Cane Rosso + Cow Tipping Creamery

Updated October 2017

Pizza.
Soft serve ice cream.
It doesn't get much better than that for kids and adults alike.

The Elena, Honey Bastard, and Ella pizzas

The latest pizza player in Austin is a Dallas import. The well-regarded Cane Rosso Pizza which has several spots in the DFW area, was so impressed with the ice creams at Cow Tipping Creamery, that they bought the Austin-based food truck and have installed CTC storefronts. Conveniently for those of us in Austin, CR just opened in the old St. Philip in Sunset Valley with CTC going next door, in the old bake house spot.

These 900 degree ovens cook a pizza in about 90 seconds.

CR was packed on a Saturday evening at 5:30 pm, but fortunately our group of seven was able to snag a table fairly quickly. Five adults and two kids demolished four pies and a salad -- Margherita (pictured below), the Elena, Honey Bastard, and Ella above. The HB is an off-menu pizza, a white pie with soppressata, bacon jam, and habanero honey.

These are Neapolitan-style pizzas with a soft crust due to the use of Italian "00" flour, and they consider it to be a fork and knife experience, according to the waitress. My one critique is that the toppings are not evenly dispersed, particularly the bacon jam on the Honey Bastard.  And I 'd say the Elena doesn't have enough of local BBQ spot Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ brisket on it to justify it's cost, but both are still delicious.

A Thursday lunch at 12:30 pm, it was only about half full. So if you can get there for lunch, it was a little more relaxed and a lot quieter. Three of us split the Honey Bastard (but note the uneven distribution of the bacon jam) along with a Capra salad; both times the salads were nice and fresh.

October 2017 update:
New chef Josh Healy has unveiled some new menu items. I was invited to a media tasting to check things out. Great happy hours, Monday through Friday, 5 - 7 pm, where several pizzas are only $5!

Crispy potatoes with a fabulous green sauce, which adds a lot of brightness.

Wood-fired St. Louis ribs; very tender, Asian flavors. I enjoyed them but our table was sort of split on these.

HUGE burrata! Super creamy and nice with balsamic drizzle and cherries. This thing was a monster, but we ate all of it! 

The Honey Bastard, still my favorite pizza there, with soppressata, bacon jam, and hot honey. 

The Metro Pizza, a three-foot long creation with your choice of toppings. Here we have Margherita, the Street Taco (with Valentina's Tex-Mex brisket and mole sauce), and arugula + prosciutto.  Great for a crowd!

The lovely and decadent truffle carbonara. Supple pappardelle pasta with loads of truffle flavor.
 By far the best of the pasta dishes we tried that night. 

Chef's special: butternut squash puree + goat cheese tortellini with beet puree and beet "dirt". Pan-toasted which gave them a great texture. Chef explained that he wanted the nightly specials to be plated differently so they stand out.

Cow Tipping specializes in soft serve and makes sundaes known as stackers. Fortunately, they have a kiddie size, which is still plenty of ice cream! I've also had the mint chocolate chip milkshake which was heavenly! Pictured below are the milkshake and a kiddie stacker.

Check out both Cane Rosso and Cow Tipping Creamery at 4715 S. Lamar Blvd, which is really the Hwy 290 eastbound frontage road, between Kohl's and the Toney Burger Center. While I don't see anything mentioning it online, on both visits to CR, I've seen people picking up to go orders, so it appears you can get your pizza to take home. Likewise, CTC has a freezer door with pints ready for take out. Make the kid in you happy with pizza and ice cream!