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Man-Eating Meatballs, Cheese for Days at Empire Slice House

Oklahoma City might just be as weird as Austin, TX, if this brand-spankin’-new coin laundry-turned-pizza joint has anything to say about it.

So – pies. Empire Slice House is a relative newcomer to the Plaza District – in fact, it just opened the first week of September. The place had been giving out slices at events like Live on the Plaza, and the chosen pie-faces who had first sampled the fare gave glowing reviews. So, yeah, I wanted to visit.

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Empire’s sign was designed by local Oddfab Design Lab.

In a place where gourmet grilled cheese, dressed-up pub food, and racks of lamb have come to roost – sometimes you just need a decent, non-conceptual slice.

I first saw Empire’s flat store front and sign after a weekend trip to Austin – and the pizza joint looked like it would be right at home on South Congress (SoCo if you’re into it).

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An in-progress Woody Guthrie on the patio wall.

And then I finally got to eat there. And it was great. Namely because:

a)      there’s a 1-lb. lamb-and-pork meatball on the apps menu, and I am waiting to share it with somebody special;

b)      they make their own sausage; and

c)      they have the largest selection of canned beer in the state.

I’m also a sucker for some interesting copy. The menu looks like a collab with Thug Kitchen. All slices come with “dat pink sauce.” There’s a H.O.V.A. reference that any Top-40 listener could pick out. The mushroom iteration is called “The Fungus Among Us.” Are you sold? I’m sold.

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The Captain Planet.

Our group (two dudes, yours truly) went on a surprisingly happenin’ Sunday night. We couldn’t get a spot on the (excellent) patio, so we waited 5 minutes for a table inside. We ordered 3 of the least exciting beers on the extensive menu and split the Lady Liberty pizza – chicken, red pepper, kalamatas, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, feta, and a balsamic reduction.

This pizza = sooooo good! And it was even better when I had the leftovers….straight from the fridge…of one of the above mentioned dudes….and told him I’d thrown it out because it had gone bad. (It hadn’t.)

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Three old faithfuls.

Keep in mind that, when you eat here, you’ll emerge with only the cleverest of tweets, the cheesiest of Instagram pics, and the booziest of beer breath. #nofilter  For creative inspiration, just check out their social media accounts. See: using Paint like pros. See: cartoons from the 80s.

Thanks to Tyler Roberts for photos and invaluable insight…and the stolen pizza. I’m not sorry.

In the run up to #confluencecon on Saturday, Oct. 26th, I’ll be profiling all of the potential Plaza District eateries where we might go after the conference. You can find my poll and a list of all of the restaurants/bars I’ve profiled so far here.

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