Louie's

1839 N Henderson Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
214-826-0505

Louie's is one of the top 3 places in Dallas to get a pizza. The other two, in no particular order, are Campisi's and Marco's. I usually don't like to be so definitive about food since it is so subjective, but in this case I will. Dallas isn't known for its pizza, when out-of-towners come here they think, "Let's go get a big ole steak." You go to New York or Chicago for great pizza, but we've got a few that are pretty damn good.

Louie's is another one of those places that if you don't know about you'll never just happen by it, and for that matter you probably wouldn't go in.

It's located on Henderson just a little short of Ross. You could easily drive on by, so keep your eyes peeled to the right side of the street if you are heading east southeast on Henderson away from 75. It's right across Henderson from a popular night spot The Slip Inn.

Once you come inside the bunker type grey brick building you will find a bar/restaurant that in my tiny little mind is exactly what a pizza and beer joint should be. It's dark with wood and brick everywhere, a few nice TVs in good locations so that you won't miss whatever game is on, but won't be too distracted from the conversation at your table. They restaurant is divided right down the middle by the bar, the east side is only open on Friday and Saturday nights. Before I go too far, they only accept cash or American Express as payment.

Now on to the food. Like I said before the pizza is great, but some might say that the best things on the menu are the salads. There are only two, a Greek and a Caesar, you can have a house salad, but to skip either of these in favor of a plain ole house salad would be extremely foolish.

(pictured are the Caesar (bottom) and the Greek (top))

Sorry that we didn't get a picture when the salads first came out, but we were rrreeeaaalllyyy hungry. The salads here are huge, we ordered two smalls for 5.5 people, the half was because one of our party arrived a little late. My favorite is the Caesar, it's frigin awesome, they must use real anchovies in the dressing, because it has a bite that doesn't exist in other Caesars that I've had around town. The Greek is great too. One member our party, a soon to be ivy leaguer, said she liked it best.

Next were the pizza's, we ordered two larges for 6 people:

(pictured is the hamburger and sauteed onion)

(pictured is the feta and FRESH tomato)

Pizza is good, especially when it's made with fresh ingredients, and that's how Louie's does it. We kind of went out on a limb with the first one, the hamburger and sauteed onion. We were having a hard time compromising the various taste preferences at our table, but we got lucky. It was great, a nice complementary combination of salty and sweet. I will definitely order it again.

The second is a local favorite at Louie's. The feta and fresh tomato, as billed on the menu, will get you the "these people know what they are doing nod" from your waitress. I've been eating at Louie's since college and I'm pretty sure that I've ordered this pie every time and it's never disappointed. Even the most staunch meat eater could appreciate the robust combination of Louie's rich tomato sauce, the soft and salty feta mozzarella cheese combo and the cool sweet touch of fresh tomato with the wafer thin crisp and crunchy crust, this pizza is complete.

When you walk in, go up to the bar and tell the bartender how many are in your party and then get ready for a great meal.