Grimaldi’s is a pizza chain worth visiting. This is coming from a local restaurant and bar infatuated millennial. Recently the eatery made its way to Irving’s new Toyota Music Factory, giving us yet another reason to salivate over this space. 

Before my visit, I’d never eaten at Grimaldi’s before, so I was pleasantly surprised by their wine selection. It’s not massive, but they do have a few of my favorites including the popular red blend 19 Crimes and the sexy If You See Kay from Lazio, Italy. My pal Mo Barrow and I decided to go with the highly recommended cabernet, Educated Guess. The flavor is fairly robust, earthy and dry. Salads are large enough for two, but we skipped the green stuff and went for antipasto, a plate of fresh mozzarella, olives, basil, tomatoes and salami. 

Grimaldi’s, at least this location is a treat of a chain. The staff has an authentic love for the place and the food. This was gleefully expressed by Collynn, our waitress for the evening. She exclaimed that she eats here at least 5 times a week and even allowed me to sample the water that’s used to make their pizzas. The water was recreated by a chemist to ensure that all of the pies at Grimaldi’s carry that authentically tasty coal brick oven flavor. When it came to pie suggestions, Collynn led Mo and I to a pesto toped spicy chicken sausage pizza. The pesto is nut free, spicy and delicious. Though I prefer my pies to swim in cheese, the pesto sauce makes up for it and for that, both of our bellies were thankful. 

Next was Grimaldi’s version of a meat lover’s pizza called The Don. It is topped off with pepperoni, Italian sausage and meatballs. Not too shabby, but there is something about that pesto sauce that brings a little more tingle to the toes. It even heats up well in the oven the next day. Where The Don is a spin on a classic, the pesto with chicken sausage is simple but holds its own. 

We ended our pizza pie exploration with their banana cream cheesecake. The banana is abundant you just know you’re getting your daily supply of potassium. Make your way to the cheesecake ASAP, it’s only there for a limited time. TxMb

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Where to Find Them – 310 West Las Colinas Boulevard suite 100, Irving, TX 75039

Phone – (214) 496-0337

That whole parking thing – Try the garage, and of course, valet is ALWAYS an option.