What, me praise a pizzeria? Two months ago I would have questioned my sanity. But that was before I discovered distinctly un-cheesy Dallas newcomer Fireside Pies. This place has the right stuff: crisp, hand-stretched crusts, classy toppings, substantial salads, and a list of wines that you actually want to drink. Speaking of salads, the well-dressed Serious Caesar arrives with a bonus of two large bruschette topped with white anchovy filets. The chicken-pesto-sausage pizza, gilded with a roasted-tomato sauce and a blend of four grated cheeses, comes on strong with crimini mushrooms and nuggets of blue cheese. Sensibly, the dessert list consists of exactly two items: a sumptuous but light vanilla-bean cheesecake and a fruit pie of the day (the Granny Smith apple with pineapple marinated in a brandy-based liqueur rejuvenates that American classic). Couples and families laze around the shady flagstone patio sipping ice cream floats or prickly-pear margaritas, happy in the knowledge that when the check arrives, the bottom line will be as minimal as the meal was ample.
