New York folds.Chicago goes deep.Detroit comes in a pan.Rome comes on a peel.
Palata is Roman-style pizza. Stretched by hand, baked on stone and pulled out of the oven long, on a wooden peel. Crispy outside, airy inside, and still crispy when you open the box at home. Whole for dinner; by the piece or by the half for lunch.
2616 Blodgett St, inside Blodgett Food Hall, Third Ward. data di apertura
- One style of pizza: Roman. Nothing else but drinks and one dessert.
- One shape: long, from the peel. Never round.
- Dough made here, every day. Never frozen, never shipped in. impasto fatto in sede nel Blodgett Food Hall
- Whole for dinner. By the piece or half a Palata for lunch.
Soggy is not a style. Crispy is Roman.
Fifteen minutes in a closed box. In Houston. In August.
You know how it goes. The pizza looked perfect on the counter. Then it rode home on the passenger seat, AC on, box closed, and when you lifted the lid the tip of every slice was hanging down like a wet towel.
Nobody did anything wrong. A closed box traps the steam, Houston adds the humidity, and most pizza is made to be eaten the minute it leaves the oven, at a table. Not after the drive home.
So we started with the box, and went looking for a pizza that could beat it. We found it in Rome.
There's a pizza that Roman bakers pull out of the oven long, on a wooden peel, and sell whole or by the piece across the counter. They call it pizza alla pala. It's stretched by hand and baked directly on stone, and it comes out crisp outside and full of air inside.
That's what we make. Only that, and the way Roman bakers make it: no twist, no fusion. We call it Roman-style pizza, because that's exactly what it is. And when our box says The original, that's what it means: the original from Rome.
And we hold it to one test: fifteen minutes closed in the box, then a piece picked up by one edge. It has to stay straight. regola di produzione da definire con Ramon
Soggy is not a style.
Crispy is Roman.
Never had it? Plenty of people in Houston haven't yet. You'll spot it right away: it comes out long.
Why Palata and not another pizza placeMost pizza is made for the table. Palata is made for the ride home: long, and still crisp when you open the box.
America names its pizza styles after cities. Here's where Rome fits.
New York, Chicago, Detroit, Naples: in America the big pizza styles are named after cities, and each one has its own following and its own way of doing things. Tap a city.
Close the box. Wait fifteen minutes. Pick it up by one edge.
Drag the timer and watch what a closed box does to a takeout slice on the way home. Then watch a piece of Palata.
A fold is a choice. A tip that sags after fifteen minutes in a box is steam.
Crispy is easy to print on a menu. It's harder to find when you open the box at home. That's why the line on the side of ours is a promise.
This is an illustration, not a lab test. We'll film the real test at our first pop-up, next to a takeout pizza bought the same night. video della prova del cartone, da rifare con i tempi delle consegne
Most pizza is made for the table. Palata is made for the ride home.
Made for the table, sold in a box
- Crisp when you open the box✕
- One style, and only that✕
- Dough made in-house, every day~
- Whole for dinner, by the piece for lunch~
- Picks up by one edge and stays straight✕
Roman-style, long, from the peel
- Crisp when you open the box✓
- One style, and only that✓
- Dough made in-house, every day✓
- Whole for dinner, by the piece for lunch✓
- Picks up by one edge and stays straight✓
The pizza most of Houston takes home. And where Palata stands.
PALATAHigher up: pizza built to stay crisp on the ride home. Further right: places that do one style and nothing else. Top right is where we built Palata.
Why not a delivery chain?
They're built for speed and a deal on a large pepperoni with wings. If that's tonight's plan, go for it. Staying crisp in a closed box isn't the point, and they don't make Roman-style pizza.
Why not a wood-fired place?
Neapolitan is a beauty at the table, the minute it lands, soft center and all. Palata is the one we built for the ride home.
Why not a slice shop?
A New York slice is a classic, and folding it is half the fun. We make a different thing: long, crisp, sold whole or by the piece. Have a New York slice at the counter. Take Palata home.
Why Palata and not another pizza placeOther places make pizza. We make one style of it, the Roman one, and we make nothing else.
Lunch for the lab or dinner for six. Get the count in ten seconds.
A whole Palata comes in eight pieces: dinner for two or three. Half a Palata is plenty for lunch. taglio, porzioni e prezzi di prova (test a 30 e 34 $)
Five questions to ask any pizza place. Us included.
Our answers are already here. Ask the others the same five, and compare.
| The question | Palata's answer | Their answer |
|---|---|---|
| "What does it look like after fifteen minutes in the box?" | Pick a piece up by one edge. It stays straight. | |
| "Is the dough made here?" | Every day, in our kitchen. Never frozen, never shipped in. | |
| "What style is it?" | Roman-style. Long, from the peel. | |
| "How many kinds of pizza do you make?" | Just one: Roman-style, with a few toppings. | |
| "Can I get it by the piece for lunch?" | Yes. By the piece at lunch, whole for dinner. |
If they can't answer the first question, you already have your answer.
