Date Visited: 5/27/2023
Website: http://www.ezsrestaurants.com/
EZ’s Brick Oven and Grill is an award-winning San Antonio staple, and has been since 1989. Weaving elements of a ’50s diner into a contemporary festive theme, EZ’s features a menu of pizza, sandwiches, and salads with crusts, dressings, and other ingredients made fresh from scratch.
EZ’s has 2 locations, and we visited the one on US 281 at Bitters. It anchors the end of a fairly happening strip mall, right next to a Party City outlet holding its own a few doors down from the San Antonio fixture El Jarro.
Parking itself can be challenging, depending on the date and timeframe. While not so competitive and harrowing as at The Rim (another major shopping area), it’s not always easy, and you may end up walking some.
There is, however, handicap/wheelchair access!
The website is beautifully designed with a fun, party-like theme, which reflects the vibe of the place itself. Upon walking in, you’re greeted with rich and bold–yet tasteful–colors, expertly chosen so as to inspire fun and festivity without clashing and becoming overwhelming to the senses. It’s a fun place to be, and you know it from the get-go!
There’s a variety of seating, both indoor and outdoor. Indoor seating provides choices between tables and booths.
The menu itself, on colorful monitors, is fairly extensive and well-organized into categories of sandwiches, burgers, pizza, salads, and others. It doesn’t specifically mention anything about gluten-free options, but don’t worry – when you place your order with the cashier, they’re helpful, and you actually have many gluten-free options in all major categories. Yes, even the pizza! (Just not the cauliflower crust pizza; interestingly, that is *not* gluten-free!)
Laina had said pizza, specifically the Margherita. Made (from scratch) with EZs fresh-baked daily dough, and basted with olive oil topped with fresh basil, sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, kosher salt & cracked pepper. The whole package had excellent flavor. The basil is fresh and prominent without becoming overpowering. The cheese portion was refreshingly generous, not skimpy, and had that authentic Italian flavor. The tomatoes are fresh, colorful, and juicy, and to Laina’s delight, not too acidic.
Lynn had the Poblano burger. The gluten-free bun is a standard Udi’s product – nothing special but not bad! Toasted but not warm. The burger patty was seasoned well. They don’t not ask customers for their desired cook temperature when ordering, and the burger was cooked to well-done. Not Lynn’s preference but not off-putting either. The poblano peppers roasted well and tender, and the mayo had good flavor.
The burger was indeed better than the picture portrays!
We shared a salad, which was utterly superb. The lettuce was firm, green, fresh, and crunchy. The salad tomatoes were also crunchy and juicy, without becoming to acidic. It included red onions – raw, sliced, and fresh. Interestingly, the salad featured green olives, which were a really nice touch and kind of the centerpiece of the salad for Laina. It paired extremely well with the potent vinaigrette dressing. Usually Laina isn’t particularly partial to vinaigrette, but this was delicious! Lynn’s only complaint is that the onions are sliced against the grain – salad slices should be with the grain for a more tender/less fibrous onion.
Other Information:
- Other entree options available, such as Rosemary Chicken, chili, and seasonal specials!
- They do offer beer and wine!
- Thursday nights feature half-priced bottles of wine
- The fries are not cooked in a separate gluten-free fryer, so they were off-limits to us
- The cauliflower pizza is not gluten-free, so do beware!
- The outdoor seating is a bit more drab than one might expect
- Curbside pickup available
- Delivery available! (Through DoorDash)
- Did not use the restroom, so we can’t describe those, but the place overall looked fairly clean
Highlights:
- Fresh, flavorful food!!
- Perfect portion sizing
- Fun atmosphere
- Easily-navigable menu
- Gluten-free-literate staff
- Friendly, timely service
Verdict: the perfect place to go for a casual celebration with party food, when you still want to eat healthy and tasty!
Texas Bite & Sip 