The Stone Oak neighborhood is home to an array of dining choices, from the zesty Mexican cuisine at Aldaco’s to the slurpable noodle soups at Mian. For this week’s $10 Taste, I checked out Stone Oak’s Trilogy Pizza after eyeing a social media post about the restaurant’s affordable specials. The pizzeria has been serving up Italian eats for more than two decades, so I was eager to sample Trilogy’s offerings for the first time.
Jazz music hummed in the background as I entered Trilogy’s dining room, which was covered in warm tones of burgundy, brown and beige. I wasn’t sure what the seating situation was like, so I asked the server behind the front counter, who said I could sit anywhere. I chose a corner booth so I could get peeks of sunlight with my meal. The server brought over a menu, and I began to scan it for the lunch specials.
To my surprise, the specials were not written down, but the server knew them all by heart and recited the options when I asked about them. The lunch specials include a small two-topping pizza, either New York-style or Chicago deep-dish, for $9.99 or one of the restaurant’s pastas for the same price. Additionally, if you opt for one of the specials, you can add pepperoni garlic knots or a fountain drink for just 99 cents. With very little hesitation, I asked for a small New York-style pizza topped with pepperoni and mushrooms, and I added those garlic knots because I deserve them.
The knots came first, served in a hot, oiled-up skillet with a side of marinara sauce. The cheesy knots were wrapped around small pieces of pepperoni that provided little bursts of flavor, and the peppery marinara sauce helped to take off some steam before each bite. I had finished nearly all the garlic knots before the pizza even touched down on my table.
When it came to my small pizza, Trilogy made that thing extra cheesy. A soft, thick layer of that ooey gooey stuff lay atop sauce and crust, embedded with my choice of toppings. The mushrooms added hints of freshness here and there, while the pepperonis played a similar role to their garlic knot counterparts. All in all, it was a tasty four-slice pie, though I ate two slices before throwing in the towel thanks to my filling up on knots…