Let’s Go to Unit-D Pizzeria!: A Restaurant Review
The latest Austin Food Blogger Alliance happy hour (or #AFBAHH for short, since I love a good string of capital letters) brought us to Unit-D Pizzeria in East Austin. I don’t typically make it up in this area of the neighborhood, though that may need to change. Because listen up, y’all: Unit-D Pizzeria has some truly wonderful food. And I’m about to dive into it all and share it with you. Well, you know, I’ll share photos and my experience with you. That’s almost as good as the actual food.
A Salad That’s Truly A-OK(ale)
I’m starting this section off with a hot take – I don’t usually enjoy kale. I KNOW, I KNOW, I’m a charlatan. I get that it’s got some good health benefits, I’ve just never been a fan of the taste.
Luckily, Unit-D Pizzeria has THE BEST kale salad I’ve ever experienced. Here’s why: it’s loaded with other goodies. On top of the kale, you’re getting lemon, cashew, millet, golden raisin, and pickled peach. The pickled peaches in particular (say that five times fast) are…well, just peachy! The end result is a beautiful dish that’s nearly as rewarding to gawk at as it is to eat.
Sandwiches? And Pita? All For Me? *Happy Face*
Perhaps the secret to Unit-D’s amazing dough is that it’s never refrigerated and is made using a 30-year-old sourdough starter. In fact, sauces, mozzarella, desserts, and mustards are also made in-house. The end result is some mighty fine bread action going on.
Unit-D Pizzeria now offers catered sandwiches, and holy smokes, these sandwiches are FIRE. The chicken pesto was my #1 jam, with…actual soppressata jam and pesto atop oven-roasted chicken and a bevy of good-for-you veggies. A bevy of veggies…man, that’d be an awesome band name.
You can also find hearth-baked bread (which essentially looks like little bits of pita) complementing just about any non-pizza dish. And that’s a great thing, because this bread is far too good to never try in your life. I don’t care what you order – though hats off to the cheese and charcuterie boards – you just need to make sure you get some bread alongside it.
But How’s That Pizza, Dough?
Of course, any pizza place worth its salt has to deliver in the pizza category. Unit-D Pizzeria offers eight main options, though you can add goodies like pepperoni, house sausage, prosciutto, mushrooms, and greens to it for some deeee-lish bites.
The pizza can be a bit pricey. Full pizzas (consisting of four squares) are about $14 to $17, and even during happy hour, it’ll run you $5 a slice. But thanks to that dough, you’ll be quite full after just a slice or two. It’s a good bang for your buck.
Other Notes and Nuances
We wrapped up with zeppolis, a new item on the menu. Not to be confused with Zeppo, the Marx brother people usually forget, this is a dessert. And WHAT a dessert! It’s just fried dough with a chocolate hazelnut filling and powdered sugar. Yet sometimes the simplest things in life are the best. These gooey gorgeous guys are a great option to end the evening.
I also need to compliment the staff at Unit-D Pizzeria. Every single person we interacted with was so kind and friendly and seemed genuinely excited to have us. From owner Shalou Barth, who apparently won money for a pizza oven on The Price is Right (how cool?!) to the wait staff, we felt like the belles of the ball. And glancing around at other tables, it seemed like we weren’t the only ones getting that special treatment. That’s super hard to pull off, but Unit-D does it in spades. Well done, y’all.
The next time you’re out in East Austin, head on up to Manor Road and check out Unit-D Pizzeria. You’ll get good eats, drinks, and great interaction. What more could you ask for?
2406 Manor Rd
512-524-1922
Mondays, Wednesday – Saturday:
5 pm — 10 pm
Sunday
5 pm — 9:30 pm
Closed Tuesday
Happy Hour:
5-7 pm weekdays
$2 Pint Night on Mondays
