I f you consider pizza an essential food group, you’ll want to check out Pie Tap’s first Houston restaurant in River Oaks. The popular Dallas-area gourmet pizza chain was created by restaurant industry veteran Rich Hicks, founder of Reach Hospitality, which includes the Dallas-Fort Worth-area restaurants Evelyn, The Mexican, TacoLingo Tex-Mex and Black Tap. Hicks teamed up with renowned Sicilian chef Giovanni Mauro (Monzu, Old School Pizzeria) on coming up with Pie Tap.

Marketing itself as a casual gourmet pizza spot, Pie Tap’s claim to fame is its signature, proprietary pizza dough, which is risen without the aid of commercial yeast, additives, or preservatives. Instead, the dough is leavened with a natural yeast starter (one the duo has nicknamed Romo) that’s mixed with a special flour

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