Posted by Jason Leinwand on Apr 20, 2016
Get schooled at Old School Pizzeria!
It’s not often that pizza makes me think about pro wrestling, no matter how well the two go together. However, after dining at one of the hidden gems in Las Vegas’s pizza crown, I’m reminded of something “Rowdy” Roddy Piper said to “Y2J” Chris Jericho in the buildup to Jericho versus The Legends match at WrestleMania XXV. With a serious look on his face, building the tension for the upcoming battle, Piper stared Y2J down and told him, “Old school is cool.” The words of the late, great Hot Rod ring true when it comes to Old School Pizzeria, one of the best pizza places in Las Vegas in one of the unlikeliest of locations. Sitting in a small strip mall on Craig Road across from the Cannery Hotel, OSP serves sophisticated pies that are as scrumptious as they are smart. This is the type of food you might expect to find at a Strip Hotel, not in a strip mall. The first sign that we weren’t in your average pizza joint was when our salad, The Gio ($3.99) arrived. It’s named after Chef Gio Mauro, the man behind OSP. The accomplished pizza maker was trained in Italy before cooking in his parents’ acclaimed Italian eatery, Nora’s. Moving from that Las Vegas spot to his own, he had to make sure that his work here lived up to the high standards his family already set. It takes some guts to showcase fennel as the lead ingredient of a salad, and in this case the risk pays off with a delicious reward. Combined with tomato, cucumber, onion, fresh mozzarella and a nice vinaigrette, it’s herbaceous, clean, and a perfect starter. After our good luck with the first “chef’s dish”, we continued down that path with our pizzas. Instead of going traditional, we opted for the Chef’s Pizza Creations which run anywhere from $18 for a small to $45 for a large. They are worth it. My stance that black olives often take away from a pie instead of add to it is well-documented. The Classic Combo proves to be the exception to the rule. Caramelized onions, roasted bell peppers, roasted mushrooms, house made sausage, and pepperoni join the black olives for a familiar creation. What makes this pie so different is the quality of ingredients. Everything...
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