PIZZA REVIEW: Tiny Champions

I can say without question that pizza is my #1 favorite food, with quite the gap over everything else. Not only that, it's pretty hard to argue that it isn't objectively the best food: the ideal combination of starch, dairy, meat (unless you're a monster), and vegetables (sometimes)... all delivered in the perfect handheld portion. The ability for creativity and variety is endless, and there's (almost) no such thing as bad pizza. You know how the old saying goes: pizza is like Nic Cage movies… when it’s good, it’s REALLY good… when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good (everyone says this). So it's surprising that I've had this site for 3 months now and haven't done a single pizza review. That changes now!

This was my second time at this EaDo joint from the people who brought you Nancy's Hustle. It's a laid-back atmosphere, bohemian in decor and feel, fitting for the neighborhood. As this was an impromptu affair without a reservation, we sat at the bar, though I quite enjoy this more casual change of pace from time to time (there's also a large patio area that would be lovely in December or January). Pizza is the star of the show, but there are also pastas and a variety of different "plates" ranging from small snacks to salads to even a NY strip steak. On my previous visit I remember loving the quail done fried chicken-style with dill, hot honey, and fancy ranch.

On this occasion, however, there was no messing about: pizza and pasta only. There are six different pizzas on the menu, though some change seasonally. While some of the others are a bit more "out there" (roasted onion with ricotta cream sauce, or mortadella with fig and plum mostarda, for examples), we opted for the slightly more traditional fennel sausage with peppers, red onion, basil, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan. The most important differentiator of pizza styles is surely the crust, so to help aid in this and future reviews, I've created a proprietary crust thickness scale:

• 0: St. Louis-style pizza (an abomination which I hope never to eat in my life)
• 1: Roman-style pizza
• 2: Chicago tavern-style pizza (e.g. Nonno's)
• 3: California-style pizza (e.g. CPK)
• 4: Neapolitan pizza (e.g. La Dolce Vita, RIP)
• 5: New York-style pizza
• 6: Brooklyn-style pizza
• 7: American hand-tossed pizza (e.g. Domino's, the platonic ideal of crust thickness)
• 8: Sicilian-style pizza
• 9: Detroit-style pizza (e.g. Via313)
• 10: Chicago deep-dish pizza (e.g. Giordano's)

There's obviously the potential for a lot of overlap, and not everything fits neatly into one bucket. I'd say Tiny Champions falls into the 4-5 range: the bottom was fairly thin but the softer edges were airy, bubbled up with a hint of char. They were living on the edge, as I don't like when the crust ventures into burnt/crunchy territory as some people do, but this was damn near perfectly done. The flavor was excellent - the name of the restaurant refers to the yeasts and bacteria that help with the fermentation and leavening of the dough, and the faintly sweet and sour taste shone through.

As for the toppings... fennel is low-key one of the most underrated ingredients in my opinion, and as such, the sausage was spectacular, with the subtlest of anise wisps from the finocchio. The red onions and tart, slightly spicy pepperoncini provided a nice bit of crunch on top of the pie (I hate using that word in reference to this food, but I can't keep just saying "pizza" over and over), and the stringy cheese and sweet tomato sauce were there to bring a perfect balance to the entire ensemble. And you know I had to order a side of garlic chili oil to spoon over the top for a little extra kick. I'm not going to tell you how many slices I ate (a lot), but I could have demolished the entire thing by myself if I didn't have to share.

Like I mentioned above, there are also some pretty killer pasta offerings. Bigoli was a new noodle for me... hailing from the region around Venice in Italy, it's essentially a slightly thicker spaghetti (or bucatini without the hole) that's made with whole-wheat flour and known for its ability to hold rich hearty sauces. Here the sauce was a basic pomodoro, with big crispy chunks of guanciale. Deceptively simple, the pork jowl was so deliciously salty, offset by the acidic tomato and some pecorino cheese. A quick sidebar: my wife makes a pasta dish very similar to this, that calls for this protein. According to the TikTok recipe, you can just Google "guanciale near me" and apparently there should be Italian markets all over the place where you can purchase such a thing. Maybe this is only true in New York or something, because it's near impossible to find in Houston, except at the great Central Market. Anyway, I'm not sure where Tiny Champions sources theirs, but the guanciale was tremendous.

Since we sat at the bar, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one of the cocktails as well. Evil Eye was a fun concoction of tequila, Licor 43, lime, pomegranate, and angostura bitters. There was tartness and acidity, as you might imagine from those fruits, but that wonderfully complex Spanish liqueur adds so many aromas and flavors that this drink was not quite like anything I'd had before. Most Houstonians have probably only tried it in a carajillo, but Cuarenta y Tres is delicious sipped on its own, or apparently mixed with agave spirits as well!

If you like pizza, this is absolutely worth schlepping over to EaDo for. I'd like to try some of the more esoteric options at some point in the future, but you can't go wrong with the basic pizzas or pastas either.

RANKING UPDATE: This was previously the #3 Best Pizza on my Houston Restaurant Guide, but I am officially moving it to #2, ahead of Pizzana. Betelgeuse Betelgeuse is still #1 for now, though my mouth is only just recovering from literally the spiciest thing I've ever eaten when I was there a few years ago. But that's a story for another day.

NEXT UP: Just steps down McKinney Street is an Austin import, whose original location ranks among the top 100 best bars in North America.