Houston’s New Michelin Buzzed Over Pizza Restaurant and the Chris Bianco Disciple Behind It — The Angie’s Pizza Frenzy Only Builds

It has been arguably the hardest Houston restaurant reservation to secure ever since its opened in July. Credit its cohort of siblings — Angelo, Lucianna and Pilar Emiliani — who managed to create a viral sensation before the stylish doors of Angie’s Pizza even opened. Now getting officially recognized as a new Michelin Recommended restaurant has certainly amped up the frenzy for chef Angelo Emiliani’s Neapolitan-style pizzas and house-made pastas even more. 

Late to the pizza party? Angelo Emiliani’s CV is impressive. He credits his early days spent at Uchi Houston as a formative experience, preparing him for stops in San Francisco, Austin and Los Angeles, working under giants in the industry ranging from Thomas Keller (The French Laundry) to Chris Bianco (the beloved Pizzeria Bianco). Bianco, many pizza aficionados argue, is the most talented pizzaiolo in the country working at his eponymous restaurant in Phoenix. But it was at Bianco’s Los Angeles outpost where Emiliani worked for six years as the pizza master’s trusted culinary director.

Angelo Emiliani has brought much of what he learned to Angie’s Pizza.

Waylaid in California by the COVID pandemic, Emiliani operated a custom-built pizza oven mounted to his truck and launched a series of pop-ups there before eventually driving 1,500 miles in that rolling pizzeria to do the same in Houston. After the world opened, Angelo and his pastry chef sister Lucianna “Louie” Emiliani opened their very first restaurant Cafe Louie in a converted warehouse in H-Town’s East End.

Not long after the duo rebranded, christening their new venture Louie’s Italian American, an old-school Italian joint (now shuttered), foreshadowing the opening of Angie’s Pizza.  

Housed in a circa 1950s two-story brick building in The Heights, transformed by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture and Gin Design, its interiors play up mid-century structure’s bones with classic furnishings from Mies van der Rohe chairs to a Saarinen table. The red “terracrackle” tile that wraps the bar and the mosaic-clad Marra Forni pizza oven nod to the ceramics studio that for years made the space home.

The Angie’s Pizza Menu 

Angie’s appealing menu features sharable dishes, including fried olives ($10) — a starter of three Castelvetrano olives, each of which is tucked the center of a meatball, rolled in panko breadcrumbs, fried and plated atop a preserved tomato sauce showered with Parmigiano Reggiano. The wood-fired zucchini ($10) features a small tower of roasted squash on a bed of piquant Romesco sauce, which in lieu of almonds, Emiliani has used Texas pecans. Other apps include their polenta tots ($8) — Angie’s Pizza’s take on the humble tater tots — and appealing chopped and a market salads ($16 each).  

Meticulous about his ingredients, Angelo Emiliani has forged relationships with purveyors Barton Springs and Central Milling for his flours, Lira Rossa and Houston Dairy Maids for his cheeses and Indie Harvesters for his vegetables. Angie’s pastas, all made in-house, include a tender ricotta gnocchi ($28), a standout, napped with a spicy tomato ragu of Italian pork sausage laced with roasted garlic. There is also a leek stuffed tortelloni ($24) brushed with a Vadouvan, a French curried butter with preserved alliums.

Call yourself a pizza nerd? We have the details.

Creating a Neapolitan-style pie, reminiscent of his mentor Chris Bianco, Angelo Emiliani deviates slightly from the expected. Baked in a wood-fired oven, the cold-fermented dough, with around 70 percent hydration and proofed 24 to 48 hours, is cooked at a slightly lower temperature for slightly longer time. The result is a thin, but airy, puffed crust dotted with those wonderful, crisp charred spots.

We swooned over the Louie Louie ($24) a blend of provolone and mozzarella, with a scattering of crushed olives, garlic-scented sausage and miso butter-cooked onions. (Did I mention the kitchen makes fresh mozzarella daily?) We especially appreciate Angie’s harmonious blend of cheeses on the black gold pie ($24) with that mozzarella mingled with a 12-month Comté studded with dried porcini and drizzled with a black garlic drizzle atop.

Beverages, developed by Drew Bennett, formerly of Anvil, were inspired by an Italian Aperitivo cafe with a focus on spritzy elixirs, as well as a seasonal Negroni and a Biscoff espresso martini (each $15). The wine list, developed by Renato Bringas, leans Italian (with quite a few French selections), featuring both approachable bottles and lesser-known varietals.  

Angie’s Pizza is located at 1002 West 11th Street in The Heights. It is open Mondays through Saturdays from 5 pm to 10 pm. Closed Sundays.