Zoli's NY Pizza Tavern

Zoli’s NY Pizza in Oak Cliff doesn’t look like a typical pizzeria. The walls are covered in trendy cork and subway tiles, and an odd unicorn looms over the dining room. Your nostrils will tell you you’re in the right place, though, as they dial in on the intoxicating smells of browned crust, melted cheese and simmering tomato sauce. Whether your order a NY-style slice, with its thin crust and easy to recognize round shape, or a grandma-style pizza, cooked in a steel pan with a chunky tomato sauce, or the Sicilian pizza, which is thicker and little more savory, choose your toppings carefully. These aren’t the plastic ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to at your typical pizzeria but toppings that speak out on their own. There’s no pepperoni but there’s sopressata that packs real heat and meaty olives that were recently sliced. (Watch out for pits!) Sliced meatballs land like slices of meatloaf, and anchovies resemble fish instead of salty silt. The toppings are all borrowed from Cane Rosso, the owner Jay Jerrier’s first pizza restaurant, and Zoli’s pizza is all the better for it.