Home Slice Pizza is somewhat iconic in Austin. It is at the heart of South Congress where you can find all sorts of eccentric shops and eateries. Across the street is Güero’s Taco Bar that often hosts live music at night, and Cissi’s Market and Wine Bar. They hold a pizza tossing and pizza eating contest during their Carinival ‘O Pizza. They host Music by the Slice during SXSW. The deep red over brush metal hut is home to this indie New York style pizzeria that serves pizza by the slice.

Home Slice was also the first place to welcome me to a slice of pie here in Austin two summers ago.

So I meet up with a recent friend of mine, Brad, and we each grab a couple of slices of pizza. Sunny day, awesome. Driving with the windows down on a February day – you’d never have such an opportunity back in Michigan where I’m originally from.

Here’s what I ordered: A Meatball with Green Olives, and a White Pie with spinach

Here’s what Brad ordered: A Cheese pizza and a Pizza Margherita.

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White Pie with spinach | The ricotta had a nice soft, bubbly texture. Creamy once you bite into it. I usually don’t like white pizzas because they are somewhat low on the flavor department, and this was no exception. The spinach was a little difficult to distinguish and didn’t add much punch. However, the lack of flavor aided my assesment of the dough at Home Slice. Which brings me to my next observation…

Dough/Crust | I like the dough at Home Slice. You can defintely taste it through the sauce and toppings. It is slightly tough, but folds up nicely for chomping through a slice. The crust shares a similar flavor to the rest of the dough and isn’t overwhelmingly large. It doesn’t feel like there is a sharp transition of the  crust and the rest of the pizza; rather they flow nicely as one slice of pie. You will probably not toss out the crust on these pizzas.

Meatball with Green Olives | I hadn’t seen this one before on the chalkboard. It’s not on their “Tried and True” menu, but this one I thoroughly enjoyed. It didn’t taste so much of a pizza, but a meatball sandwich atop their dough. They do have a meatball sub that I haven’t tried, so I wonder if it’s just that in pizza form. The olives were difficult to distinguish, which is interesting because I don’t like olives and can pick up the certain flavor they give.

One thing I notice consistently is that my pizza by the slice usually is served slightly on the cold side. I mention this to B, and he tells me it might just be because we’re eating at a table outside. Heat dissipation enhanced by the wind. I’ll have to pay more attention to this next time.

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Brad has reviewed some Texas BBQ with his friend at Man Up BBQ. He also reccomends some good pie up in Dallas: Louie’s and Fireside Pies. My cousin goes to school up in Arlington, I’ll defnitely check these out the next time I head up there.

I tell Brad that I plan on eating pizza at least three times a week for the sake of this blog. He suggested I track a photo log of my physique during this venture. I didn’t think about this. I may have to implement some sort of extra exercise regimen to accompany my pizza dining experiences.