In Rome, this pizza is named after the tool that carries it.
Bakers in Rome call it pizza alla pala: pizza on the peel. The peel is the long wooden board that slides the dough onto the stone and pulls the pizza out, whole, when it's ready.
A palata is what a peel carries. One full peel of pizza. That's our name, and it's also how you order: half a Palata for lunch, a whole Palata for dinner.
Soggy is not a style.
Crispy is Roman.
It's not for everybody, and we'd rather tell you up front.
- ✓you want pizza that's still crisp when you get it home;
- ✓you're feeding a family and want one long box in the middle of the table;
- ✓you've got thirty minutes for lunch between classes, shifts or meetings;
- ✓you like knowing a place does one thing and does it every day;
- ✓you like knowing who makes your food.
- ✕you want a round pizza: Houston has plenty of great ones;
- ✕you want wings, pasta and subs in the same order;
- ✕you want a slice soft enough to fold in half: New York does that beautifully;
- ✕you're looking for the cheapest large in town;
- ✕you want to build your own from forty toppings.
The first thing they ask is “what is it?” The second is “when can I come back?”
Doria
Three years of paperwork. One pizza.
Ramon Doria is Italian, and he makes pizza. Getting here took him three years of forms, waiting rooms, offices and visas. storia dei visti: da approvare con Ramon
He spent those three years deciding exactly what he would make when he arrived. He didn't want a menu of everything, or one more round pizza in a city that already has hundreds. He wanted the one thing Houston didn't have on every corner: the long Roman pizza that comes out of the oven on a wooden peel.
So that's the deal. Ramon makes the dough here every day. He stretches it by hand, bakes it on stone and pulls it out long. And he won't put a round pizza on the menu, no matter who asks.
- Italian, now making pizza in Third Ward. città d'origine e anni di mestiere
- One style on the menu: Roman.
- One rule in the kitchen: no piece leaves if it bends. regola da definire con Ramon
Inside Blodgett Food Hall, on Blodgett Street.
We're new on Blodgett Street, and we know it. Come by, try a piece, and tell us what you think.
2616 Blodgett St
Houston, TX 77004 · on the southern edge of Third Ward
Open in Google Maps- Hours
- Lunch and dinner orari
- Order
- At the food hall kiosk, ahead for pickup, or on the delivery apps modalità d'ordine nel Blodgett Food Hall: chioschi, armadietti, app, telefono
- Lunch
- By the piece, or half a Palata
- Dinner
- Whole Palatas in the long box
- Getting here
- By car, bike or METRO parcheggio e fermata METRO più vicina
What people ask us before their first Palata.
What is Roman-style pizza?
It's the pizza of Rome's bakeries: a dough stretched by hand, baked directly on stone and pulled out long on a wooden peel, then sold whole or by the piece. It comes out crisp outside and airy inside. New York has its slice, Chicago its deep dish, Detroit its pan. This is Rome's.
What does “The original” mean?
It means the original from Rome. Pizza alla pala the way Roman bakeries make it: stretched by hand, baked on stone, pulled out long on a wooden peel. Not a twist on it, not a mix of styles.
Is it a flatbread? A focaccia?
Neither. It's pizza, with tomato, mozzarella and toppings, on a crust that's crisp outside and full of air inside. It's long because that's how it comes out of the oven in Rome.
Is it pinsa?
No. Pinsa is an oval pizza, usually one per person. Palata is long, and sold whole for the table or by the piece for lunch.
Do you make round pizza?
No. Not on request, not on weekends, not for birthdays. Houston has plenty of great round pizzas. We do the long one.
Will it really stay crispy on the way home?
That's the box test, and we run it on our own pizza: fifteen minutes closed in the box, then a piece picked up by one edge. Try it yourself at home. dopo la prova del cartone
Why does it cost more than a large from a chain?
Because it isn't the same thing. A Palata is made by hand from dough we make here every day, and a whole one is eight pieces. Compare it with the other named styles in town, like Detroit or Neapolitan, not with a large from a chain.
How do I warm it up the next day?
A dry pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes, or a few minutes in a hot oven, and the crunch comes back. Skip the microwave.
Do you deliver?
Yes, on the delivery apps. For the crispest piece, pick it up yourself at Blodgett Food Hall. app di consegna e raggio
Can I order for the office or a party?
Yes. Whole Palatas come in long boxes, eight pieces each. Use the calculator above to get the count, then order ahead. ordini per uffici
Be there when the first Palata comes off the peel.
The first bake at Blodgett Food Hall, and the first public box test, happen with the people on this list. evento di apertura Leave a name and a way to reach you. We'll tell you the date before anyone else.
P.S. Next time you open a pizza box at home, pick up a slice by the crust and hold it flat. Watch the tip. Then come try ours.
This is a preview: nothing was sent.
The form goes live when the site launches. Your details have not been sent to anyone, and you are not on the list yet.