GARLAND, Texas — Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, in Dallas for TX-OU weekend and to experience the always over-the-top foods at the State Fair of Texas, may have had a bit of a bumpy start to his most recent North Texas visit -- but he at least got a little fortunate (pun intended) during his stop-offs to try some North Texas pizza parlors this time around.
On Friday, Portnoy -- famous for (among other things) his One Bite Pizza Reviews in which he rates slices on a zero to 10 scale -- stopped by the Garland pizza shop and beer garden Fortunate Son for his latest round of DFW-area pizza critiques.
Fortunate Son opened earlier this year, the latest venture from the team behind Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House, a staple of the northeast Dallas neighborhood of Casa Linda since its opening in 2011.
Portnoy, a controversial figure in some circles, takes pride in supporting small businesses. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced restaurants across the country to cease their operations overnight, he launched The Barstool Fund, which has since raised more than $41.6 million for more than 440 businesses in need. His viral reviews, not unlike those of the similarly viral food reviewer Keith Lee, can also often be a boon for the businesses he visits -- presuming he likes what he tastes.
In the spring, Portnoy gave fairly decent reviews to two local shops he tried while in town for the NBA Finals, rating Downtown Dallas spot Pizza Leila a 7.2 and giving the iconic Louie's on Henderson Avenue a 7.6. Out of more than a thousand spots sampled, Portnoy has only rated 21 slices a 9.0 or higher.
Portnoy's visit to Fortunate Son, much like his current Dallas visit, started off a little rocky. Initially, Portnoy ordered The Original, a cheese-less tomato pie, when he intended to order the more straightforward The Basic, which comes topped with mozzarella. After sorting out the mistake, and giving the restaurant some constructive criticism about its naming decisions, Portnoy did his usual "one bite, everyone knows the rules" bit.
Turns out, he quite enjoyed the second slice he was served.
After complimenting the pie's crispy dough -- the pizza had a "great undercarriage," Portnoy said -- he proclaimed that the pizza "passes the muster" and offered one of the shop's chefs a handshake as he doled out an 8.1 rating. That score puts Fortunate Son in the top 15 percentile of Portnoy reviews, and immediately makes it his favorite pizzeria in the area.
Watch Portnoy's whole review of Fortunate Son here:
On Monday, Portnoy posted a surprise second Dallas-area pizza review to his accounts.
For this visit, he stopped by East Dallas' Thunderbird Pies, the Detroit-style spot that exists under the umbrella of Dallas pizzaiolo Jay Jerrier, who also operates the Neapolitan pizza chain Cane Rosso and the New York-style shop Zoli's Pizza.
And, once again, Portnoy dug what he tried.
Even while noting that Detroit-style pizza is a little different from what he usually goes for, Portnoy had positive things to say about Thunderbird, immediately calling it "pretty good."
Beyond noting some interior design choices at the spot that he felt appealed to children, including the restaurant's collection of video games, that's pretty much all he had to say -- other than giving it a 7.3 rating.
While that only places Thunderbird third out of four spots Portnoy has reviewed, it's still another positive review for the local slice scene.
Wrapping up his significantly shorter of two Dallas videos from this visit Portnoy began to wrap up his latest clip with a quick summation: "Good pizza. Thunderbird Pies. Detroit-style. Play some video games. That's the review."
Before bailing from his pizza to go greet some fans who gathered in the Thunderbird Pies parking lot to say hello to him, he offered one more take on Dallas pizza.
"Texas is pretty good," he said.
Watch the whole Thunderbird Pies review below:
