It is National Pizza Day today and what better time to take a brief look at some of your various pizza options in Denton and the surrounding area. Denton being a college town is well familiar with the circle-shaped combination of delicious dough, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce otherwise known as "the pizza" and therefore has a plethora of options for you to choose from when you decide to break your "Whole 30" diet. Read on to find out some of our favorite pizza destinations in Denton.

PIZZA SNOB

Pizza Snob on Hickory Street is one of our favorite pizzas in town. If you're ready for a pizza that needs to live up to your high culinary expectations, this is the place for you. The owners of Pizza Snob have a long history in the culinary field (and more recently in the seasoning field), and have used their extensive knowledge to create what would become for them the 'perfect pizza' as far as quality and convenience goes. The beauty of it all is that the crust is perfectly crisp, light, and flavorful and their toppings are simple but different from your usual suspects. Even better, the pizzas cook in 90 seconds and will cost you less than $10.

There is no massive menu with a bunch of sizes and weird ways to 'stuff your crust' or anything like that. They will have three chef-created options on a large sheet of butcher paper every time you're there. So if you want something they've already tested and determined is delicious, you're good to go. Otherwise, you build your own, and the toppings include great things like buttered meatballs, peppadews, and sriracha mustard.

One of our favorites is the Spicy Italian pizza that comes loaded with candied jalapenos, buttermilk Alfredo sauce and, you guessed it, spicy Italian sausage. The combination of creamy, spicy and sweet is absolutely killer in the best of ways. We also love the Baked Potato complete with sour cream and chives. If you haven't had a pizza with potato and sour cream, you're kinda missing out. Wanna know more about Pizza Snob (or just look at more pretty pictures?) check out our review.

EARL'S 377 PIZZA

On the edge of Denton and Argyle is the new Italian food and pizza parlor dubbed Earl's 377 Pizza. The space is perfect for a night out with friends, family, or just to satiate your pizza cravings. While it is a slight bit of a drive from downtown Denton, the delicious brick oven pizzas they sling are worth the distance.

Earl's cooks their pizzas with made-from-scratch scratch dough and fire them in the high temp pizza ovens. Their classic pizza - a combination of crushed tomatoes, mozzarella and basil is cheesy, fresh, and comforting. We also dig their pizza with roasted yukon gold potatoes, big chunks of thick slab bacon, roasted onion and rosemary. Our favorite has to be the pizza topped with spicy prosciutto spread, ricotta and shallots. The prosciutto spread had that glorious umami saltiness to it, which was balanced by the lightness of the ricotta and the mild flavor of the shallots. Better still - you can get a half liter of wine served in a small hand painted pitcher from Italy to go along with your 'za. Wanna know more about Earl's? Click here.

BACKYARD ON BELL

Backyard on Bell, the new food truck park on Bell Ave. is surprisingly one of the best places to score pizza in Denton, TX. In fact, nine times out of ten the pizza they cook is probably better than whatever the nearby food trucks are serving. The pizzas with "prosciutto" come with thick little cubes of meat that are wonderfully salty and the crust is just thick enough to hold the substantial amount of cheese and various toppings. We aren't sure where they're getting their mozzarella from, but if they could tell us, we would really like to gain another ten pounds of straight-up cheese weight.

JONUZI'S

Pizza delivery is a wonderful thing. Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Papa John's don't always fit the bill. Jonuzi’s Pizza on Teasley, though, is some of the best pizza you can get in the City of Denton. The space once housed the most holy of all Denton pizza places, the late Si'z. Jonuzi's makes up for Si'z absence, though. Big, east coast style slices that are both delicious and reasonably priced. Grab some and hang out on the patio of Wine Squared with a bottle of wine during their happy hour and thank us later. If Jonuzi's isn't your thing (or out of your delivery area), there's always TJ's or Roman's for some good local pizza delivery.

J & J'S

Keep in mind that when you order a "slice" of pizza at J & J's you actually get two very large slices. The gooey pizza these dudes have been slinging for years at their location on Oak St. on the square is worth the wait that can build up on the weekends. If you've never tried getting anchovies on your pizza before (like me before September 2016), J & J's is the place to give it a shot. There's no fishiness at all, but a strong Parmigiano-Reggiano like flavor instead. Order one and go hang out at the patio at Wine Squared for a wonderful evening.

ROMAN'S

Roman’s Pizza is tucked away on Windsor in North Denton by North Lakes park. While they’re actually the “oldest independent” pizza option in town, they don’t get much attention. That said, they’ve been serving up delicious, cheap pizza for the entire time they’ve been open. For the price, it’s hard to find better pizza in that neck of the woods. We’re partial to the canadian bacon and pineapple there.

CROOKED CRUST

Crooked Crust has some really delicious options. We happen to be obsessed with their Mean Green, which consists of chicken, artichokes, pesto and mozzarella. It's light on the wallet, too, with $6 getting you two slices and a beverage. However, if you order your pizza at the wrong time of the day, you may find yourself with a pretty stale slice of crunchy bread and cheese. If you're the type who gets hungry for pizza at three in the afternoon, you're going to suffer this fate. However, if you're out late at night on Fry and get hungry for a slice, you're more than likely to get a fresh piece of one of the best pizzas in town.

