Pizzabout breaks beyond the city limits
The hour is nigh for pie in Cashion and Arcadia
Now is the time we talk about pizza!
Specifically, the pizza Rob Crissinger and I left the city limits to sample in the last month.
But first, we pour one out for Eastside Pizza House, which shuttered at the end of September. Backed by local rapper Jabee Williams, the pizza shop opened in the EastPoint development. This marks another in a long line of closures for the Pivot Project property.
Eastside got off to a rollicking start, but by the time Rob and I visited a couple of months ago the enthusiasm was gone. We popped in at lunchtime and saw one other customer walk through the door the 90 minutes we were there. In recent months, Williams turned to local chefs to collaborate with in an attempt to increase foot traffic, including Jonathon Stranger, Corey “Slawta” Harris, and Gabriel Lewis.
For our last Pizzabout adventure, Rob and I looked beyond the city limits, tripping to Cashion and Arcadia for pizza at Flour & Fennel and The Pizza Shack, respectively.
Both sublime and ridiculous, we began our trip in Cashion where Rob declared he’d found the finest pizza he’d ever eaten in Oklahoma. However, upon returning a week later the chef was away and the quality suffered. Meanwhile, it took four trips to Arcadia to find our target open despite a sign out front in big red letter that reads: Open 7 days a week!
Neither were surprises in small-town Oklahoma, and the trips bore plenty of fruit. The proof is in the scoring.
Flour & Fennel
Dave’s Thoughts: I’ve known chef Carlos Martinez since the California-native was the chef at Francis Tuttle CareerTech’s District 21. The man is a fiend behind the stove, and he’s got an obsession with dough-making that drives this gem in Cashion America.
My trip with Rob marked the second time I’d been to Flour & Fennel. Each time has been spectacular, with Carlos not only whipping out sourdough-crusted pies but spinning yarns about life in the kitchen. The sourdough crust is derived from a starter he brought to Oklahoma from Texas. When it’s right, the crust is in a class where roll-call runs very short.
The signature eponymous pie is the best thing I’ve had there. Topped with sliced potato, sausage, and fennel, this unlikely combo sings. Sausage and potato allowed to spend time together in super-heated environs consistently yield flavor babies, and the ovens at Flour & Fennel are no different.
I’ve also had pepperoni pizza a couple different times, once Detroit Style. Both were outstanding. Rob and I did a Detroit-style when we visited, but the dough was a little underdone so the crust didn’t show the signature spring of a Motor City pie.
Carlos is a gifted chef, and a super guy. He is reason enough to drive to Cashion for a visit, but the sourdough crust he features is a must-try for all pizza fans. Rob was so enthusiastic he bought a T-shirt while we were there. No word on whether he wore it for his return trip.
Cool Cashion-centric merch plus three OG video games to play while the pizza bakes give Flour & Fennel plenty of X-Factor, but the distance and no liquor license work against it. I will say the crust Rob and I had on our signature pie was an absolute 2.0, but the Detroit weighed the overall score for crust down.
Flour and Fennel is open for dinner (4 to 9 p.m.) six days a week with lunch on Sundays (noon to 7 p.m.).
Dave’s Scores:
Crust: 1.9
Cheese: 1.93
Sauce: 1.95
Toppings: 1.92
X-Factor: 1.9
Total: 9.55
Rob’s Thoughts: Although my pizza obsession has been a lifelong thing, my quest in the adult years has been to find (or recreate on my own) a pizza that compares to my all-time favorite: Pinky’s Pizza in Livermore, Calif., which, very sadly, is now closed. One of the most important details of that pizza was the sourdough crust, which stood out even in the Bay Area where sourdough is king. The sourdough at Flour & Fennel is at that level, and when all systems are Go, this place is potentially the best pizza Oklahoma currently has to offer.
Cashion isn’t far from OKC (about 40 min.), but somehow still feels like a much more remote corner of the state. Cashion is an interesting place I’d love to learn more about, locals talk about the strength of the schools when you ask why they moved there. You can see the high school from the front windows of Flour & Fennel. The atmosphere of the town and this pizzeria is very casual and laid back Americana. I like it.
On my first visit, Chef Carlos gave us the red carpet treatment. We even got to meet and take pics with the more than 14-year-old sourdough starter (they painted a face to the side of the container and named it, as all great starters have a name). Talking with Carlos, it’s immediately obvious he has the zeal and know-how of a great pizza maker.
We were served the signature Flour & Fennel pizza as a full 19” NY style pizza and it blew my mind. It was perfect, and I don’t even typically like sausage pizza. The crust was so flavorful with a perfect bake, almost zero dip, and made that nice crunch sound on every bite. The sauce was zippy and fresh, the cheese was good quality and well portioned. The toppings were nicely prepped and evenly distributed across the pie. It was beautiful, with each bite better than the one before it. I declared it might be on par with the best pizzas in America! I devoured an off-menu creme brulee (red carpet), did a happy dance in the F&F T-shirt I bought on arrival, and even took pics hanging on the Cashion city sign nearby. In short, I went off.
