Houston’s Unique New Pizza and Wine Restaurant Obsesses Over the Dough — Murray’s Gets Cozy In Memorial

If you appreciate bread, the scratch sort lovingly made from a long-fermented, high-hydration dough, one that simultaneously provides a soft chew and a crisp outer crust, you’ll want to make your way to the new Murray’s Pizza and Wine in Memorial. This new restaurant was created by restaurateur Deets Hoffman, founder and owner of the fast-casual grain bowl and salad joint Leaf & Grain.

That healthy food mini chain boasts six restaurants across Houston, including one right next door to Murray’s. The new chef-driven pizza place, named after Dean Hoffman’s wife Murray celebrates artisan-style pizzas, the sort that defies pigeonholing into a particular genre. Think of famed Los Angeles chef Nancy Silverton at Pizzeria Mozza or award-winning Chris Bianco of his namesake Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, who have blazed a trail, creating a pizza style all their own.

“I started Leaf & Grain in 2016, and opened the first one in 2017,” Hoffman tells PaperCity. “We’ve been talking about pizza for a few years. But when the pandemic hit, I thought it was not the right time. However, we wanted to add bread, just a slice to accompany each order. But during the shutdown, supply chains were strained, and we couldn’t find a baker to supply us.

“That forced us to try to make our own sourdough. We went through lots of trial and error, figuring out,”

Once they had several years of baking bread experience under their belts, Hoffman and his team found an organic milled flour from Barton Springs Mill and started experimenting with making pizza dough before landing on the right three-day fermentation period with a sourdough starter at its base.

“People always talk about New York pizza and bagels being great because of the water, but that isn’t really it,” Hoffman says. “It’s more about the humidity, environmentally. In Houston, you’re dealing with fluctuating humidity levels, which is really challenging for dough.

“The most important thing about a pizza is the quality of the dough. That makes or breaks a pizza.”

Collaborating with culinary director Stanton Bundy and Murray’s chef Timothy Hadley, Hoffman thinks he found the right formula. At Murray’s, you’ll find 12-inch pies like the sophisticated wild mushroom ($21), where an assortment of roasted wild mushrooms is spread over a garlic cream sauce finished with a shower of shaved Parmigiano Reggiano and dollops of salsa verde. The cheeky “not Hawaiian” pizza ($22) is a (quite) spicy play where the four-cheese house blend (to be henceforth made with locally produced Houston Dairymaids cheeses), melts over thin slices of salami picante, with pickled shallots, The only place you’ll find the addition of pineapple is the infused pineapple hot honey drizzled atop.

By the way, if you elect to order pizza to go or take leftover slices home, Hoffman suggests the ideal way to reheat pizza is in a covered skillet on the stovetop with a splash of water to steam the toppings.

The Other Side Of Murray’s

While you’re waiting for the pizzas to arrive, one can indulge in a few shareable small plates at Murray’s Pizza. These include the silky white bean hummus made with butter beans with a sprinkle of chopped of pistachios and shallow pool of olive oil ($12). The meatball ($16) — or shall I say meatballs — arrive as a pair made with a combination of Texas black angus beef and Duroc pork, making for a tender bite napped with tomato sauce, dollops of whipped herb-flecked ricotta and by their side slices of pillow-soft focaccia. Meanwhile, Murray’s crudo ($18) is a light, but robustly flavored combo of hamachi and salmon bathed in a leche de tigre a spicy Peruvian citrus marinade accented with salsa macha with rings of fresno peppers and orange segments.

The second part of Murray’s name, the wine, alludes to a thoughtful yet brief list of wines by the glass and bottle ($14 to $17 per glass/$59 to $72 by the bottle). The list includes natural wines by small producers around the globe and local options culled from Padre’s Wine. Coming soon to join the list of local beers will be Murray’s own signature brew, developed to pair perfectly with the pizzas.

Hospitality veteran Derek P. Brown, from the beloved but now closed Riel restaurant, consulted on a bar program that includes classics, frozen cocktails, mocktails, as well as the Aperi-Tiki sort, where Italian aperitivos meet Tiki drinks. Those include a mai tai ($16) and one dubbed The Painkiller ($14).

Desseet options include Amaretto bread pudding drizzled with caramel sauce and topped with chunks of pistachio brittle and a scoop of vanilla gelato ($12) and the inventive horchata tiramisu ($12) with a rice milk custard, cinnamon-scented cream and black cocoa layered with moistened lady-fingers.

Murray’s Pizza and Wine is located at 9655 Katy Freeway, Suite 3110. It is open Sundays through Thursdays from 11 am to 9 pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 am to 1o pm. Reservations are available through Resy.