And let's finish this off with Fishboy's famous video for their song "IMAVOLCANO" with some interesting landmarks in town.

March 26, 2018

EVEN MORE DENTON WOMEN OF DISTINCTION

Women’s History Month is the perfect time to revisit some of the amazing Denton ladies who have been town saviors, trailblazers, hellraisers, social activists, and pioneers. Heck, over at TWU is the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame and the archives for the WWII WASP Archives, so you know there are stories a’plenty to tell. Here are a few more of our local favorites, including a 1920’s newspaper publisher, a tiny songstress with a big voice, and a political crusader.

It's Time For Taste of North Texas

Once a year in Denton, many of our local restaurants and bars get together for a good cause and make their food and drinks available for roughly the price of a single restaurant meal. This year’s event will feature around 35 participants, including a great mix of established Denton institutions (hi, Beth Marie’s!) and places that are new to Denton.

February 19, 2018

2018 DENTON MINI MAKER FAIRE

What image pops into your head when someone uses the word “maker”?

The images that tend to appear in the mind—not to mention Google’s image search—involve wires and circuit boards. As important as those skills and the people who enjoy them are, they only represent one type of maker. Many skills can fall under the maker umbrella, whether it’s programming robots to make pancakes or turning a bicycle wheel into a musical instrument. Artists, scientists, crafters, and engineers can all be considered makers. If you can take a set of materials and transform them into something cool, you are welcome in the maker community!

December 1, 2017

DO THE DENTON HOLIDAY LIGHTING FESTIVAL LIKE A PRO

One of our favorite holiday traditions, the Holiday Lighting Festival, is this weekend. The annual free event features music, food, performances, a toy drive, and various other holiday activities. Happening simultaneously to the Holiday Lighting Festival is Wassail Weekend. Dozens of local shops extend their hours and welcome patrons to sample their wassail, a hot cider-like beverage. Wassail Weekend On Friday evening the Downtown Denton square will be shut down to traffic to make way for wassail-guzzling pedestrians to walk around and enjoy all of the festivities. You'll find us circled 'round the tree like the Whos down in Whoville, holding hands and singing with joy. We're not sure who the Grinch is in this situation, though.

If you plan on coming out to sample the wassail and find the joy of the holiday in your cold, black heart, here are our tips and tricks to making sure you get to squeeze as much holiday cheer out of the event as possible.

November 9, 2017

THE MANY FACES OF DENTON'S FINE ARTS THEATER

There’s been a lot of buzz around the recent arrival of the oft-rumored Fine Arts Theater hitting the real estate market, with a hefty pricetag in the ballpark of $1.5 million. Owned by the McBride family since 1983 with high hopes of renovation, there were overtures in 2014 and then renewed interest in 2016 but alas… it has never come to pass. A recent episode of the Politically Denton podcast explored some of the backstory and future possibilities, but I figured it would be a hoot to have a look back at the history of this iconic spot from back in the day.

November 7, 2017

THE BEST THANKSGIVING WE EVER HAD

Ever been to a pop-up dinner? More over, ever heard of a pop-up dinner? The events are normally one-offs in which facilities become restaurants for one night only and feature special food prepared by up and coming chefs. Pop-up dinners are gaining in popularity across the country and you have a chance to check one out in Denton this week! On November 9th at Denton County Brewing Company there will be a pop-up dinner featuring the food of Chef Chad Kelley from Barley and Board that will be paired with beers selected by Seth Morgan of Denton County Brewing Company. Read on to find out more info on this great Denton dining opportunity.

November 1, 2017

DENTON STARTUP WEEKEND 2017

Entrepreneur. It’s kind of a dumb word if you think about it, and to most people (especially students) it carries some buzzwords with it that seem very business-y. When I first heard “entrepreneur," I thought to myself, “That’s for people in the college of business.” It never really struck me as, “I’m an entrepreneur,” even though looking back on my life, I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was a kid. Everything from trading Pokémon cards, making beaded bracelets and necklaces, and burning CDs for friends before we learned we probably shouldn’t were all entrepreneurial endeavors that were abundant in my youth (as they probably were in yours).

That’s the thing, though. Being an entrepreneur isn’t about putting on a suit jacket or making apps. It’s about making a living doing something you love, while making sure other people love it too (that’s what we call customer validation). And this is one of the things I learned going through Startup Weekend.

Click through to read more about the upcoming Startup Weekend taking place in Denton, TX.

October 31, 2017

STOKE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Since opening in August of 2016, Stoke, Denton’s entrepreneur center and co-working space, has provided space for local businesses, entrepreneurs, freelance workers, and remote workers. The center has also hosted a variety of educational, professional networking, and social events. There has been formal and informal mentoring for new entrepreneurs and collaboration between several of the businesses located at Stoke. All of these things have provided great benefit to Denton’s tech and business communities, allowing them to contribute more to the Denton community and economy.

CELEBRATE PIZZA DAY IN DENTON THE RIGHT WAY