody's gonna vouch for it - I'm not going to waste my time and money. Jeeeeeeeez
Scott Doyle Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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What are your skinnies Miser?
jtmbls Anonymous
1 year, 3 months ago
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I wasn't trying to put you down or anything man. Lots of people really do think Pizza Hut is the ideal pizza. Hell after a hard day of beer drinking and floating a canoe down a river I don't turn my nose up at it. But it's not anything I'd go out of my way for if you get what I'm saying.
Whether Grimaldi's is good or not isn't necessarily the question, it's more of a question of do you like that style of pizza/crust. It's a thinner crust (not cracker thin), somewhat chewy in the middle (the tip dips down when you hold it in one hand), the sauce is noticeably sweet and the mozzarella is fairly stringy. It's not a pizza that will hold up to a large number of toppings, the way Pizza Huts or a Chicago style pizza would. If you think a pepperoni pizza should literally be covered with pepperoni, you'll be disappointed. The pepperoni are fairly small but also fairly flavorful.
So I'm definitely no pizza expert but I've tried to describe it as accurately as I can. Whether it's worth it for you isn't really something I can answer.
luniz Anonymous
1 year, 3 months ago
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I'm certainly no pizza connoisseur, either. At least, not on anything past delivery or frozen. Which is why I was looking for a little help hiyah.
I'll give it a shot when the opportunity presents itself. Much appreciate everybody's input.
Scott Doyle Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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If you enjoy the thin crispy type of crust pizza (as I very much do), then I would recommend Greenville Avenue Pizza. Yep, the place that is open for the Lower Greenville bar crowd up till 4 am on the weekends.
I also like the other pizza joint at the West Village: Campania. They serve a similar crispy-ish pizza crust.
Basically, Greenville Avenue Pizza is at the low end (in terms of price), while Campania is at the high end.
I haven't tried Grimaldi's at the West Village yet, but I plan to. Its prices sound comparable to Capania's.
Howard Wen Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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Greenville Ave Pizza is amazing, but not at all like I'm picturing Grimaldi's.
Scott Doyle Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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No offense Teresa, but how can a food critic/writer dislike something as neutral tasting as mozzarella cheese?
threesheets Anonymous
1 year, 3 months ago
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I'm betting because a food critic/writer can taste more than you or I.
Pavel Lishin Verified
1 year, 3 months ago
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hey threesheets, thanks for your comment. i guess you are saying that critics must automatically like all food? or are you saying that a critic should not object to bland food? i'm confused.
i do like mozzarella cheese, i like all cheeses. what i meant was that i don't like icky melted cheese all over my pizza. i know i'm in the minority on this, and that most people like pizza for exactly that reason, the oozing cheese (which makes me ill just to think about it). but i like the crust. cheese covers the crust.
thanks for asking! you like mozzarella? what kind of pizza do you like. i love talking about pizza. what's your favorite place.
Teresa Gubbins Staff
1 year, 3 months ago
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Go to Central Market, get a ball of Dallas Mozzarella Company mozzarella and a ball of the store brand. Try them side by side and then tell me you can't taste a difference. I'm willing to bet most people who think mozzarella is tasteless haven't tried good mozzarella.
David Gouldin Staff
1 year, 3 months ago
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its yummy! Worth the money - and the kids could play with pizza doh while we waited for the FRESH food at our table! What fun? It's hard to find a good mozzarella on pizza these days. There are so many cheap, fake cheeses out there. We tried a salad there, too - AMAZING! I would totally eat there again in a heartbeat. If you are used to the fast food, carry out type pizza - you might not appreciate it. But, if you are looking for FRESH pizza - like they had in Rome when I visited - GO HERE!
jjones Anonymous
1 year, 2 months ago
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