Garage, the downtown Austin speakeasy hidden inside a former parking garage valet structure, has a new Sicilian-style pizza menu. The 12-year-old bar tapped Comedor chef-owner Philip Speer, a former Uchi pastry chef who later partnered with Garage’s owner William Ball to open Comedor.
This isn’t Speer’s first foray into the pizza world. Back in 2014, he opened St. Philip, a bakery and pizzeria. “I’ve always had my fingers in [pizza’s] proverbial dough,” Speer says.
For now, Garage’s pizza outfit presents a bit of a challenge. Everything is baked in a double tabletop oven, which constrains the menu to slices and, at most, half-pies to meet demand — often causing them to sell out. Eventually, Speer has his sights set on expanding with larger ovens, so guests can walk away happy, comfortable, and served. The chef is a hospitality veteran after all.
In the dimly lit subterranean space, guests can grab a Caesar salad — an easy contender for one of the best salads in the city — made with smoked anchovies and in-house baked gluten-free croutons, which are used from the trimmings of Garage’s pizza crust.
Continuing through the menu, there’s the Dairyland Classic, a take on a cheese pizza with 20-month aged American parmesan, mozzarella, provolone, and vincotto bianco on allavodka red sauce. The Kink has roasted garlic, mozzarella, Texas-sourced kale, ricotta, and HIFi Mycology oyster mushrooms for a umami-rich meat-free pizza.
Garage will eventually always have two rotating slices on its menu, one red and one white. This will start with a collaboration series from Wednesday, January 7 to Sunday, January, 25 featuring a host of chefs — Tavel Bristol-Joseph (Emmer & Rye), Evan LeRoy (LeRoy & Lewis Barbecue), Amanda Turner (Olamaie), Michael Serva (Bordo, Marfa), Paul Qui (East Side King), Aaron Bludorn (Bludorn, Houston), and Nick Belloni (Comedor) — all lending a unique take on pies using Speer’s crust, which has a pillowy center, crispy edge, and tangy flavor.
Speer’s take on Sicilian-style sees the pizza baked in round steel pans after a 72-hour cold-ferment process, rather than the traditional tray and 24-hour fermentation. That same crust will be used for desserts once Speer adds them to the menu. Expect something inspired by the cinnamon treats at chain pizza restaurants and a bread pudding.
Once the large ovens come in,Speer plans to install a pizza slice window and offer take-out so everyone from all ages can grab a slice of pie, too.
Garage serves pizza Tuesday through Saturday starting at 5 p.m. until it sells out.