Hey guys, welcome back to the Pizza Story Podcast blog! If you’ve been following the show, you know I am absolutely obsessed with the heart and soul behind the dough. Usually, I’m chatting with folks who have decades of flour under their fingernails and family legacies that stretch back to Italy, but today’s guest brought a totally different kind of energy and I’m here for it.
Darius Aram from Slice Street Pizza joined me straight from his shop in Dripping Springs, Texas. I loved every second of it. We had music playing in the background along with the sound of boxes being folded. This was exactly the kind of “real life” vibe I want for this show.
Tired of Chasing Commissions & Ready to Embark on Pizza
Darius isn’t your typical lifelong pizza maker, but food runs deep in his Greek and Persian roots. He spent his childhood hanging out in his grandfather’s restaurant. He did this to get some face time with him, learning early on that hospitality is in his blood. After years as a mortgage broker and running an ad agency, he realized he was tired of chasing commissions and wanted to build something tangible. He shared a hilarious story about his first-ever attempt at pizza thirty years ago where he used a wedding-gift pizza stone, forgot the flour, and ended up scraping a failed dough off the stone in front of his family. Fast forward to today, and he’s mastered both New York and Detroit style pizzas with a level of obsession that only a true “pizza nerd” can appreciate.
The philosophy at Slice Street is simple: Trust the Crust. Darius is adamant that the world doesn’t need another “crap pizza”. He says the artisanal aspect of food is something we need to bring back to the forefront. He’s not taking any shortcuts. He uses Barton Springs Mill flour that is milled just a day before it hits the shop. Darius is also committed to keeping his dough seed-oil free by using real extra virgin olive oil and allowing for a full 48-hour ferment. He even refuses to use anti-caking agents, opting to grate his own cheese or use high-quality Grande. To Darius, the crust is the ultimate reward for finishing the slice. It adds a touch of whole wheat to give it a signature nuttiness that sets it apart from the standard white-flour profiles you find at most corner shops.
The Creative Side: The Slice Street Pizza Menu
If you’re looking for a classic cheese slice, he’s got you covered. However, Darius’s creative side really shines in his Slice of the Month program. He’s breaking every rule in the book by treating pizza like a culinary canvas. He dropped a major scoop during our chat, revealing that the October Slice of the Month is a Butter Chicken Pizza. It features a simmer sauce from a local Indian restaurant, chicken, feta, cilantro, and a coriander cream finish. We also talked about some of his past mad scientist creations. Some include the Blueberry Pie with brie and hot hatch chilies or the Schweinapfel which features beer-braised pork. He even did an octopus pizza recently that blew people’s minds. He isn’t afraid to fail because he’s having too much fun riffing with his chef buddies and seeing what’s possible.
We also got very real about the sacrifice that comes with this life. Darius was honest about the “death by a thousand pennies” nature of the business. He remarks that it can be difficult being away from his four kids during dinner time. However, the payoff comes in the community he’s built and the moments when his kids ask to come to the shop to invent their own recipes.
Trusting the Crust
The pizza industry has a camaraderie like no other. Darius embodies that spirit of sharing and learning rather than competing. If you find yourself near Austin, you have to stop by Dripping Springs to see why they say “trust the crust.” Darius, thanks for the laughs and for reminding us that if you’re going to do it, you have to do it the real way.
Follow Slice Street Pizza on Instagram @slicestreetpizza.
Stay updated with the latest from Slice Street and other amazing family-owned pizzerias across the globe by subscribing to The Pizza Story Podcast now!
Get our books: A Story About Pizza, Pietro’s Pizza, Pietro’s Pizza Toppings, Pietro’s Italian Christmas.