Saucy pizza from Arizona debuts in Texas with restaurant north of Dallas

A new restaurant hits Dallas-Fort Worth with great pizzas and fine-sounding salads: Called Sauce Pizza & Wine, it's a fast, fresh Italian concept that opens its first Texas location on August 15 in Gates of Prosper at 1151 S. Preston Rd. #10.

Sauce Pizza & Wine started out as a member of the esteemed Fox Restaurant Concepts family. The first opened in Tucson in 2003. FRC founder Sam Fox sold it to a trusted associate, Scott Kilpatrick, whom he knew would be able to make the concept grow.

The concept has since expanded to Arizona, New Mexico, and now Texas.

Kilpatrick says they take the food very seriously. The menu boasts high-end ingredients such as arugula and fig. And the chicken that's in their bestseller chicken and pine nuts salad is cooked in house and shredded by hand.

"We're proud of the quality of our food which is unique in a fast-casual environment," he says.

Pizzas include prosciutto & fig white pizza with black mission figs, goat cheese, and arugula; and the rosemary potato white pizza with spinach, feta, olive tapenade, and truffle oil.

Putting potato on your pizza is totally next level.

For crust, they have two dough options, Kilpatrick says.

"The original crust is very thin - that's what most folks get," he says. "We also have a hand-stretched crust that's thicker. It's not deep dish-thick, but more of an American style. We recommend the thicker dough for to-go orders because it survives better. The thin-crust is something you eat quickly right out of the oven."

But Sauce also does great-sounding salads such as salmon and kale with black currants, cashews, farro, romaine hearts, and champagne vinaigrette; and quinoa, beet, and arugula with beets, avocado, goat cheese, fuji apples, pistachios, and red wine vinaigrette.

The Italian chopped has pepperoni, soppressata, smoked mozzarella, pepperoncini, kalamata olives, yellow tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, red onion, garbanzo beans, and roasted garlic vinaigrette.

They also do seasonal salads such as their summer salad with watermelon and arugula. Anything with arugula is good. Fitzpatrick says that salads represent a pretty big slice of business.

"We feel like our salads are one of the ways that Sauce differentiates itself," Kilpatrick says. "An interesting side note is that we sell more salads than we do pizza. They're a large part of our menu, and about half our sales are at lunch when salads are far more popular."

One clever dish is an appetizer called Caprese "skewers," with mozzarella, grape tomatoes, basil, and balsamic glaze.

Pizza and pasta can also be made gluten-free.