One of the brightest lights at the end of Austin’s pizza tunnel comes from the hearthfires at House Pizzeria. It embodies a lot of that Eastside-bound geeky DIY spirit: there’s only one wood-burning oven, turned up to an ideal, hellish 750 or so degrees. When the place is busy, your pie will take a while, but waiting isn’t totally unpleasant, given the draft choices: Live Oak, (512), Real Ale, and Maine root beer. There are also some decent organic wines. The jukebox is effortlessly cool, and playful felt lamps hang above each table (of which there aren’t many, so nab one quick).

The blistered crust is (usually) seasoned and delicious, so you’re less likely to heap its remnants on your plate. It folds beautifully, keeping all its ingredients aboard; ingredients like homemade sausage, wonderfully bitter rapini, and hot cherry peppers. A margherita “extra” has precisely the right balance of vivid tomato; earthy, rich buffalo mozzarella; and aromatic basil. We also recommend rosemary-roasted potatoes and grassy goat cheese; also the Stilton cheese and Port reduction.

Even salads are simply superb. To quote the guy waiting next to us at the bar for his to-go pizza (which we don’t recommend—consume immediately for best results), upon being apologized to for the long wait: “It’s worth it—the pizza here is f***ing awesome.”