An innovative new pizzeria with an Indian twist has opened in Richardson. Called Far East Pizza Co., it's a takeout-only concept located at 1500 N. Greenville Ave., #110, on the ground floor of the Collins Crossing office building.
Created by owner-chef Nidhi Mittal in partnership with vegan chef Troy Gardner, Far East represents a fabulous mix-up of cuisines: American-Italian food made with Mediterranean and Indian influences. They do pizzas on a choice of naan or flatbread, plus sandwiches and desserts.
Mittal and her husband run La Cuisine Cafe, a little deli inside the building that previously serviced tenants. When traffic declined in the wake of the pandemic, Mittal reached out to Gardner (TLC Vegan Kitchen) and together they crafted a menu blending her favorite Indian recipes and American Italian dishes.
"It combines the bold Chandigarh flavors of cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon found in chef Nidhi's Indian home cooking, combined with the roasted tomatoes and basil you find in Italian cuisine," Gardner says.
Pizzas run from halal beef pepperoni to chicken tikka masala pizza; there are also pastas with ancient Indian spices, and sandwiches served on fluffy naan bread with house-made plantain chips.
Pizzas comes in two sizes in varieties such as:
- Butter Chicken Pizza with chicken, creamy yellow sauce, Indian spices, mozzarella, and Thai basil
- Butter Paneer Pizza like a veggie version of the chicken with roasted paneer, creamy yellow sauce, Indian spices, mozzarella, and Thai basil
- Tikka Tikka Time Pizza, with chicken, mild southeast Indian curry, mozzarella, red onion, and Thai Basil
- Far East Veggie spectacular, with Far East Pesto, paneer, cauliflower, red onion, cremini mushrooms, pear tomatoes, Far East pesto, and Thai basil
- Kozy Kofta Comfort Pizza, with house-made kofta (Indian falafel), tomato sauce, mozzarella, pear tomatoes, and Thai basil
- Sausage & Pepperoni, with beef sausage, beef pepperoni, tomato sauce, mozzarella, & Thai basil
There's also a build-your-own pizza option with choice of naan or flat bread.
Sandwiches come in full and half sizes and also feature a fun Indian twist, such as the Chicken Seekh Meatball Sandwich with Far East tomato sauce, chicken meatballs, plus mozzarella and asiago cheese; and The Grilled Cheesiest, a refreshing twist on a grilled cheese with mozzarella, asiago, spinach, and tomatoes, grilled inside naan bread.
The Ultimate Delhi Sandwich has beef pepperoni, shaved turkey, turkey bacon, olive tapenade, pesto, tomatoes, and mozzarella.
There are salads in two sizes, regular and family:
- Hello Dahli has Romaine, lentils, pickled onions, chicken, pear tomatoes, and paneer in pesto dressing
- Auntie Pasta Salad with penne pasta, beef pepperoni, mozzarella, pickled onions, pear tomatoes, baby spinach, Thai basil, and asiago cheese in turmeric vinaigrette
- Far East Caesar Salad, with Romaine, asiago, and naan croutons in a house-made Caesar dressing with a hint of turmeric
Pastas pull from some of the same ingredients as the pizzas, such as the Butter Paneer Pasta with rigatoni in a yellow curry Alfredo sauce. There's also a veggie-centric Pasta Primadonna with rigatoni, red bell peppers, baby spinach, garlic, red onion, cremini mushrooms, pear tomatoes, Thai basil, and asiago cheese.
Desserts include a Indian rice custard, lightly sweet, with a hint of saffron, topped with sliced almonds; you can also get that custard layered with a fudge brownie in a dessert called the Fudge Brownie Kashmir Cup.
Far East is a delivery and pick-up only location, available through their website at www.fareastpizza.com or via third party delivery services like DoorDash and UberEats. Food can be ordered online at any day and time and then scheduled for pick-up for another day or time during their business hours.
