What We’re Eating Now

There are lots of pizza joints in Houston, serving everything from thin-crust creations to Chicago-style pies. Wood-fired ovens imported from Italy have been popping up all over town, and critics are rushing to name this or that place as the source of “Houston’s Most Awesome Pizza.” I have tried a good number of pizzas in town (and will try many more), but at the moment my nod goes to the pies at Bollo Woodfired Pizza. Ray Salti, who transformed Sorrel Urban Bistro into Bollo (it opened in May), imported an oven from Italy and has come up with a small but excellent lineup. I have tasted about six of them so far, most recently the Salsiccia, which is on the Bianco section of the menu. Moist and earthy Sicilian sausage is the star, and it’s joined by red onions, roasted red peppers and buffalo mozzarella. Of course, stellar toppings would be wasted on inferior dough, and Bollo’s is nearly perfect: crisp crust, ample char, brought to the table or bar hot. And you can get a $5 Campari and soda (or two or three) all day, every day.

(By the way, the best pies in the world, in my opinion, are made at Grimaldi’s under the Brooklyn Bridge and at Frank Pepe Pizzeria in New Haven; if you’re planning to visit NYC or New Haven soon and want pizza, they’re the places to be.)