South Polk Pizzeria in Dallas' Oak Cliff slings perfect pies in pizza desert

Culture Map Dallas

By Teresa Gubbins

Friday, January 23, 2023

Dallas has plenty of pretty pizza these days — but nearly all of it is found north of I-30.

So let's hear it for South Polk Pizzeria, a new shop that opened in late December in Oak Cliff, at 3939 S. Polk St #527, just off US-67 and north of Loop 12, slinging the same kind of artisanal pies that are being slung across Deep Ellum, Oak Lawn, and North Dallas.

South Polk is doing serious pizza with stellar toppings — the foodie-famous Jimmy's Italian sausage, for example — as well as the telltale sign of great-quality pizza: a crust made from dough that's been fermented — left to age — for many hours to give it a light, crisp texture and toasty flavor.

South Polk is from Terrill Burnett, a chef and Detroit native who moved to Dallas in 2015 and has worked at fine-dining restaurants such as Knife, Nobu, and Saltgrass Steakhouse. For this first solo venture, he's partnered with famed developer Monte Anderson.

Pizza is an exciting new avenue for him.

"When I partnered with Monte, I initially pitched barbecue," he says. "But Monte encouraged me to think about pizza. I started doing my research on the concept of fermentation and got an understanding of how to do it."

That included studying books like The Joy of Pizza: Everything You Need to Know, plus classes such as the Pizza Master Class with Vito Jacopelli.

He uses some of the techniques and ingredients of a classic Neapolitan-style pizza, with his own tweaks. He experimented with different flours until he found one with the right blend of seminola and a high percentage of gluten, and he's fermenting his dough for 72 hours.