The Best Margheritas in Houston
Unfortunately, the restaurants highlighted in this piece are far fewer than the one for the worst margherita pizzas. There are a lot of bad margheritas in the city. Far, far too many. The reasons for this are several, and the simplicity of the margherita is at the heart of it; these are just the crust and only three toppings in its traditional form. It’s also due the styles of the pizzas made by most local restaurants, which don’t lend themselves to a good-tasting margherita pizza. Then there is the quality of the ingredients, largely because the simple margherita is dependent upon just a trio of good-quality components to be enjoyable.
Concerning the unsuitability of the styles, it is mostly the crust about which I am referring. Basically, it is unusual to make a good margherita pizza from something other than a Neapolitan-style pizza or at least a broadly Italian-style pizza. The crust needs to be both soft and, so, absorbent of the tomato sauce and the liquids from the melting mozzarella. The thin, much sturdier New York-style crusts are perfect for those pepperoni and cheese pizzas that I love when done well, or even fairly well, but don’t work at all for a margherita pizza. Components. The crust of a margherita also needs to be tasty in and of itself, probably more so than those New York-style crusts that pair terrifically with the sheen of grease from the pepperoni and commercial-grade cheeses. Atop the crust of a margherita pizza, there are traditionally only three items arrayed – just tomato sauce, mozzarella, and a little bit of basil – and these are only cooked very quickly in the oven, so there is not much room for a bad component to hide.
I’ll elaborate more on this in another piece, but far too many of the more than 80 margherita pizzas I had in Houston over the course of a couple of years faltered because of one, or usually both, of these things. But, if a restaurant cannot make a good margherita pizza, it can often make other pizzas that are quite enjoyable. Luna Pizzeria quickly comes to mind. Though their version of the margherita was on the lame side, their pepperoni pizza is excellent, as their crust lends itself much more to the welcome greasiness of the pepperoni, for one.
Now to the best: the top margheritas in Houston take inspiration from Naples, not surprisingly, since this is where the margherita was born and is still one of the most popular pizzas there. Dolce Vita was the best, reaffirming its long-held position as the city’s top pizza joint. It was followed closely by the one at Amalfi, which is also one of the city’s top Italian restaurants.
The best of the rest:
Also, pretty good for margheritas: Solario, Midici, North Italia, Pass & Provisions, Tiny’s No. 5, Weights + Measures, and Pizaro’s.
Concerning the unsuitability of the styles, it is mostly the crust about which I am referring. Basically, it is unusual to make a good margherita pizza from something other than a Neapolitan-style pizza or at least a broadly Italian-style pizza. The crust needs to be both soft and, so, absorbent of the tomato sauce and the liquids from the melting mozzarella. The thin, much sturdier New York-style crusts are perfect for those pepperoni and cheese pizzas that I love when done well, or even fairly well, but don’t work at all for a margherita pizza. Components. The crust of a margherita also needs to be tasty in and of itself, probably more so than those New York-style crusts that pair terrifically with the sheen of grease from the pepperoni and commercial-grade cheeses. Atop the crust of a margherita pizza, there are traditionally only three items arrayed – just tomato sauce, mozzarella, and a little bit of basil – and these are only cooked very quickly in the oven, so there is not much room for a bad component to hide.
I’ll elaborate more on this in another piece, but far too many of the more than 80 margherita pizzas I had in Houston over the course of a couple of years faltered because of one, or usually both, of these things. But, if a restaurant cannot make a good margherita pizza, it can often make other pizzas that are quite enjoyable. Luna Pizzeria quickly comes to mind. Though their version of the margherita was on the lame side, their pepperoni pizza is excellent, as their crust lends itself much more to the welcome greasiness of the pepperoni, for one.
Now to the best: the top margheritas in Houston take inspiration from Naples, not surprisingly, since this is where the margherita was born and is still one of the most popular pizzas there. Dolce Vita was the best, reaffirming its long-held position as the city’s top pizza joint. It was followed closely by the one at Amalfi, which is also one of the city’s top Italian restaurants.
- Dolce Vita – Nicely light and Italian-tasting if not really Neapolitan in style, even with its soft wet center and raised crust. The version I ordered was with buffalo milk mozzarella that added $4 to the tariff, and did not taste overly rich or like a top-notch mozzarella, but melded very well with the bright tomato sauce that was certainly and properly uncooked.
- Amalfi – The Regina Margherita was thin and light with a tasty crust that was Neapolitan in character if without much a raised crown, but soft and wet in the middle like the pizzas are in the Naples area. Made with fresh-tasting, rich buffalo milk mozzarella helped to make a difference, and it went very well with the proper, light tomato sauce and ripe tomato cherry halves. The result was very balanced and with the top-quality components standing out. Cooked in a brick oven behind their bar, it was more Neapolitan-tasting than Dolce Vita’s, even with the addition of tomatoes to the sauce.
- Da Marco – The Margherita Verace at Dolce Vita’s big and much more expensive brother was quite enjoyable, though not quite as good at the similar one at Dolce Vita, which had a sturdier crust and more of a raised crust. Tasty mozzarella that slid off a little too readily, but it melded nicely with the tasty crust and proper, simple, flavorful tomato sauce.
The best of the rest:
- Fresco Italian Café – Rectangular-shaped and cut into squares, the small and inexpensive pizza was almost a cross between the traditional thin, cracker-like crust pizza of Rome and its thicker, spongier pizza al taglio there that featured fresh tomato slices, noticeably good quality ingredients and a tasty crust.
- Osso & Kristalla – Flavorful, if slightly different in taste than the others, with both sauce and a few halved cherry tomatoes that were thankfully ripe atop a crisp crust and decent quality mozzarella that all played well together.
- Solario – Featuring nicely clean flavors and pretty decent ingredients, if not quite the highest quality, and done in the traditional Neapolitan or at least Italian style that is a great value during lunch.
Also, pretty good for margheritas: Solario, Midici, North Italia, Pass & Provisions, Tiny’s No. 5, Weights + Measures, and Pizaro’s.
