Remember when we visited the "Ok but Forgettable" North by Northwest for Adventure #43? We had special guests with us, Brandon and Zane from Pizza Hunt, another pizza blog. Well, luckily for us, they're out of the blogging business and into the pizza business. Not only are we lucky, but you are too, because their spot has some of the best and most unique pizza in town.
On East Sixth, next to the Violet Crown Social Club, is a small trailer called Via 313, promising Authentic Detroit-Style pizza. Don't know about it? Neither did we. I don't know the specifics, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. What you see below is The Detroiter: cheese and double pepperoni.
See that? It's a square. A meaty, greasy square. A delicious, potentially addictive square. Have you seen anything like this in Austin? Neither have we. The closest thing in appearance would be one of the french bread pizzas at The Parlor, but this pizza is something else entirely.
On the menu sits a reminder that every slice is a corner slice. What this means is that every piece has an edge of slightly burnt carmelization, where both the crust and the cheese are charred. I want to coin this region "heaven". It's that crispiness that offsets the grease that you see in all the photos.
While that sticks out the most, every other feature of this pizza is top notch. The pepperoni is thick, meaty, and full of flavor. (The menu notes that the peps are smoked and in their natural casing.) The cheese is fantastic, perfectly salted with great texture. The sauce? Supreme.
Top five, and in my opinion, the best pizza on the East Side.
-Ian
Hmmm... best on the east side? Have you had the Royal Blue at East Side Pies? I'd venture that THAT is the best pizza on the east side. Just saying!
ReplyDeleteEast Side used to be in my top five, but I haven't been there in the course of our adventures in quite some time. I'll try to drop back in soon and see if it's still as good as I remember it. Thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karin & Ian. I tried Via 313 out last weekend after reading this review and it was f'in awesome. I had the Omnivore and for me it was the best pizza I've had in Austin. Of course this is completely subjective if you are impartial to wood-fired or thin pizza's etc. However the total product at Via 313 is fantastic (cheese, crust, sauce, toppings).
ReplyDeleteTo the person above who commented about the East Side Pies concoction being better than Via 313, I think that likely illustrates the difference in these two places right now. East Side Pies has some of the most uninspired crust in Austin and is used only as a carrier for wild topping combinations (some of which are very good, others which have no business being called pizza), Via 313 has a crust like I have never experienced before. It's like a bakers crust or focaccia style. Add the caramelized cheese to the edges and it's freakin' insane good.
Bottom line....comparing these two places is like apples to oranges, but we are fortunate to have them both on the East Side right now for sure.