Winner: Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

multiple locations, doughpizzeria.com

When Doug and Lori Horn first announced in 2007 that their rigorously Neapolitan pizzeria, Dough, would open at Blanco and 410, some of us feared that the boat bearing the sanctioned oven might just turn around mid-Atlantic. Who in pizza-pizza loopland was going to go for pies made to the strict standards of the Association of Neapolitan Pizzaiuoli, the Italian governing body that teaches the art of Neapolitan pizza making and certifies adherence to authentic procedures? What — no cheese-stuffed crusts? Were we ever wrong. House-pulled mozzarella proved irresistible. Pork Love pizza, that swine-centric siren song, emerged as a new normal alongside the classic margherita. And opulent antipasto platters became much more than Twitter fodder. The Horns next opened in Plano. And now there's a new outlet at the edge of Hemisfair—in some ways an equally challenged location. But the power of a 900-degree oven (this one clad in copper pennies), coupled with the couple's cooking and hosting expertise, will surely prove any nay-sayers wrong again. If there are any.

2. Luciano Restaurants

multiple locations

lucianorestaurants.com

2. Capos Pizza

8522 Broadway, Suite 105

(210) 362-1901

capospizzasa.com