First Look: Cue Some Delectable Naan Pizza at Eastern Pizza Co.

The Indian subcontinent has given civilization many things: Gandhi, Buddha, Deepika Padukone, Ravi Shankar, Sanath Jayasuriya, chess and chicken tikka masala (by way of Great Britain). This is but an extremely small subset of the many accomplishments and contributions to the arts, sciences, religion, music, sports and culture this area, which houses almost one quarter of the world’s population, has given the world. Add to this ever-growing list naan pizza, the crust of which is not baked in a traditional pizza oven but rather handmade and baked in a tandoor, the traditional clay oven used for centuries on the Indian subcontinent.

“Oh, that sounds good!” you say. “Where can I find this naan pizza?” you query. Glad you asked. We happened upon a new spot in Carrollton, Eastern Pizza Co., that just happens to serve this Desi twist on the American standard, so we decided to give it a try.
When you enter, you’ll immediately realize something: Eastern Pizza Co is more than a restaurant. It's a mini pool hall with four tables that are free to use while you’re dining. Who doesn’t enjoy a rousing game of nine ball whilst nibbling on some samosas and waiting for your mutton sukka naan pizza to be prepared? Chalk one up for the Eastern Pizza Co.

The naan pizzas are all $9.99 each, and are what the owner, an extremely friendly and helpful man from Sri Lanka, described as “medium” sized. Choices include veggie, meatball marinara, paneer tikka and Indo Hawaiian among others, but we went with a spinach and mushroom and a butter chicken masala and added an order of samosas as an appetizer.
The samosas were tiny little things but came six to an order with a side of red sauce that turned out to be ketchup. The samosas were good, a cute size we’d not seen before, which made them easy to eat. But the ketchup? No. We missed the tamarind and mint/cilantro chutneys that one usually gets at Americanized Indian restaurants.

Both pizzas took about 10 minutes to prepare and arrived at our table on separate wooden pizza peels. At about 12 inches in diameter, it was plenty of food (we were only able to eat half each). You have the option of a garlic naan crust for an additional dollar, but that day we went with plain.
The butter chicken masala naan was topped with small, tender pieces of butter chicken in a flavorful creamy sauce with onions, mozzarella and a drizzle of butter masala. The naan crust is thin but not cracker thin, and not crunchy. It had a unique chew that was satisfying.
The spinach and mushroom naan pizza comes with a house pizza sauce, garlic butter and mozzarella and was well-seasoned with a mixture of Indian-style spices that set it apart from a traditional pizza. There was no mistaking that this was prepared in a Desi-style kitchen.

Eastern Pizza has been open for a couple of months, and the owner is really trying to make a go of it with friendly service, a clean dining area and delicious unique offerings that are priced to sell. Oh, and did we mention the pool tables?

3108 Old Denton Road, No. 114, Carrollton. Daily, noon – midnight.