Hopjack’s Pizza Kitchen
251 Dauphin St.
Mobile, AL
(251) 455-6000
Very Good (***)
The space occupied by Hopjack’s Pizza Kitchen on Dauphin Street in Mobile’s LODA (Lower Dauphin) district is fondly remembered by many as the home of Picklefish Pizza. Well, with the arrival of Hopjack’s, the pizza experience here has gone from good, too often very good, to solidly very good!
Hopjack’s is in a hip, multi-story space at the corner of Dauphin and Joachim Streets. The pizzeria has quickly become a popular spot serving a nice variety of beers, Belgian style fries, fried in duck fat, and for producing a top-notch, hand-tossed pizza. It is currently one of two locations, the other being in downtown Pensacola. Both, incidentally, are very close the historic Saenger Theatres, in their respective cities. I understand another location is in the works on Nine-mile Road in Pensacola.
What makes the Hopjack’s pie the best in downtown Mobile? Well, they’ve put together a very good product in terms of basic ingredients, culinary quality and the basics of New York style pizza construction. The only potential problem I found with the pie is the, only slightly, too thick crust relative to the generous toppings, but the balance is very close.
Hopjack’s hand-tossed crust is one of the best I’ve found in Mobile, achieving a nice charred quality and crispiness in a gas oven. If this crust was only slightly thinner and produced in the hotter, wood or coal oven it would be spot on. Make no mistake; however, this is an excellent gas oven crust.
I liked Hopjack’s very high quality mozzarella. It was mild and not too heavily distributed on the pie, adding just enough of its signature consistent flavor; none of the sour, separated taste you get sometimes when a lower-quality processed cheese melts.
The sauce on the Hopjack’s pie I would call full bodied with well-balanced spices. It was there in the overall flavor of each bite, but never over-powering. It had no acidic flavor, sometimes encountered when a tomato sauce is basically out of balance, maybe not enough sugar added to cut the acidity. You could also pick up a nice hint of the signature spices, probably basil and oregano.
My dining companion and I order an Italian sausage and tomato pizza, with banana peppers thrown in for fun! Well, if anything set the pie apart it was the quality of the toppings! The sausage was wonderfully balanced in flavor, spicy and tender with no fatty aftertaste. The tomatoes were ripe and flavorful and the banana peppers added a great kick and compliment to the sausage. The toppings were generous, but short of overpowering the crust and thus not allowing it to cook well. I was also impressed with the way the bakers balance the ingredients, with no particular topping standing out too much.
Hopjack’s can be loud and lively, but not so much that you can’t carry on a conversation. The service, well, it is exceptionally friendly and confident. One really gets the feeling the staff is glad to have you in their pizzeria. Combined with a great selection of beers, substantial utensils and adequate napkins, the pizza experience at Hopjack’s is first-class!
So, when in LODA, even if late at night, Hopjack’s is waiting for you and serving up one of the very best pizzas in the Mobile area.
Enjoy your pizza!
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