August 14th, 2016
Austin, TX
After our quick drive up to Dallas, we drove back down to Austin to try another pizza place on the list. The Backspace was listed on the 2015 list one spot after Cane Rosso, at #93, so we were excited to directly compare the two pizzas.
The Backspace is Austin’s first Neapolitan-style pizzeria. It opened in 2010, and it also adheres to the VPN guidelines for Neapolitan pizzas with imported “OO” flour and San Marzano tomatoes. Even with all the similarities to Cane Rosso, the two pizzas tasted very different to us. The difference was mostly in the crust. The crust at the Backspace was more charred from the wood-fired oven, and if you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time, you know that we like a good char on our crust. It was also a little bit less doughy. Both restaurants served pizzas with really unique and fresh toppings, although the selection is more expansive at Cane Rosso.
We ordered one of the roasted mushroom pizzas here, which was topped with ricotta, capers, and thyme. We loved the generous gobs of ricotta, which paired so nicely with the roasted mushrooms. While we generally aren’t huge fans of salty capers, they complemented the pizza well. We wished that we had room to try more of the pizzas here – the white pizza Bianca looked especially good and also got rave reviews online.
We also noticed (after the fact) that the Backspace was rated on the Daily Meal’s “10 Best Pepperoni Pies in America” list, at #7. So we’ll have to try one of those as well.
The Backspace is a really small, rustic, restaurant. It only seats 30 people and can get pretty crowded on the weekends. We got there early on Sunday when they opened for dinner service, so we didn’t have any issues, but they recommend making a reservation. They also have daily happy hours on the weeknights, which would be good to make note of if you’re in the area. It would be a great place to take a date because it is nice and cozy, with a good wine list. It is also right around the corner from 6th Street, where all the happenings are.
To visit:
The Backspace
507 San Jacinto Blvd
Austin, TX 78701
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