Feed a Fever

Lately, Chow, Baby has been spending more time on the couch than in Fort Worth restaurants. It seems like I’ve had the flu for months. Regardless, the last time I levered myself up to check the fridge, it held just one ageless egg, three cans of ginger ale, and enough old restaurant to-go boxes to make a Styrofoam fort. I decided to use the down time to get to know area take-out menus.

Unless you order through Entrées on Trays, a service that will pick your food up at a long list of participating restaurants and deliver it to you for an added fee, there aren’t a lot of great delivery options in this city. There’s pizza, and there’s Chinese food. That’s it.

I decided to try out the restorative power of pizza first. I’d never tried Toppers (2911 W. Berry St.) before, but I’d passed it many times on frequent late-night trips to Fuzzy’s. It occupies the space that once housed The Moon Bar, where I spent many a Tuesday night elbowing my way through dense crowds of TCU students to watch Big Mike Richardson sing the songs of my youth — long before those kids were born.

The dining room was drab, with barren walls, a very old, discolored couch, and a small, needy dog … oh, wait. That’s my apartment. Right — I’d had the food delivered.

I’d opted for The Big Topper ($14.99 for medium size), a hand-tossed pie loaded with pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, Canadian bacon, Italian sausage, banana peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, black olives, and extra cheese. The pizza was decent, but it was cold by the time it got to me. The toppings, though plentiful, were drowned out by cheese grease. It’s still a step up from Domino’s or Papa John’s, and the place delivers until 3 a.m. on weekdays and 3:30 a.m. on weekends. Where were they when I was in college?

I had much better luck with Rocco’s Wood Fired Pizza (5716 Locke Ave.) just off Camp Bowie Boulevard. I’ve often enjoyed the brick oven pizza while lucid, but I was worried that the copious amounts of meds I was on might change my impression of its gourmet pies. It didn’t — though my self-esteem took a hit when I woke up on the couch with a half-eaten piece of Riviera pizza ($14.99) on my stomach (the dog ate like a queen during that nap).

Before I passed out from the cough syrup, I remember being impressed with the toppings of ricotta cheese, prosciutto, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, and herbs de Provence. It was a relatively light pizza, and the cheese didn’t overpower the rest of the toppings. The thin, crispy crust had a nice char from the wood-burning oven.

Eating pizza several times a week didn’t reduce either my temperature or my waistline. So what about Chinese? Hmmm … nah. There really aren’t a lot of great Chinese food delivery options around these parts. There’s an Asia Bowl & Grill (2400 Lands End Blvd.) near my place, but that’s barely a step up from something you’d be served on an airplane.

I guess it’s more pizza for me the next time I’m sick, unless Chow, Momma takes pity on me and brings me some chicken soup. Or I could just get a flu shot.

Contact Chow, Baby at chowbaby@fwweekly.com