Austin Food Trailers Won a Free Pizza from Roppolo`s Pizzaria
This past Friday Austin Food Trailers enjoyed a wonderful treat compliments of Roppolo’s Pizza. The week before, Roppolo’s urged fans to share an image that was posted on their Facebook Page for a chance to win a prize. We shared, we won, we got us some pizza!
Sasha Said:
Roppolo’s invited us over to their 6th Street location for a 12’’ pie, so we decided to have our team meeting there. While I was waiting for the rest of the group I got to chatting with the guys behind the counter.
Origin
I know that Roppolo’s is an Austin icon, but it’s actually pretty new to me so, as any self respecting NYer would do, I interrogated them on their origins. I was delighted to discover that the owner, Marc Roppolo studied his trade in NY under the tutelage of “Sicilian Pizza Master,” Armando Spavenda - that's pretty legit pizza training right there!
Ambiance
With the confidence that the pizza was bound to be good, I started exploring the restaurant. I really like their building. It's part NY Pizzeria, and part small Italian restaurant, like the kind you'd find in an Italian city. Most urban building in Europe are tall and narrow and because Roppolo's picked a spot that is in the historic district of Austin, the architecture is pretty similar to a European building, in its dimensions. This goes to create a cozy intimate space.
Service
If you check out Roppolo’s About Page, you’ll see that Marc is committed to creating an experience that makes you feel welcome, at home, and special, and that was exactly how I felt while chatting with the guys behind the counter. They were extremely helpful and accommodating with our order and they eagerly told us about the pizzas and the history of the Pizzeria.
We ended up going for a half and half pie - an Italian Garden and an Italian Grill.
The Rosalie (white)
Named after Rosalie Roppolo, Marc's mother, this beauty is as light and fresh as a new spring day. Its base is ricotta cheese that is then topped with fresh tomato slices, sautéed spinach, chopped onions, sliced mushrooms and minced garlic. One of our all-time favorites…just like Mama Roppolo.
The Italian Grill
Our pizza for chicken lovers, this member of the family is one of our newest and best. We've combined grilled chicken with Italian meatballs then added chopped red onion, tomato pieces and the finishing touch of roasted red and gold peppers. The result? Taste it yourself, it's delicioso.
The pizza was made to order and it was quite evident that Roppolo’s values fresh and quality ingredients, the slices were very yummy.
Jack Said:
As a lifelong Austinite and University of Texas at Austin alum, I'm a bit familiar with Roppolo's. Well, at least I thought I was. My previous experience with the Pizzaria had been at their famous carts and smaller shop location about a block from this story's 6th Street spot. While those memories and visits are vivid, the 6th Street Roppolo's is a different story altogether.
Food
While I was a bit surprised by the half hour our pizza took to deliver, when Austin Food Trailers saw the pie it was clear why the cooking had taken so long. This might be the the biggest single pizza this author has ever eaten. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. Even before the 'za arrived, we got a chance to try one of Roppolo's specialized house salads. While there wasn't a big stylistic innovation to the salad spread, it was an undeniably filling plate. The veggies were crisp and it was a bountiful meal in its own right.
But trust us: if you order a large pizza at Roppolo's, you won't need anything else. Not even if you have three or four people in your party.
To be honest, I enjoyed The Rosalie more between the two options. The lack of sauce ("white") was not a hindrance at all on The Rosalie, and the melange of toppings all worked together fabulously. The Italian Grill, while filled with things I love (except the meat strips-called-meatballs, perhaps), was just too much of a good thing. The gigantic, doughy serving size went down easier with the "lighter" vegetarian option.
This free pizza initiative was a great idea on Roppolo's part. It's possible, with Austin Food Trailers' focus on, well, food trucks and trailers, I might have waited for a long time to visit this 6th Street headquarters. I'm happy we got the chance to visit; maybe I'll order a smaller size next time...
http://austinfoodtrailerstexas.com/everyones-winner-roppolos-pizzaria/