DAY 1 OF THE PIZZA-A-DAY PLAN:Mangia Pizza (2400 Lake Austin Blvd., and other locations) was founded in 1988 (which is a good thing, because I started graduate school down here a year later) by a guy who quit government work and had fallen in love with stuffed pizza while doing training in Chicago.
Mangia is, of course, the home of the world-famous Mangiazilla. Unfortunately, Mangiazilla itself no longer graces the top of the delivery truck (apparently it kept getting knocked off), although I believe there is still a Mangiazilla atop the Guadalupe location.
Mangia consistently offers an excellent stuffed Chicago-style pizza (it being Austin, it's available with white or wheat crust). I ordered what's called the "Chicago Special," which is sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, and onions, on a white crust. (I also ordered a salad which, despite assurances from the staff that it was "really small," was more than adequate. And rather large, actually.).
Delivery took about forty-five minutes; the crust was firm, not soggy, and had an excellent, rich texture. The pizza was still hot and the ingredients were of good quality -- you could taste each of the toppings in every bite. All in all, an excellent pizza experience. (If you're not a carnivore, their spinach pizza is really good, too.).Oh, to clarify for those who are not from Chicago: A "deep dish" pizza is a pizza that is made in a dish about two inches deep and has a single layer of crust (on the bottom). A "stuffed" pizza is a form of deep dish pizza, but it has two layers of crust and (for the most part) all the ingredients go in-between, although the tomato sauce (always) goes on top.
3 comments:
I really like Mangia, though they take a very long time if you're eating in (I think at lunchtime, they have some of the their most popular pizzas ready to serve, though). I wish I'd eaten there more often, since I don't know anywhere to get deep dish pizza where I am now (Arlington used to have a Pizzeria Uno, but it closed down a few years back). I do seem to recall that the Mangiazilla on the Guadalupe location is gone now, too, because it was stolen!
Hey Greg, we at VCFA are monitoring your pizza blog with the keenest interest. Just so you know!
reading this post made me hungry -- that's the power of suggestion for ya
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