Hot Dish

Eighteen (count "em if you can) different herbs and spices go into the crust at In the Red. They say the recipe came from a pizzeria in Rome--that In the Red's owner stood outside the back door and bribed a waiter for the formula. It could have happened, I guess. For sure, this isn't like other pizza crust. It's a golden, tawny color and has an almost flaky texture. When you break off a little piece and eat it by itself, you can definitely taste some spice, some heat. Eighteen? Hard to say. Who's counting, anyway? It tastes even better since at the hours this place is open, you won't find any other pizza. There's also delivery to a limited area.

In the Red Pizza on Commerce and Oakland in Deep Ellum, 761-1958. Open on weekend nights till 4 a.m.

--Mary Brown Malouf