Review: Jersey Giant Pizza - Austin (Bee Cave) TX

While I'm pretty certain that no one is marketing "Texas style" pizza or hoagies in New York or New Jersey, the opposite is often true. For example, Jersey Mike's Subs are sold in over 1500 locations across the U.S. Pizzerias all over America tout their "New York style" pizza as much as they claim to make "Neapolitan" pizza; both claims are usually wildly inaccurate. 

Naturally, I was intrigued to see a small strip mall pizzeria named "Jersey Giant" in Bee Cave, Texas, about a half hour from downtown Austin. The owner is from Jackson NJ (home to Great Adventure park).

The Jersey Giant Facebook page notes "our mission is to share the classic old-world flavor... dough made fresh daily from scratch and hand tossed ... fresh baked meatballs, fennel infused Italian sausage, Wisconsin mozzarella, all natural, vegetarian fed, hormone free products ... veggies are organic and delivered fresh from local farms ... four deck custom crafted brick oven capable of cooking fourteen giant pizzas at 650 degrees."

I called ahead to order a pie for takeout, and the online menu showed that "Giant" refers more to the size of the pizza than to the football team that plays in the Jersey Meadowlands and loses to the Eagles two times each year. The smallest pizza is 18", which would be the largest pie at most places, and sizes range up to 28".

Huge 20" pie from Jersey Giant

I generally resist an excess of toppings, but I decided to go all in on this "giant" concept and chose a 20" specialty pie, "Da Meat Trio" that features sausage, pepperoni, and meatballs. Keeping with the Jersey theme, the strip mall hosting Jersey Giant sits behind a Shell gas station, and the inside is a typical east coast pizza shop - small, a few tables, nothing fancy.

A quick aside: What I've noticed out in the Austin suburbs is an easy way to distinguish the real Texans from the imported Texans. Painting with a broad brush here, I noticed that all the shops and restaurants designed to lure new residents have Japanese and European cars in the parking lots. 

But at Rosie's Tamale House in Bee Cave, a roadside Mexican restaurant in business since the early 80s (before Austin was cool), the parking lot is filled with American-made trucks and few Buicks. Insider tip on finding where the true locals eat. I'm going to pay attention to the cars at Jersey Giant on my next trip.

Inside Rosie's Tamale House (highly recommended!)

The only Jersey Boy inside is the owner, but the staff was friendly and my pie was ready for takeout. I didn't re-heat it when I got home, about 10 minutes away, but the pie was still pretty fresh.

The pie was beautiful to look at, and even though it was topped with three meats, it was not overloaded. The crust - baked on a screen - was soft and pliant, but it held up under the payload of sauce, cheese, and meats. It had good flavor, but almost no crispness. It was very faithful to a typical strip mall pizza crust anywhere in Jersey. Not old school pizza or tomato pie, but the kind of slices most Jerseyans grew up eating in the 80s and 90s.

And, consistent with that genre, the sauce and cheese were role players. Neither stood out, but they were in proper proportion and adhered nicely to the crust, and contributed to a very satisfying flavor.

The pepperoni was standard grade, but the meatballs were particularly tasty. The sausage was also high quality, and could be improved only by being applied raw so that it cooks on the pie. The total effect was a slightly dense and chewy crust topped by a well-balanced and salty mix of meats, cheese, and sauce.  Pretty classic.

Screen marks on the underside of the crust

Other than the huge size of these pies, Jersey Giant isn't breaking any new ground. But if you're longing for a perfectly executed east coast strip mall pizza shop slice or pie, Jersey Giant has nailed it.  It won't change your life, but it will make your belly happy.  We'll be back often.