LOCAL CUISINE
A local pizza parlor has found a unique way to collaborate with other San Marcos restaurants. Valentino’s Pizza already does weekly specials, but this month, those specials involve ingredients regularly found on other restaurants’ menus — but in pizza form.
The pizza inspired by Nachohalics, the food truck located at Putt Pub, is called the Texican Twang and will include barbeque chicken, pulled pork, refried beans, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, bbq sauce and creamy cheddar queso. The pizza inspired by Rogelios is called the Birria Taco and includes braised beef brisket, flour tortilla, Monterey Jack cheese, white onion and cilantro and is served with au jus for dipping. The pizza inspired by Ivars River Pub is called the Cajun Shrimp Alfredo and includes homemade alfredo sauce, blackened shrimp, sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, parmesan and provolone. The shrimp can be removed for those on a vegan or vegetarian diet. The pizza inspired by Palmers is called the Honey Habanero Pork Chop and includes a grilled pork loin brined for 24 hours, mozzarella, provolone, local honey, yellow bird habanero and red onion.
The idea came to Valentino’s Owner Cody Taylor when he was eating chilaquiles at Rogelio’s Restaurant, located at 625 South LBJ Drive.
“So as I’m sitting there eating these chilaquiles, I thought, ‘Man, this would be awesome to do this on the pizza,’” Taylor said. “It just kind of went from there like, ‘We should totally do a restaurant collab.’ Then it just blossomed out of that little moment.”
Taylor told the other restaurant owners that this would be their chance to have some fun and get creative.
“The only parameters I really gave was [that] I want this to be a representation of your flavor profile,” he said. “The idea here is that there’s a flavor profile that brings my customers back to your place. … They came up with all their stuff on their own and got their teams involved.”
Taylor is hoping to help bolster the burgeoning food scene.
“I think that there’s a really awesome food scene here in San Marcos,” he said. “It’s really starting to grow and develop, and we thought this would be a really fun way to just share with these other restaurants and work together to build that food community.”
The collaboration will expand beyond the pizza specials.
“It’s gonna be a restaurant takeover,” Taylor said. “They’re gonna come in, and they’re gonna put stuff on the tables; they can promote their restaurant however they want.”
Valentino’s has other exciting developments as well such as the expansion of their wine list and a Sunday half off special for glasses and bottles. Check the specials and half priced wine out at 110 North LBJ Drive.
