Cane Rosso + Cow Tipping Creamery

Updated October 2017

Pizza.
Soft serve ice cream.
It doesn't get much better than that for kids and adults alike.

The Elena, Honey Bastard, and Ella pizzas

The latest pizza player in Austin is a Dallas import. The well-regarded Cane Rosso Pizza which has several spots in the DFW area, was so impressed with the ice creams at Cow Tipping Creamery, that they bought the Austin-based food truck and have installed CTC storefronts. Conveniently for those of us in Austin, CR just opened in the old St. Philip in Sunset Valley with CTC going next door, in the old bake house spot.

These 900 degree ovens cook a pizza in about 90 seconds.

CR was packed on a Saturday evening at 5:30 pm, but fortunately our group of seven was able to snag a table fairly quickly. Five adults and two kids demolished four pies and a salad -- Margherita (pictured below), the Elena, Honey Bastard, and Ella above. The HB is an off-menu pizza, a white pie with soppressata, bacon jam, and habanero honey.

These are Neapolitan-style pizzas with a soft crust due to the use of Italian "00" flour, and they consider it to be a fork and knife experience, according to the waitress. My one critique is that the toppings are not evenly dispersed, particularly the bacon jam on the Honey Bastard.  And I 'd say the Elena doesn't have enough of local BBQ spot Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ brisket on it to justify it's cost, but both are still delicious.

A Thursday lunch at 12:30 pm, it was only about half full. So if you can get there for lunch, it was a little more relaxed and a lot quieter. Three of us split the Honey Bastard (but note the uneven distribution of the bacon jam) along with a Capra salad; both times the salads were nice and fresh.

October 2017 update:
New chef Josh Healy has unveiled some new menu items. I was invited to a media tasting to check things out. Great happy hours, Monday through Friday, 5 - 7 pm, where several pizzas are only $5!

Crispy potatoes with a fabulous green sauce, which adds a lot of brightness.

Wood-fired St. Louis ribs; very tender, Asian flavors. I enjoyed them but our table was sort of split on these.

HUGE burrata! Super creamy and nice with balsamic drizzle and cherries. This thing was a monster, but we ate all of it! 

The Honey Bastard, still my favorite pizza there, with soppressata, bacon jam, and hot honey. 

The Metro Pizza, a three-foot long creation with your choice of toppings. Here we have Margherita, the Street Taco (with Valentina's Tex-Mex brisket and mole sauce), and arugula + prosciutto.  Great for a crowd!

The lovely and decadent truffle carbonara. Supple pappardelle pasta with loads of truffle flavor.
 By far the best of the pasta dishes we tried that night. 

Chef's special: butternut squash puree + goat cheese tortellini with beet puree and beet "dirt". Pan-toasted which gave them a great texture. Chef explained that he wanted the nightly specials to be plated differently so they stand out.

Cow Tipping specializes in soft serve and makes sundaes known as stackers. Fortunately, they have a kiddie size, which is still plenty of ice cream! I've also had the mint chocolate chip milkshake which was heavenly! Pictured below are the milkshake and a kiddie stacker.

Check out both Cane Rosso and Cow Tipping Creamery at 4715 S. Lamar Blvd, which is really the Hwy 290 eastbound frontage road, between Kohl's and the Toney Burger Center. While I don't see anything mentioning it online, on both visits to CR, I've seen people picking up to go orders, so it appears you can get your pizza to take home. Likewise, CTC has a freezer door with pints ready for take out. Make the kid in you happy with pizza and ice cream!

40 North Pizza

In the past couple years, South First Street from Barton Springs Road to Oltorf Street has become a bustling hubbub with various eateries and hip stores continually popping up. I've lived in the area for over 15 years, and it's nice to have so much within walking distance, especially when it comes to good food. 

The latest addition to the Bouldin Creek food scene is the 40 North food trailer, specializing in Neapolitan-style pizza. They are directly across the street from Elizabeth Street Cafe, and share the lot with Regal Ravioli, which has always been one of my favorites. I was invited by 40 North to try their pizzas. 

They offer six regular pizzas and then a couple rotating weekly specials, as well as some salads and dessert. Owner/chef Clint says once the weather is warmer, he hopes to expand some of the salad and other offerings. He was a lawyer in New York before deciding law wasn't his thing, and went to Italy to study the craft of pizza making in Naples (hence the name, as Naples is at the 40⁰ latitude mark), and then returned to Brooklyn and worked in a pizza shop there, before moving to Austin in 2011.  He hopes for a brick and mortar spot down the road!

Their trailer contains a wood-burning oven, which takes up almost half the trailer space. On this blustery February day, we were invited inside the trailer to check it out, and to see the oven first hand. You could immediately feel the heat! Those beautiful coals are burning at over 900⁰, and they actually had to cool it down a bit before serving pizzas; 850⁰ is more the ideal temperature, and pizzas cook in about 90 seconds.

The first one we tried was one of the specials, butternut squash with caramelized onions, ricotta, a bit of thyme, calabrian peppers, and a drizzle of Mike's Hot Honey (honey infused with chiles). Loved it! I am a sucker for sweet and savory, and all the components together worked extremely well. The crust which is very lightly charred at the edges, had a very nice chew to it without being overly dense.

Then we tried the hot honey pizza, which is a regular menu item; with a base sauce of San Marzano tomatoes, it has hot coppa salumi, ricotta, and a drizzle of the hot honey as well. The coppa crisps up nicely, and again with the contrast of the honey, it makes for a tasty pie.

Beautiful and delicious pizzas. 40 North knows what they're doing and they're doing it well. I definitely suggest you go check them out! They have live music on some Saturdays, so check out their Facebook page or website for updated info. A fabulous addition to the neighborhood!

Full disclosure: I was invited by 40 North to check them out, but was not paid for my opinion or a blog post. But I am happily and honestly providing one that I hope will make you want to go try them!