I haven’t been to downtown Austin during the daytime in quite some time. My friend GCapnCrunch lives in this part of Austin. It’s a sweet gig. You can walk to pretty much anywhere you’d want to go, and you bump into all sorts of interesting people. For example, that hipster dude coming from the bike shop. Or that fine sophisticated lady taking a break from the office :D

Today’s review is zpizza - a small pizza chain out of Laguna Beach, CA that serves up healthy wheat-flour pies with organic ingredients (Thanks GCapnCrunch for sharing some excellent photos!).

zpizza opened up it’s first Austin location on 2nd street just a few months ago.  A few friends and I had a chance to visit the place on Monday. My first impression walking into zpizza was “Anyone here?” The “We’re Closed” sign was showing through the door, and I was thinking we may need a plan B.

Fortunately, the hidden cashier peeped her head over the counter and welcomed us in. Relief! Looks like I’ll be getting my pizza fix today as planned :D

Second observation: The place is tall. This was exemplified by the menu being reaaaaallly high up on the wall. It forced you to gaze up as if you were worshipping it. I almost got a crick in my neck and probably looked like a stout penguin on a cold day.

Overall motif is brown floors and furnishings with splashes of color on the walls, some brush metal here and there. Seating is mostly the awkward booth-opposite-a-chair dealy. I’m excited for the imminent pizza sampling, so no brawl over the plush booth seat this time.

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zpizza has a nice variety of specialty pies offered, as well as salads. Anyone could find something on the menu that appeals to their culinary delight. After a few moments, we all decided what we were getting:

GCapnCrunch | Chicken Curry & Yam Pizza | mozzarella, curry chicken, yams, mango chutney, raisins and cilantro.

JStella | Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza | Pear & Gorgonzola, mozzarella, gorgonzola cheese, pears and fresh thyme.

AVintage | Pear and Gorgonzola… Salad | mixed greens, pear, gorgonzola cheese, and candied walnuts served with balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Me | Napoli (like a Pizza Margherita) | homemade roasted garlic sauce, mozzarella, fresh rounds of tomatoes, parmesan, fresh basil

GCapnCrunch and JStella’s were both Rustica Pizzas, exotic personal-sized pies on a free-from crust that are rectangular-shaped with rounded corners. Looks like an edible Indo Board.

My 10″ Napoli pizza gets done first, but first thing I notice when I grab my pizza is a lack of green. That is, “Where’s the basil leaves??“. So I call the guy out out on it and he politely chopped some basil and sprinkled atop my pie. No minus points since the dude was really friendly, even saw him later on the way out and asked me how the pizza was.

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Here are my thoughts on today’s zpizza creations:

Napoli | When I grabbed the first slice, the mozzarella was soooo stretchy that lifting it up 2.5 feet up in the air still wouldn’t separate it from the bulk of the pie. Does anyone remember that Little Caesars commercial where the lady took a slice of pizza and the cheese stretched all the way out of her house and as she boarded an airplane?? Well, that’s kind of what it felt like. Basil didn’t have much presence in my mouth, and the mozzarella was average. However, a generous amount of fresh Roma Tomatoes,  great dough, and just a touch of garlic sauce still made for an enjoyable pizza.

Pear and Gorgonzola | I’ve gotten acquainted with Gorgonzola only recently. But ever since my cousin made a delicous gorgonzola burger last July, I’ve loved this cheese. This pie is extreme Gorgonzola goodness. Sadly, you cannot taste the pears, and even aesthetically, they are buried under the copius white sheet of Mozzarella and Gorgonzola. Really, Gorgonzola OVERDOSE! Although I couldn’t tast the pears, this was still friggin’ tasty. If you like LOTS of cheese, this white pie is for you.

Chicken Curry and Yam | I liked this one, too. Subtle curry flavor, and overall a mellow taste despite the intersting mix of ingredients. The nice soft and diced yams were a welcomed addition to a pizza, and they didn’t skimp out on the chicken. No tomato sauce on this pie, but this is meant to be a very hearty pizza.

Dough/Crust | Very crisp crust, which I liked. The bulk of the pie was too soft for me. The dough is tasty given that it is wheat-flour (whole-wheat and gluten-free crusts also available).

Pear and Gorgonzola Salad | I can’t comment on this since I didn’t try it. All I can say is that it may have been more presentable if served without a an underlying wax-paper that they use for the pizzas. AVintage was eating healthy today, and I also noticed two people to my right were eating salad as well. Perhaps salads here are quite the hit.

Overall, I must commend zpizza for making some great specialty pies, with healthier ingredients. I left zpizza feeling satisfied, and not that weighed-down, groggy, comatose state.

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Taking a break from the office is exactly what I need on a Monday. During our meal, we end up talking about favorite cereals, tutoring, why never to say “I don’t care” when asked what kind of beer you want to be served, something about stalking and Facebook (which, one a side note, I’ve recently left). I also found out from GCapnCrunch that Whatchamacalllits (one of the best candy bars known to man) still exists as can be found Rudy’s front store.

Pizza and friends. A great way get to over case of the Mondays.

[Photo Credits: daveybot]