Gary Hammons, a CPA, and Dr. Tina Hammons, a professor at SHSU, are the proud owners of WanderCrust Pizza Company and Detour Wine Bar in Magnolia, Texas. A dream that was years in the making.
Gary grew up in Hooks, Texas, a small town in the Northeast tip of Texas, and as a young boy, his parents owned a pizza place, that had been built in an old train station. As Gary played along the abandoned train tracks and enjoyed family time at their restaurant, he developed a love of pizza joints and dreamed of owning one someday.
Gary and Tina married and had a family of their own, and as a family, they loved to travel, try new pizza places, and rate them; joking about opening their own. As time went on, the jokes developed into serious discussions. They knew it wouldn’t be possible to do on their own; however, as luck would have it Tina’s niece, Liz, had been a chef for nearly 10 years. They approached her and asked if they were to open a pizza place, would she be willing to run it for them. She agreed, and plans began to come together. After a few years of looking for the right spot, and a deal falling through, one day Liz came to them and said, “You know the yellow house is for sale?”
The yellow house, “It’s just the right size, not too big, and not too small,” as Gary described it. A beautiful, antique home in the center of Magnolia, Texas. With two stories, three porches, and a beautifully restored interior with board games to play, a wine bar, and live music some days; it’s a charming little place for the whole family to enjoy a night out. Make sure you stop by to take a picture with Ozzy the raccoon, their pizza-loving mascot before you leave. Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite! He’s carved out of an old tree that was about to fall, that they wanted to save in some way.
At WanderCrust you can get a full-size 12” pie, salad, or even a sub sandwich, but when Boog and I were there we wanted to try it all! Well not quite, but we did try a couple of the pizza flights. I’m in love with the new trend of flights; having the ability to try small portions of multiple things is right up my alley.
I didn’t measure the pizzas on the flights, but they're about 4-5 inches across, and each flight includes four. The crust is thin and crisp; baked in a traditional pizza oven. Everything that can be made in-house is. Even the sauce is made in-house, from whole, vine-ripened tomatoes, not canned.
We tried the International Flight first. It had the Mediterranean, Nacho Nirvana, VolksPizza, and Pompeii.
The Mediterranean was a lighter, brighter pizza topped with feta, olives, tomato, onion, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
The Nacho Nirvana was full of fun, bright flavors like seasoned ground beef, fresh red onion, fresh jalapeno, cheddar, and cilantro. The cilantro and red onion added a pop that jazzed up the entire pizza.
The Volkspizza had pickles, sauteed onion, bacon, and house-crafted ranch. All of my favorite things!
The Pompeii was topped with charred jalapeno, pepperoni, banana peppers, and a hot honey drizzle. I like the contrast of the hot jalapenos, tangy pickled banana peppers, and sweet honey; well-rounded and playful flavors.
Hands down, my favorite on this board was the Volkspizza; pickles, ranch, and bacon - come on, who didn’t see that coming??
The second board we tried was the Jimmy Buffet Tribute Flight; it included A Cheeseburger in Paradise, Margarativlle, He Went to Paris, and Volcano
The He Went to Paris was topped with black olives and onions sauteed in red wine; the onions had a bold, slightly sweet flavor that I enjoyed.
The Volcano had shredded pepperoni, artichoke hearts, jalapeno, and a drizzle of hot honey. Big bold flavors and if you like heat, this is the one for you.
The Cheeseburger in Paradise had a mozzarella and cheddar mixture, beef, onions, pickles crispy romaine lettuce, and a special sauce. It was not only my favorite of this board, it was my overall favorite. I loved the pickles on it, but the cold, crisp lettuce and the homemade special burger sauce put it over the top for me.
If that wasn’t enough to love, Boog and I rounded out our meal with Orange Dreamsicle floats. This is one of my all-time favorite flavors; for me, there’s nothing like a Dreamsicle.
A frosty mug, with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream was brought to the table with an ice-cold bottled Otto’s Orange soda. If you don’t know Otto’s yet, you’re missing out. They’re taking mom-and-pop restaurants by storm, and for good reason.
Sitting out on their porch, sipping down a float, just hanging out with my kiddo. That’s what good pizza joints should be like. That’s the good life.
I loved the complexity of all the flavors and the uniqueness of each pizza. Getting a bite here and there, and all of the different flavor profiles felt like I was playing with my food. I definitely recommend trying a flight of something whenever you can.
Next time you’re out takin’ the backroads, swing on over to WanderCrust Pizza Company. Grab a flight of pizza and one of wine as well, and enjoy a tasting adventure. Tell Gary, Tina, Liz, and the crew that I said hi, and make sure you finish with an ice cream float! You’ll be glad you did!
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