SAN ANTONIO — The job market was not working out for Elie and Maria Saleh. He had a degree in engineering. Her experience was in data information systems. They turned to pizza to make some dough.
“There is no mama have mercy,” Elie said.
They opened Maria’s Pizza in 1988 at 3529 Oakgate Drive. Customers have not stopped coming since.
“Same spot. Same Chairs. Same everything,” He said.
The Salehs are self-taught pizza pros. Their Lebanese cooking background came in handy as they stirred us a pleasant pizza sauce.
“It’s kind of like making good perfume,” He said. “You’ve got to have the nose and that palate to smell and taste and create.”
As for the crust, the siblings turned to their mother to assist in the development. The pizzas are sold in four sizes: 10”, 12”, 14” and 16”. 11 toppings top the New York-style pizzas which can be traditional or one of their six specialty pizzas.
The pizza centered business, of course, offers calzones and Italian subs.
Neighborhood Eats was provided a sampler from Maria’s Pizza.
The Italian sub sandwich came with ham, Genoa aalami, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato and house-made Italian dressing. It’s a good sandwich. The house-made dressing gives the sandwich a certain zing. Honestly, this sub could work just as well without the dressing.
Next up, the made to order calzone was stuffed with pepperoni, mushrooms and green peppers. Delicious!
Maria’s Hawaiian pizza is fantastic! This is the right blend of ham, cheese, pineapple, sauce and crust. Normally, Neighborhood Eats steers clear of pineapple pizzas but this is good. Add some jalapeno to maximize the experience.
Maria’s Special is one of the top-selling pizzas. It comes topped with pepperoni, sausage, onions, black olive, and mushroom. Delicious!
Overall: Maria’s Pizza is a great place to pick up a solid neighborhood pizza. It’s something about the sauce and crust that filling but you don’t walk away stuffed. The Saleh family works hard to make sure your pizza experience is fresh and friendly. If you want to sit down and eat there are seats. At its core, this is not a true dine-in establishment. The pro tip is to get your pizza to-go. Neighborhood Eats is happy to discover Maria’s Pizza on delivery services like GrubHub and DoorDash because we are not afraid to phone a friend for good pizza.
Give Marvin your review of Maria’s Pizza. If you have a restaurant suggestion for Marvin send him an email (Mhurst@kens5.com), tweet (@Mhurstkens5), IG (Mhguy) or post it on his Facebook page. #KENS5EATS