Italian wines: everyday eats, not special treats!
Why wine? Why the heck not?! You see, pizza is fun. That’s undeniable. It’s born by being tossed in the air and getting all dolled up. You get to eat it with your hands without getting in trouble. A hot piping pie is brought to your table and you think, or say, YAY! Wine in Italy is the same. It is not reserved for cocktail parties and stemmed glasses and anniversaries. It is food. It is just as much a part of the everyday eating experience as bread or veggies. We chose to have an Italian wine list because our food is Italian inspired and our ingredients are primarily Italian. In Italy wine and food are made to compliment and enhance each other, and Italian wines have a great acidity that stands up to, but doesn’t mask or overpower, the rich flavors in the tomato sauce, cheese, and meats in Italian cooking.
Our wine menu changes fairly often because we chose to work with semi-small producers that make wine with our same philosophy. Wineries with a passion for quality ingredients with the real end product being a catalyst for pleasure and enjoyment for life and the people you share it with.
Wine is not pretentious, it’s just juice, man. Really well made, warm in your tummy, fuzzy around the edges, sexy, fun-times juice. Juice nonetheless. And food and wine paired are like Dan Akroyd and John Belushi, great solo, but unstoppably awesome together. Like how Catherine Zeta-Jones looks even more beautiful on the arm of Michael Douglas. Just think of Catherine as a slice of sausage and garlic pizza and Michael is the Barbera D’Alba that propels her to Super Star status. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin? They are actually a meatball sub and a glass of Nero D’Avola. Don’t tell their publicists. So the next time you think pizza, and then think beer, think again and ask your server about our wine!
The pairings above are tried and true awesome combos. Don’t be fooled but the pink color of Rosé, it’s a dry, tart glass of cold heaven. It totally compliments the meaty Italian assorted sub. Prosecco and a Caesar salad sounds a little understated, but it’s a ridiculously delicious combo. The earthiness of the Montepulciano is a great bosom buddy to the saltiness of the pepperoni and the acidity of the pizza sauce.
2009 Austin Chronicle Restaurant Poll results
Thank you to everyone who voted in this year’s Austin Chronicle Restaurant Poll. We’re stoked to be voted Best Pizza by all of you for the first time since we’ve opened. You guys rule and we’re grateful you like us. We were also voted #17 in the favorite restaurant poll. We’re so glad to have you all come down and make this such a great place to hang out and eat.
Rock out with your slice hot,
Home Slice
This is how we do it.
Lot’s of people ask us what makes our pizza so good. What sets it apart? Despite the mystique and legend (and compellingly strong opinions) surrounding what makes great pizza great, it’s not fairy dust or luck or anything that obscure. The answer is simple, but born out of much hard work, effort and vision: recipes, quality ingredients, love and no compromise. Many of the ingredients that we use weren’t available from the local purveyors when Home Slice was still in the womb. It took much persistence and diligence to make the cheeses, meats, and toppings that we use available to us.
Periodically, Jen Strickland, owner and visionary (the queen of pies, if you will) of Home Slice and its recipes, educates the staff on what we use and why. We taste our ingredients side by side with what is widely available and pervasively used. The differences can be shocking. Take for example, one the most integral ingredients for pizza, shredded mozzarella. We shred our cheeses daily. However, the food industry, in an effort to make pre-shredded mozzarella easier to store and handle, coats the cheese with cellulose powder to prevent caking and preservatives to increase shelf life. And while this makes it more convenient for turn and burn pizza production, it does not make for good food.
Pizza is often viewed as a cheap, quick commodity. That is the opposite from how we treat pizza making. Pizza is not merchandise. Pizza is the satellite of love in the middle of a table that brings people together.
Jen dropping knowledge on us all.
Our cheesecake vs. frozen
Compare and contrast, with wine.
