Few places in town have the equipment to prepare stone-fired pizza, but it is worth seeking out those pizza places. Compared to a standard oven, a brick oven can reach temperatures twice as high. This produces a pizza crust with a slightly crisp exterior and a chewy interior, just as an ideal pizza crust should taste. Check out the Houston spots that serve up the best of these brick-oven pies.

Birraporetti’s
500 Louisiana St
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 224-9494
birrarestaurant.com

If you are craving stone-fired pizza but your friends want Irish drinks, opt for Birraporetti’s downtown. Birraporetti’s features Italian favorites with the hominess of an Irish pub. Located conveniently to the theater district, this restaurant has been serving Houston residents for more than 30 years, and its award-winning hand-thrown pizzas remain popular today. When visiting, try the House Bianco pizza. Topped with your choice of two toppings, virgin olive oil and mozzarella, this tomato-free option is a specialty of the restaurant. If you have never tasted pizza without tomato sauce, this is a must-try alternative. You may never go back to tomato-sauce-topped pies again. Prices range from $15 to $17 for pizzas depending on the size and toppings you select.

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Wood Fired Pizza Company
15210 Spring Cypress Road
Cypress, TX 77429
(281) 256-7800
wfpizza.com

What sets the Wood Fired Pizza Company apart from other pizza places in town is its distinctive pizza style. It purposely does not try to replicate other regional pizza styles and instead focuses on perfecting its own brick-oven pizza made with imported Italian flour and the highest-grade ingredients. The Wood Fired Fully Loaded is its best-selling pizza. Try this Canadian bacon, red onion, Italian sausage, mushroom, bell pepper, pepperoni and olive-topped pie to see why it’s so popular. Prices for the Wood Fired Fully Loaded are $10.49 for a 10-inch pizza or $18.99 for a 14-inch pie.

Capone’s Bar and Oven
4304 Westheimer Road
Houston, TX 77027
(713) 840-0010
caponeshouston.com

Capone’s Bar and Oven is one of those places where you go for the food and stay for the music. A different band can be heard most nights of the week and a DJ is available in the lounge for late-night revelers. This laid-back speakeasy setting serves up some of the best brick-oven pizzas in town, including the $18 Capone’s pizza. This pie comes topped with d’Anjou pears, drunken goat cheese, arugula, basil pesto, alfredo sauce, prosciutto, mozzarella and a light drizzle of white truffle oil. Choosing such complementary ingredients creates a full-flavored and well-balanced pizza.

The Tasting Room – CityCentre
818 Town and Country Blvd, Suite 100
Houston, TX 77024
(281) 822-1500
tastingroomwines.com

The Tasting Room specializes in selling wines by the bottle, but its CityCentre location also focuses on producing culinary delights. Among the most popular offerings at The Tasting Room in CityCentre is its pizza made in a wood-burning, stone oven. This is the only location of The Tasting Room spots within Houston that has a wood-burning oven, though the other two locations also serve pizza. The housemade mozzarella makes The Tasting Room’s pizzas stand out from other pies, and you have a wide selection of fine wines at the ready for purchase by the bottle or glass. Try the simple, yet elegant Margherita pizza for $13. This pizza uses housemade mozzarella, tomato sauce, fresh basil and olive oil from the Olive and Vine shop in CityCentre. Like many of Italy’s classic pies, this pizza lets the quality of its basic ingredients shine through.

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Pizaro’s Pizza Napoletana
14028 Memorial Drive
Houston, TX 77079
(281) 589-7277
pizarospizza.com

Fermented dough, housemade mozzarella and imported ingredients make the pizzas at Pizaro’s Pizza Napoletana as authentic as those you find in Italy. Even the bricks used in its oven are made with sand from Mount Vesuvius. The Patata e Funghi (potato and mushroom) pizza for $16 is one of Pizaro’s specialties. Truffle oil, mozzarella, garlic, rosemary, naturally-buttery Yukon gold potatoes and roasted mushrooms top off this unique pie with a lot of flavor. Like all the pizzas at Pizaro’s, this pie is 12 inches in diameter, hand-shaped and cooked for only 90 seconds at 900 degrees Fahrenheit. This cooking process creates the distinctive flavor of a wood-fired crust that cannot be missed.

Crystal Hessong ia a freelance writer and a lifelong, fourth generation Houstonian. She is currently covering Home & Life. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.