Pizza joint Fortunate Son furthers new vision for downtown Garland

Have you been to downtown Garland recently? Or ever? Now’s a good time.

Charming buildings, towering trees and decades-old businesses are part of its more-than-100-year history. The new kid on the block is a park and event lawn in the middle of the downtown Garland square — a $24 million revitalization project intended to turn the area into “an attractive downtown place for developers to seriously consider,” said Dana Lodge, director of Visit Garland and of the city’s downtown development office and special events team.

Those watching closely will say Intrinsic Smokehouse and Brewery, which opened in 2015, was one of the catalysts for downtown Garland’s growth. Another notable moment on downtown Garland’s timeline is the opening of Fortunate Son Beer Garden and Pizza House, which will begin serving dinner on Monday, March 25, 2024.

The restaurant is a big, inviting place from the East Dallas restaurateurs behind Goodfriend Beer Garden and Burger House.

Like at Goodfriend, Fortunate Son has a bar and a welcoming set of couches in front of a TV. But here, they make sourdough a’pizza crust, straight outta New Haven, Conn.

The “regular” sized pizzas are massive — 18 inches in diameter, slid piping hot onto a silver cookie sheet and placed onto a stand next to each table, as if it were a piece of luggage. While the restaurant has lots of other things to eat, like an Italian sub sandwich, cheeseburger and vegan pomodoro pasta, it’s pizzas that make Fortunate Son feel like a casual destination for big groups, families and anyone curious about what’s happening in downtown Garland.

For co-owner Matt Tobin, expanding into downtown Garland seemed like a natural next step from Goodfriend Burger and Goodfriend Package in East Dallas. Neighbors there seemed to be looking for casual and affordable food. Could they do that again, but in Garland, and with pizza? They think so.

The pizzas are strictly New Haven style. If that seems like a deep cut, it gets deeper: Fortunate Son’s pizza crust is made with sourdough that’s rolled thin and cooked at about 650 degrees Fahrenheit for four to five minutes. The sourdough starter is the heart and soul of the restaurant, literally a living creation of yeast and bacteria. Culinary director David Peña named that starter Fogerty, in honor of John Fogerty, who founded Creedence Clearwater Revival and wrote the 1969 hit “Fortunate Son.” It all makes sense.

Not everything is so thinky, even though the owners have put a lot of thought into Fortunate Son.

Naturally, first-timers will look to the Original ($12 for a small, $18 for a regular), a simple pizza with San Marzano tomato sauce, olive oil, pecorino and oregano. It’s inspired by famed New Haven pizza joint Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, one of several Connecticut pizza joints that Tobin, Peña, restaurant co-founder Josh Yingling, executive chef Floyd Gaiser and several other team members visited for inspiration.

From the Original, options abound. A clam pizza with white sauce ($25 or $35) is a rarity in Dallas. The Meatzilla with pepperoni, two kinds of sausage, Wagyu meatballs, pancetta and spicy honey ($22 or $34) is a meat-lovers pizza with a testosterone shot. The Potato and Pancetta ($14 or $25) is possibly the most unique. It’s a white sauce pie topped with thinly-shaved potatoes, shallots and a hit of rosemary.

The chefs are proud of the house-made pasta, and the meatball rigatoni shines with its spicy sausage, Wagyu meatballs, mushrooms, creamy red sauce and lemony ricotta.

Other menu items include chicken Parm, hot crab and artichoke dip, and burrata atop pumpkin seed pesto with tomatoes.

As chefs tested recipes on friends and family, they made over 200 pizzas a night. But that’s nothing: They hope to make 800 to 1,000 pizzas on a Saturday. Eventually, a walk-up window on the back of the patio will serve pizzas to neighbors and visitors during downtown Garland’s many upcoming events in the new park across the street. State Fair geeks will notice the light-up “COUPONS” sign above the walk-up window, a secondhand find that delights Tobin and his wife Tracy.

Like at Goodfriend, Fortunate Son looks like a chill spot, no reservation required. “We wanted to make it look like somebody’s living room,” Tobin said of the couch area, which will show March Madness games.

Dinner can finish with a vegan banana sundae — one of many meat- and dairy-free options added to accommodate vegan eaters like Tobin’s wife. But it feels like the tiramisu is the obvious answer, because Peña has loved making it since one of his first kitchen jobs at Johnny Carino’s.

Fortunate Son’s tiramisu has Maker’s Mark mascarpone cream and ladyfingers soaked in espresso from Cultivar Coffee. Customers will get a big slice dusted with dark chocolate powder. It’s fluffy, with boozy heat and coffee that lingers.

“It started me in cooking,” he said. “It is one of my favorite recipes I’ve done.”

Fortunate Son Beer Garden and Pizza House is at 500 Main St., Garland. It opens March 25, 2024. Dinner only, for now.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X (formerly Twitter) at @sblaskovich.