Rating: Solid neighborhood option
The signs at Ray’s Pizzaria on Fredericksburg Road glow like a funnel cake stand at a county fair. Pizza! Wings! Subs! Pasta! Gelato!
But pay attention to that first one, because pizza is Ray’s thing, with New York-style crust and a giant-size pie that generates its own gravitational field.
As if all those Italian options weren’t enough, Ray’s has decided to corner the market on comfort food by opening The Korner Burgers & Kabobs next door to the pizzeria.
Meanwhile, Fredericksburg Road isn’t the only place to get Ray’s pizza. I could’ve Googled that. Instead, I learned it from a crew doing some work on my house. When I brought out leftovers from my trip to Ray’s on Fredericksburg, the guys said they missed going to the Ray’s on Blanco Road after it closed.
As it turns out, the Blanco Road Ray’s didn’t close forever; it just moved around the corner to McCarty Road, where it reopened just this week. Pandemic, please. Pizza abides.
On ExpressNews.com: 52 Weeks of Pizza: The pies at Deco Pizzeria rate a once was enough
Best pizza: “That’s no moon. It’s a space station.” That’s the only way to grasp the enormity of the 20-inch “giant” Ray’s Classic.
On a silver pan the size of the Death Star, it eclipsed the medium and large pizzas that came out with it. But it wasn’t just the size of the thing. Ray’s Classic brought a sweet, tangy, spicy and savory blend of Italian sausage, meatballs, red peppers, onions and mushrooms bubbling in a web of mozzarella on a bed of spaghetti-grade red sauce.
Wave those pennant-size slices like a victory flag. At $22.95, this was one of the best overall values in this series. And since we’re quoting movies from the ’70s, you’re gonna need a bigger box.
Other pizzas: Where the Classic found harmony, the Philly Steak pizza ($13.95 for a 12-inch pie) came off like an anthem for misguided intentions. If this orange and brown pile of dry sliced steak, mushrooms, onions, sweet peppers, mozzarella and mismatched cheddar was supposed to make me think of a Philly cheesesteak, it whizzed by without making contact.
On ExpressNews.com: 52 Weeks of Pizza: Nico’s toppings go over the edge — literally
But I’ll say this: The crust on that pizza was perfect: toasty, bubbled and yeasty, with the right combination of chew, pull and structure to carry the load. That crust served the Grilled Veggie ($13.95 for a 12-inch pie) especially well, adding the aromatic warmth of fresh bread to an al dente collection of peppers, artichokes, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, garlic and spinach.
The Chicken Pesto pizza ($18.95 for a 16-inch pie) might be enough to convert red-sauce junkies, if even for one night, with pesto that let the herbs do the talking, complemented by grilled chicken, tomatoes, artichokes and mozzarella.
Mike Sutter is a food and drink reporter and restaurant critic in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Mike, become a subscriber. msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking
Ray’s Pizzaria
Location: 5252 Fredericksburg Road, 210-257-8520, rayspizzaria.com. Also at 455 McCarty Road, 210-348-9090.
Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Sunday
Takeout/delivery: Dine-in, curbside and third-party delivery available
December 04, 2020 at 10:00PM
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52 Weeks of Pizza: Ray’s Pizzaria restaurant makes a giant pie that’s one of San Antonio’s best pizza values - San Antonio Express-News
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