The Spread.

Another Pizza Joint Is Coming To Deep Ellum and Norma's Has Free Grilled Cheeses For All!

Welcome to The Spread, our weekly feature that aims to share all the area restaurant, food and beverage industry news that's fit to print. Except, this is the Internet, so space isn't a concern. Also: Good thing, because this is Dallas and this town always has breaking restaurant news going down like whoa.

There's probably no match when it comes to the love affair we Americans have with pizza.

And when it comes to the good stuff, the New York and Neapolitan styles have reigned supreme over the past few years. Thin crusts, chunkier slices of mozzarella and a heated debate over the place of ranch dressing are but a few of the things that come to mind when anyone thinks of Dallas pizza.

But newcomer Stonedeck Pizza Pub, which is setting up shop in Deep Ellum at 2613 Elm Street, hopes to change the state of pizza in Texas as we know it.

Owners Caroline Jacobus and David Haynes say they plan to bring back old-school, American-style pies at their joint, but with a fresh take to counteract all of the mass-produced stuff that gives the style a bad name.

“American-style pizza is what most people in America grew up eating in the '70s and '80s,” says Jacobus. “It's what Pizza Hut initially set out to do before it became manufactured.”

For the people at Stonedeck, American-style is defined by the evenness of the crust and the dispersal of toppings. The crusts, whether thin or thick, should stay straight throughout the eating process without flopping or drooping. The toppings should be consistent throughout the course of the pizza, guaranteeing a taste of all the primary ingredients throughout every bite.

“There's an element of excitement being able to bite into that great experience of even crusts and toppings,” Jacoobus says. “We hope to be able to bring a fresh, authentic version of pizza, as opposed to the manufactured version people are used to.”

Stonedeck will also have a range of signature topping choices — from beets, roasted eggplants and tabouli to chorizo, barbecue chicken and chicken tikka masala. Of course, there'll be traditional toppings, too. And to make the choices even easier, patrons can get custom-made pizzas by the slice.

Construction at the location, which sits between the Deep Ellum Subway location and the old firehouse used as a haunted house come Halloween, is currently underway. Jacobus and Haynes say they hope to open doors for dining and delivery by June.

Can't wait till June for a slice of the cheesy stuff? Satisfy your dairy and bread cravings with a free grilled cheese sandwich from Norma's Cafe this coming Friday. The offer comes as part of Norma's fifth annual celebration of National Grilled Cheese Day. Though the totally real holiday technically doesn't go down until Saturday, dine-in guests at any of Norma's three locations will receive a free grilled cheese sandwich — with no purchase necessary — from 10 a.m to 8 p.m. on Friday.

Speaking of restaurants with “cafe” in their name: Cafe Brazil has finally gone and opened up its Denton location, providing flowing wells of caffeine and a study-friendly environment for the University of North Texas crowd; and Denton is also now the home to the new location of Cafe Herrera, which, after months of teasing brought on by “Coming Soon!” signs lining the windows, finally opened up its spot on The Square.

Closer to Dallas, Glazed Donut Works has finally unleashed its pink short bus into the wild after no fewer than four months of anticipation. But that's not the only news out of Glazed camp this week, either. To help combat the impending summer heat, the show has also started serving doughnut ice cream sandwiches. Flavors come in vanilla bean bourbon, cold brew coffee and maple bacon — with all of the ice cream using the exact same ingredients that go in all of their doughnuts.

Yum.

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