H. Butler's Bar-B-Q, Sunnyvale

H. Butler's Bar-B-Q
Southern barbecue and, yes, pizza that's better than its strip mall location would indicate

Into the space vacated by Serious Sam's pizza has come H. Butler's, a little Louisiana barbecue place that brings some serious taste. For the Serious Sam's regulars, they have a sign out front that proclaims: "Yes, we have pizza!" and they do.

We went there looking for pizza, actually, and ended up with a barbecue chicken pizza, the best of both worlds. If the pizza is any indication, the barbecue sauce is terrific, good and tangy. We also tried the red beans and rice just to get some Louisiana flavor, and weren't disappointed in the simple dish.

The place gives you a great feel when you step up to the counter, with the handmade signs and cheery woman behind the counter who is only too willing to recommend items if you can't decide. On a counter to the side, they have the day's desserts laid out, including standards like red velvet cake and southern pecan pie alongside seasonal favorites like peach cobbler.

You order at the counter and the food is brought out to you. The pizza we got had a crisp crust with good, sweet dough, in addition to the sauce I already mentioned. The chicken was tender and moist--barbecue chicken on pizza can be dry, but H. Butler's didn't fall into that trap.

It's no Uncle Frank's, but we're certainly intrigued enough to go back and try their actual BBQ sometime. At the very least, it's not a bad substitute for Serious Sam's.