But when I went back a second time to show off my exciting pizza discovery, almost everything that made my first experience so stellar had changed quite noticeably. The pizza that night was smack dab in the middle of mediocre. The crust was weirdly dense, the toppings were lazily prepped in comparison to my first visit with clumpy sausage, potato cubed like pineapple instead of delightfully thinly sliced, and although it looked done at first glance, it was way undercooked. It was a sad, sloppy mess of a pizza, and due to the liquor license thing I didn’t even have a beer to ease the disappointment (there wasn’t even soda available).
The potential here is off the charts. When F&F gets more consistent and works through its liquor license issue etc. I will be telling everyone to drive to Cashion to try it. I’ll return now and again to check that for you, dear Pizzabout reader.
My scores reflect both visits, it’d be way higher if I only counted the first visit. Consistency matters.
Rob’s Scores:
Crust: 1.85
Cheese: 1.83
Sauce: 1.90
Toppings: 1.78
X-Factor: 1.80
Total: 9.16
Composite: 9.36
The Pizza Shack
Dave’s Thoughts: Operator Bob Protexter is easily one of the nicest, most persistent pizza-makers in town. The man is proud of his Iowa-style pizza, derived from Jerry’s Pizza in Sioux City, Iowa. The Iowa-style is a little tongue in cheek. The crust construction appears inspired by the thin crusts that dominate the northern reaches of the Midwest, namely Chicago’s tavern-style.
But there is no tavern-style cut on these brawny pies. When we finally made it out to The Pizza Shack while it was in operation, Bob was out of town tending to his other passion: baseball. He’s been running camp there for decades and has been known to travel the country attending minor league games. His third passion is Russia, but I didn’t find borscht among the topping options.
Protexter’s place is on the same property as The Chicken Shack. It’s no coincidence, Protexter went to high school in Iowa with Chicken Shack owner Eddy Gochenour. Eddy convinced Protexter to join him in Oklahoma and bring the pies they grew up eating together to Oklahoma.
Rob and I tried two pies: one pepperoni and one created by Bob’s manager, Tessa Hibbard. True Okies will line up for Tessa’s ranch-dressed pie topped with spinach. It’s rich. Real rich. If you like fair food, this is your pie. The spinach offers just enough acid to provide a smidge of balance.
The pepperoni pie was exemplary. The two highlights of The Pizza Shack were the distinctive crust and the cheese. The sauce is distinctive. Though not house-made, Protector goes to great trouble to source the sauce he used in Iowa. If you like cheese, Pizza Shack will be right up your alley. Protextor uses a machine that uses three-factor electric power to make pellets of the whole milk, low-moisture block mozzarella in use. The result is a distinctive thick and creamy layer of cheese. Stringy cheese incidents ensue, so have your cameras ready.
We also tried some cheese sticks with pepperoncini peppers before the pizza arrived. A nice snack while you’re waiting. The atmosphere is road trip nouveau, featuring classic signage and oodles of nostalgia hanging from the walls. The merch levels were down, but Bob assures me the gift shop will be reloaded in time for the holidays.
The Pizza Shack recently added lunch service Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s otherwise open five days a week, despite the claims of the sign out front, for dinner. The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday.
Dave’s Scores:
Crust: 1.89
Cheese: 1.95
Sauce: 1.89
Toppings: 1.85
X-Factor: 1.89
Total: 9.42
Rob’s Thoughts: My first suggestion when it comes to Pizza Shack is to call before you make the trek to Arcadia to make sure it’s actually open, do not trust the charming sign out front, call first.
Pizza Shack is cooking inside what looks like a saloon from an old Western movie. Lots of wood and nostalgia. It also feels slightly like a garage or man cave with the quirky decor. The staff are super friendly and helpful, and visibly proud of the pizza they’re creating there.
There isn’t another pizza quite like it in Oklahoma, describing it is challenging. The crust is very thin and crisp, but also has a nice pillow to it. The sauce is dark and tangy. I’ve never had a pizza with more cheese on it. No idea how it’s possible for that crust to bear the weight of that cheese, but it does. The cheese and toppings are decent quality.
I think my favorite part of the Pizza Shack experience are the pizza bags they rip open at your table, releasing a glorious plume of pizza steam in your face. I haven’t seen that before, and really not sure what the purpose is. I’ll ask when I go back for round 2, and there will definitely be a round 2.
Pizza Shack is worth the drive to check it out, and has great potential as one of the state’s most original and memorable pizza destinations.
Rob’s Scores:
Crust: 1.79
Cheese: 1.85
Sauce: 1.65
Toppings: 1.75
X-Factor: 1.90
Total: 8.94
Composite: 9.18
Here’s how Rob and I score the pies:
