100 Favorite Dishes, No. 81: Black Truffle Pizza at Olivella's

Leading up to September's Best of Dallas® 2016 issue, we're sharing (in no particular order) our 100 Favorite Dishes, the Dallas entrées, appetizers and desserts that really stuck with us this year. Some dishes we love because they combine differing primary tastes. Sweet and sour sauce, for instance, or sweet-spicy...

By Brian Reinhart

June 20, 2016

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Leading up to September's Best of Dallas® 2016 issue, we're sharing (in no particular order) our 100 Favorite Dishes, the Dallas entrées, appetizers and desserts that really stuck with us this year.

Some dishes we love because they combine differing primary tastes. Sweet and sour sauce, for instance, or sweet-spicy mango salsa. Other dishes come at the taste buds with a whole army of different flavors working in balance if they’re good, or fighting for control if they’re bad. At Olivella’s, the best pizza on the menu focuses on one taste profile only: umami.

The black truffle pizza starts with a salty, earthy meat — speck ham — and doubles down from there. Mushrooms add depth to the savory flavor, and black pepper contributes a bit of heat. Then comes the black truffle oil itself, not gratuitous or excessive, but just right. There’s no tomato sauce to sweeten things up, just a soft blanket of mozzarella cheese.

The photo above shows the round standard pie, but Olivella’s black truffle pizza is best served up on their “metro” crust, ultra-thin, for an extra bit of char and crisp which add to the effect. It’s an umami party straight from a pizza oven, and it can be truly addicting.

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Brian Reinhart has been the Dallas Observer's food critic since spring 2016. In addition, he writes baseball analysis for the Hardball Times and covers classical music for the Observer and MusicWeb International.

Contact: Brian Reinhart

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Twitter: @bgreinhart