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My first encounter with Roppolo's Pizza came late one night as several
of my old-enough-to-know-better buddies and I plodded along 6th St.
after a night of middle-aged revelry. You know how it goes. We got seriously
hungry. And there, shining through the mist, like a beacon in the hazy
neon-tinted darkness, was the open window of Roppolo's Pizza. It beckoned
to us like a siren calling a Greek sailor.
We each ordered a slice of the sausage. On first bite, I knew this was
a notch above most central Texas pizzas. I also became immediately aware
of the fact that my piece of pizza had a serious critical mass. This
was no light-weight effort by any means.
Thus intrigued, I called Roppolo's delivery service the next week from
my office on S. Congress. The guy on the phone said: "How many
are there of you and how hungry are you." I replied that the two
of us in the pizza mode were very hungry indeed and ordered a large
sausage, pepperoni, mushroom and onion.
When the pizza arrived about 35 minutes later, I heard the delivery
guy grunting as he lugged it up the stairs. Then he put it on my desk
and I felt like one of the apes jumping around the monolith in 2001,
A Space Odyssey. I had never encountered anything before like the size
and scope of the giant 20" pizza. It weighed 6 lbs! Holy anchovies!
And it was absolutely delicious. The whole wheat crust was tasty and
had a great balance, the mozzarella cheese and sauce with fresh herbs
was right on, and the mountain of sausage, pepperoni, onions and mushrooms
each lent their own distinctive contributions. And the size and mass
of one delicious piece! We had two slices each and were stuffed. It
took the two of us the rest of the week to eat that pizza.
Roppolo's also has a serious meatball sandwich. I love the zesty taste
of the meatballs and the sauce has got a bit of kick to it but still
has a mellow balance. And the stromboli is another recommendation. The
dough is soft and has a very fresh taste. And the ingredients: sausage,
pepperoni, tomato and ricotta cheese all lend to an engaging taste sensation.
So don't wait until you're out on the prowl to sample the joys of Roppolo's.
They're open till 3AM each night, true, but they also open at 11:30
AM on weekends and 4:30 on weekdays.
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