"The first thing you’ll notice when you walk up to Side Eye Pie’s trailer at Meanwhile Brewing in South Austin is the giant, wood-fired oven bolted onto the end. And while we’re pretty sure it’s powerful enough to serve as a little steam engine if it wanted, we’re glad that it chose a path of pizza instead. It’s what gives the pizzas coming out of Side Eye Pie their signature crust—blistered and chewy from the intense wood-fired heat—with a soft, thin center. The pizzas here lean Neapolitan in style, and if you ask, the staff can probably point you to where in the Austin area most of the ingredients came from. Kick things off with an order of salami chips. They’re crispy little discs of soppressata that come with a side of ranch, but for the optimal experience, grab a side of hot honey to dip them in. For pizza, we like The Meat Sweats (you can probably guess the toppings) and The Local Trip that comes topped with mushrooms from Hi-Fi Mycology. Show up on the weekends, and you can even try a breakfast pizza that will have you second-guessing your Saturday morning breakfast taco routine. Fortunately, Pueblo Viejo is right next door, so you never really need to compromise. Food Rundown photo credit: Holly Dirks Salami Chips The appetizer we didn’t know we needed. Each order comes with a small handful of crispy fried soppressata chips. They’re salty, a bit spicy, and go great dunked into ranch, or even better with a side of hot honey. photo credit: Holly Dirks The Original Marg It’s a classic for a reason, and Side Eye Pie’s margherita pizza doesn’t disappoint. The sauce is tangy, with just a little sweetness, and the fresh basil and local olive oil add a bit of brightness to each bite. photo credit: Holly Dirks The Local Trip This is one of our favorite mushroom pizzas in town. The mushrooms provide a bit of earthiness, and the fontina cheese adds some funk that we can’t get enough of." - Nicolai McCrary
