Review: Home Slice Pizza, Austin TX

Congress Avenue in Austin reminds me of the bustling hipster main arteries of both Portland (Hawthorne Blvd, home of Apizza Scholls) and Toronto (Queen Street, locus for North of Brooklyn pizza). It was here that I found Home Slice Pizza, another east-coast inspired pizzeria taking a swing at serving NYC style by-the-slice pizza.

The full-menu (salads, sandwiches, pizza, beer, wine) version of Home Slice occupies one modest sized building that is closed on Tuesdays, the day of my visit. However, directly adjacent is More Home Slice, a pizza-only take-out joint that occupies the end spot of a strip mall. Despite the take-out focus, there are a handful of counters and chairs inside for sit-down pizza inhaling.

Meatball and onions

Prices vary by topping, but the huge slices average about $4 each. I chose a slice of Margherita and one the daily specials, meatballs with onions. Each slice dwarfed the standard paper plate; they are cut from an 18" pie.

The Margherita pie featured fresh mozzarella and diced Roma tomatoes. The crust was absolutely authentic. It was thin, with a perfectly crisped bottom and a nice chewiness throughout with an al dente finishing crunch at the cornicione. It was foldable, as a NYC slice is supposed to be for those who eat pizza with that unfortunate habit.

The Margherita

Beyond its impeccable crust, this slice was balanced and proportioned, and finished with fresh basil. The fresh mozzarella had an excellent flavor all its own, and the tomatoes were solid role players here. The toppings adhered nicely in the perfectly baked pie. 

Under the hood

Underneath, the crust was unremarkable in appearance, showing a consistent golden brown devoid of any char marks. Sometimes, you can see how good the crust is; here, the proof came in the eating.

The meatball slice featured red sauce, conventional mozz, big chunks of sliced meatballs, and strings of sliced onion. Before I ate my slice, I overheard someone call it the "spaghetti and meatballs" pizza because the onions resembled strands of pasta. She also raved about the flavor of the meatballs.

In the parking lot between the 2 buildings

I found this slice delightful; the meatballs and onions were a nice combo. The onions were thinly sliced and nearly dissolved into the sauce and cheese. Some pizzerias apply big chunks of undercooked onion, but not here. The meatballs were indeed very good and properly juicy. Overall, though, the fresh mozzarella lifted the Margherita slice to a higher level.

With its near-perfect crust and ideally balanced toppings, Home Slice Pizza has nailed the NYC slice. It stands right on the same plane as North of Brooklyn and Wiseguy NY Pizza (Washington DC) as an authentic NY pizza many miles from the Apple.