...like a big pizza pie, that's Salvation. We're talkin' Salvation Pizza, folks and we say YUM! This new pizzeria quietly opened a few weeks ago at 624 W. 34th Street in the space that used to be Starlite restaurant.

If you're hungry for pasta or anything other than pizza, you won't find it at Salvation. The only thing on the menu besides pizza is a mixed green salad. But that's the beauty of this place - it's a true pizzeria - old school-like. And, fortunately, their pies totally rock so they don't need to offer anything else.

In addition to all the classic pizza toppings you'd expect, Salvation also offers some unique options to pile on your pie including snow peas, eggplant, ricotta or feta cheese, pancetta and asparagus. You can design your own concoction from their a la carte menu of toppings or go with one of their "top ten" pies which include such tasty and unusual combos as shrimp, red onion, capers and lemon, or chicken, fresh garlic, proscuitto, and dried sage.

We decided to try a salad and a small #3 pizza topped with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and eggplant. We placed an order to go and waited for it outside on the spacious patio, which contains four picnic benches and an additional small seating area with a couple of couches and a chair. The staff at Salvation were super friendly and continued to bring us water and check to see how we were doing while we waited for our order.

When the pie arrived, after about 20 minutes or so, it was nice and hot and smelled so good that it took all the willpower we could muster to keep from lighting into it in the car on the way home. When we finally busted into the box and tried a slice, we were quite impressed.

Our small pizza was $11.00 and had 8 good sized slices of yumminess. All Salvation pizzas are napoletana thin-crust style and ours had a nice, crisp crust that was substantial enough to support the toppings, but not at all doughy. None of the toppings were piled particularly high, but all were perfectly proportioned to achieve a balance of flavors and textures without being heavy. The tomato sauce was tangy and fresh and complemented the rest of the ingredients very well. The cheese was salty and delicious and added just the right amount of flavor without being thick or greasy. The veggies were flavorful and fresh and the whole pie was topped with herb seasoning to generate an overall treat worth some serious savoring.

The salad ($3.75) was ample and fresh and included crisp mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, pepper, and red onions with viniagrette dressing on the side. It made the perfect accompaniment to the pizza and kept our slice consumption lower than it might otherwise have been.

Unlike its fancier predecessor, the atmosphere at Salvation is best described as Austin casual - perfect for families with little kids or that first online date. Shorts and flip-flops are perfectly appropriate, if not expected. Prices are not cheap, but they're reasonable for what you get. Small multi-topping pizzas range from $10 - $12 and larges go for $14 - $17.50. And they take plastic, but not Amex.

Now is a good time to check out Salvation too as they are in the process of securing their liquor license and, until they get it, it's BYOB. Now that's what we're talkin' about.

Salvation Pizza
624 W. 34th

*photo courtesy of Ami