OKLAHOMA CITY — Food can be broadly divided into two categories: the good stuff and the good enough stuff.
Good enough is what you eat when the circumstances are not ideal. Not enough cash, you’re on a diet, you can’t go get it yourself, etc. Fast food is almost always the “good enough” stuff.
On the other hand, the good stuff is pretty easy to define. That’s the food one would choose if the only problem was choosing what you wanted. Price, healthiness, distance, and time—if none of those mattered, what would you opt for?
Oklahoma City is known for great burgers and great pho. The taco truck scene is also pretty solid. But there’s been another category climbing the ranks, too: great pizza.
Depending on what style you’re craving, there are a surprising number of excellent options. For New York-style pizza with that thin, chewy crust and big, foldable slices, look no further than Dado’s Pizza.
How New York is Dado’s? The original location is in Harlem. The second is extremely far from Harlem: a shopping center in northwest Oklahoma City.
Maybe there’s some New York in the air over there, since Dado’s shop is a stone’s throw from a massive Old School Bagel (previously New York Bagel Cafe) location?
While the outside is pure Oklahoma, the inside is a shotgun space with a couple of tables up front near the counter, some wall seating, and a small dining room in the back. The open kitchen fills the restaurant with the sounds and smells of pies being pulled from the oven and sliced up for display.
As for which slices to get, if both the pocketbook and the belt are forgiving enough, I’d recommend. . . all of them. Every single one. I have yet to have a slice from Dado’s that didn’t make me want a second slice, even if I had other slices to eat already.
The classic cheese is perfection. The tomato sauce is not overly complex or herby, but you’ll get some roasted tomato flavor along with a bright kick of acid. The grande cheese melts thin and greasy in the best way possible.
The cheese and the crust work in tandem to give the jaw a light workout with plenty of pull and chew to each bite. If you’re looking to introduce kids to upscale New York-style pizza, the cheese from Dado’s is an easy choice.
If you’re looking to build your own, there are plenty of options, but you’ll have to order a whole pie. Dado’s serves up anchovies, pineapple, and cremini mushrooms in addition to the basics, like pepperoni, sausage, and olives.
One warning: if you’re going in for a couple of slices, you’ll be at the mercy of the display case. Cheese and pepperoni slices are always available, as is the Pie of the Month. Otherwise, you can visit them on Instagram to see the weekly slice calendar.
For those exploring the menu for the first time, a good bet is the lunch special, which nets diners two slices and a drink for $10. For reference, all the pizzas are 20-inchers with eight slices.
Carnivores ought to check out the Three Meats pie, which has pepperoni, sausage, and bacon. Cupping pepperoni is wonderful, but the finely diced bacon and well-browned sausage add a welcome crunch (as well as a ton of flavor) to every slice.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Garden Pizza is loaded to the (mushroom) gills with veggies. In addition to the tomato sauce, diners get roma tomatoes, bell pepper, red onion, black olive, cremini mushrooms, and garlic oil. You might note the lack of cheese, which makes this a viable vegan option, as well.
This probably won’t come as a shock, but the chicken, bacon, and ranch pizza is an Oklahoma exclusive and not on the menu in Harlem. It is, however, finely tuned to the ranch-obsessed Okie palate with slices of chicken cutlet and crispy bacon covered in a hypnotic swirl of ranch dressing.
All of the combinations are wonderful, but the Pesto Pie really stands out for simplicity with a big burst of flavor. The red sauce is swapped out for pesto and the top of the pizza is studded with chunks of fresh mozzarella and Roma tomato. The pesto packs a punch while the cheese and tomato add some chew and some moisture to the proceedings.
Man cannot live by pizza alone, according to my doctor, so I’m happy to report that Dado’s does a pretty tasty Caesar salad to help lighten the load. The hot wings, mozzarella sticks, and garlic knots aren’t light, necessarily, but they are tasty.
For dessert, the hand-stuffed cannoli is extremely rich and tasty, while being small enough that you don’t feel like you’re going to die after finishing it. Get it dipped in chocolate chips or pistachio for a little extra flavor and texture.
Sure, a trek to northwest OKC might not be in the cards for everyone’s lunchtime plans, but when you want the good stuff, you have to make sacrifices. And Dado’s is worth it, every time.
- Dado’s Pizza OKC
- dadospizzaokc.com
- 10942 North May Avenue in Oklahoma City
- (405) 367-8707
- Open Sun-Thu 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Long-time food enjoyer Greg Elwell writes about food, restaurants, and trends. He has his own blog "I Ate Oklahoma" and has written for The Oklahoman, The Oklahoma Gazette, and others.
