Kenny's East Coast Pizza

Pizza joints are a dime a dozen in the DFW area, but good pizza joints are rare gems in the Metroplex.  Highly acclaimed chef, Kenny Bowers, has many successful restaurants in DFW and recently through his hat in the ring to mix it up with the heavyweight pizzerias.  Kenny's East Coast Pizza recently opened in Plano and I had the opportunity to eat there with some family members recently.

Prosciutto Wrapped Fried Mozzarella

For our appetizer, we started with the Prosciutto Wrapped Fried Mozzarella.  Although I have had this menu item at his Italian concept, Kenny's Italian Kitchen, I felt compelled to order it here because I liked it so much on my last visit to said restaurant.  Others at our table were pleased with the taste and I felt it was a great start to our meal.

Pepperoni Pizza

We also ordered two pizzas, a pepperoni and a ham.  The pepperoni was one of the best pepperoni pizzas I have had in the state of Texas and I loved the sauce, the crust, and the abundance of cheese.  The ham was delicious as well, but played second fiddle to the pepperoni.

Ham Pizza

My daughters ordered from the kids menu, because neither of them wanted pizza on this visit.  My oldest had the chicken strips with chips and my youngest had the kid's spaghetti with a meatball.  My oldest liked her chicken strips, but my youngest chowed down on a larger than expected portion of the spaghetti.  I tried some of it myself and it was very good spaghetti.

Chicken Strips

Kids Spaghetti

I must say that I was quite pleased with Kenny's East Coast Pizza and can't wait to go again.  The service could have been a little better, but that is somewhat expected from a new restaurant.  It wasn't bad service, but they did forget a drink we ordered and could have checked on us a little more.  I have dined at several New York and East coast pizza restaurants while on vacation and I would put Kenny's East Coast Pizza up against any of them.

Kenny's East Coast Pizza
http://kennyseastcoastpizza.com
Livin the Good Life Rating = 4
 

Secret Pizza

In addition to our love of college basketball and the NCAA Tourney, one of my Vegas buddies also happens to be a foodie. When we arrived in Vegas, he started telling me about a pizza joint inside The Cosmopolitan.  He said the name of the place is called Secret Pizza  and that it is supposed to be legit pizza and gets it's name from the fact it doesn't have a website or any signage that signifies where to find it.  In fact, The Cosmopolitan doesn't even list it under the restaurants in the hotel.  

Entrance to Secret Pizza

Basically, you have to wonder aimlessly in search of it or ask somebody that knows where it is.  Not wanting to look like cheaters, we went in search of it and decided not to ask anyone where it was.  After about 5 minutes, we saw a man carrying a pizza box out of an unassuming hallway and we knew that we had found what we were looking for.  The line was fairly short and we both had a couple of slices in hand within five minutes of entering the hallway.  The pepperoni pizza was simply outstanding and some of the best I have had in recent memory.  The pizza was piping hot and bursting with flavor.  

Pepperoni

Since we liked it so much, we actually made a return trip in he wee morning hours approximately 14 hours after our first visit.  Luckily for us, it was still open, but we were unlucky in the fact that the line was all the way down the hallway and took 30 minutes to place our order.  On the second visit, I ordered sausage and it was comparable in quality to the pepperoni I had previously.  Although spicy sausage pizza at 3:00 AM might not have been the best decision I made in Vegas, I have certainly made worse decisions.  If you like pizza and want to go looking for this place, you will not be disappointed in this speakeasy-like pizza place.

Sausage Pizza

Secret Pizza
https://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

Home Slice

While in Austin, I had a craving for pizza one night around 10 p.m. Having skipped dinner due to eating a large lunch of barbecue, I finally started getting hungry again after nightfall.  Although I had never eaten there before, I knew that Home Slice Pizza had a take-out branch called More Home Slice next to their main building.  I had always heard good things about the pizza joint, but I had never eaten there and was looking forward to trying a couple of slices.

Pepperoni Pizza

I knew I would not be able to eat a whole pizza, so I chose to order by the slice.  On the night I visited, they had four different types of pizza they were offering by the slice.  I ended up ordering a slice of pepperoni and a slice of the white pie with spinach.  The pepperoni slice was a perfectly classic version of New York style pizza and I enjoyed every bite.  I don't normally order white pizza because of my love for red sauce, but I thoroughly enjoyed my slice of white pizza with spinach as well.

White Pie with Spinach

Home Slice is a local favorite in Austin and it is easy to see why.  The pizza is top notch and relatively inexpensive.  The restaurant has very quick service and I had pizza in hand within minutes of ordering it.  I anticipate that I will be hitting Home Slice again on my next visit to Austin.

Home Slice Pizza
http://homeslicepizza.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

Zoli's NY Pizza

Pizza and barbecue are my foodie guilty pleasures, so I am always looking for a good place to grab some brisket or a pizza.  My wife and I recently dined at Cane Rosso and really liked this Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant.  After dining at Cane Rosso, I heard that the owner, Jay Jerrier, had recently opened a New York style pizzeria called Zoli's NY Pizza.  It just so happened that my brother and I were recently in the vicinity of the Bishop Arts District, so we decided to pop into Zoli's and give it a try.

Pizza Counter and Dining Area

At Zoli's, you can order whole pies or just pizza by the slice.  My brother decided to get two slices of pepperoni.  I ordered the Zoli's $10 Lunch Special, which included a slice, salad, garlic knot, and a drink.  For my slice, I chose the Grandma slice, which is a square deep dish pizza.  I also chose the Caesar salad over the house salad.

Lunch Special

We were only seated a couple of minutes when our food arrived.  I started with the Caesar salad and was pleased with it.  The Romaine lettuce was really crisp and the dressing was flavorful.  I ate the garlic knot with my salad and it went well wit the salad.  The Grandma slice of the day, was cheese pizza.  It ended up tasting even better than it looked.  The ingredients blended well together and I enjoyed the sauce with small chunks of roasted tomatoes in it.  The crust was extremely crispy, which is hard to get with a deep dish pizza.  My brother also let me try some of his pepperoni pizza The pepperoni was some of the spiciest I have ever had, but it was really good.

Slice of Pepperoni

We were in and out of Zoli's in less than twenty minutes.  If you are looking for a quick lunch in the Bishop Arts District, I recommend you pop into Zoli's.  The pizza is good and the service is super fast.  It looks like the Bishop Arts staple, Eno's, finally has some competition in the great pizza department!

Zoli's NY Pizza
http://zolispizza.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating= 3