Friday nights in the Malcolm house meant ordering a large cheese pie from Tony’s Pizzeria, which was a 20-second walk from our front stoop. To honor pizza in all its glory, welcome to Pizza Friday! here at Gastronaut. We’ll celebrate a different Houston pizzeria each week, rating its basic cheese slice on the pizzaaaaa! scale (the more As the better).

This week: Daddy O’s Pizza (Greater Inwood)

There are no true slices at Daddy O’s, which calls itself Daddy O’s Pizza 1, probably to remove itself from the two other Daddy O’s, which is a separate mini chain. Instead, this pizzeria boasting New York-style pies has a small on offer. It’s cut into six tiny slices, which really, really works for a 2-year-old.

By the way, the 2-year-old now know how to holds a slice. It took some training, but no longer does she try to slap the whole slice onto her face. At Daddy O’s she grabbed it by the crust, turned it toward her and bit. Forget that she turned the dough side up—this is a crucial development.

Did the 2-year-old like the slice? Well, yes, it’s cheese pizza. She also liked the terrifyingly detailed Italian chef face atop the chalkboard at the counter.

She didn’t have an opinion of the artwork. I’ve written already about pizza places that go to great lengths to prove its New York attitude, but Daddy O’s Pizza goes for the heart: two wall murals of the big city. One mural depicts the Manhattan skyline (presumably from Brooklyn), along with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. Forget that the Statue of Liberty is not where the mural places it—it’s a well-done piece of art.

The second mural goes deeper into the city, showing Times Square along with a bunch of celebrities. I’m not sure what John Rambo (saying “Yo!” like Rocky Balboa for some reason) has to do with New York, but again, it’s nice art.

That’s about it here. There are specialty pies, including a Philly cheesesteak variation, a meat-lover’s, and the Bronx Bomber (pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, garlic, jalapeños). I’m telling you, New Yorkers don’t put jalapeños on their pizza.

Slice rating: pizzaa!

It's hard to grade the slice when it’s not a traditional slice, but generally, I could’ve used more tomato sauce and grease, and less of a baked cheese flavor. (Generally, for me, less texture is better.) It has a crispy crust. It's totally acceptable pizza, though I feel the murals are the most New York thing here.