Metro Pizza is probably the most well-known brand of pizza in Las Vegas. With multiple locations across The Valley and a crowd pleasing menu, they are the staple for many a family night out. What isn’t as celebrated are the pop up dinners that co owner John Arena and partner Chris Decker are putting on at Lulu’s Bread and Breakfast which is attached to the Metro Pizza location on Sky Point Drive in the northwest.
These are somewhat secret dinners with a purpose. While Arena knows his Metro menu is a hit, he and Decker want to keep pushing, keep experimenting, keep learning, keep going further with their craft. What they create at these suppers is some of the most interesting, exciting and unique pizza not only in Las Vegas, but likely the entire country.
This past dinner was themed around the food of Calabria, the “toe” in Italy’s southern region. That means meat, salt and flavor. Arena and Decker weren’t trying to recreate classic Calabrese dishes, but rather use the flavor profiles, ingredients and tastes as inspiration for their own takes on the food
The appetizer was a white bean and shrimp bruschetta. Toasted Tuscan bread was topped with white beans, parmesan, olive oil and a juicy shrimp. It was homey and hearty and a nice way to start of the night with a glass of wine accompanying it. If I had one criticism, it would be that since the rest of the courses all featured bread in some form, a salad take on this idea would have been a lighter touch.
A porchetta sandwich was the next plate. This one had Decker’s fingerprints all over it. If you’ve ever eaten at Lulu’s during the day, you know he is a master of comfort sandwiches, putting his own spin on familiar items. Porchetta is all types of pig rolled into one, then roasted. It’s a salty meat so the addition of broccoli rabe and buffalo mozzarella made the ciabatta sandwich sing. The garlicky broccoli also made for a nice textural contrast to the soft pork.
From there, it was pizza time. And when I say pizza time and I’m referring to Arena, who loves pizza like he loves air, I’m not talking about one pizza. On this night, there were four different pies on the menu plus a secret pie.
First up was a Roman pan pizza with artichoke and guanciale. The thick, crunchy crust is what we would call Sicilian pizza at its best. The large chunks of artichoke were visually striking and zipped with brininess. Guanciale, cured pig cheek, is another salty winner. Pureed vine ripened tomatoes gave it just a hint of fruitiness. The smart addition of smoked mozzarella balanced the flavors out nicely.
If pizza one was bold and brash, then pizza two was subtle and sweet. A grilled pizza with pancetta, nectarine and arugula was made for summer. Are you noticing the amount of thought that goes into flavor components? These guys want to give you multiple tastes with each bite. Salty, sweet, bitter. This pie also had goat cheese and honey though it could have used a little more of both to amp up all the flavors at once.
The next pie needed zero improvement. Pizza a Metro was baked on a thicker, bubbly, doughy crust. Burata cheese, though popular, is still underrated in my opinion. Creamy and stretchy, I hope we see more pizzas utilizing its versatility in the future. Hot peppers and figs brought the sweet and heat. A toasted sopresatta chip might have outshone the rest of the ingredients. The dry salami would have fallen flat if not crunched up. The way it was presented not only made it a tasty star, but also striking to see. It’s not often you view vertical components on a pizza and this one was special in both look and taste.
Decker managed to sneak in a second grilled pizza while no one was looking. This one featured basil vinaigrette, zucchini, tomato, roasted peppers, feta, and toasted sesame. It was refreshing, light and scrumptious.
The final pizza was the salt bomb. Nduje, lardo and pecorino were aggressive in a confident way. That’s pork sausage, pork fat and cheese! Fresh mozzarella accompanied the guilty pleasure on four day fermented dough.
Dessert was courtesy of Chef Luciano Pellegrini. An orange gelato had hints of mint and bits of burata, making for an interesting end to a delicious night.
As for Arena and Decker and their continued pizza exploration. You guys keep experimenting, we’ll happily keep eating the results.
Metro Pizza 6720 Sky Pointe Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89131
702-564-6726 www.metropizza.com
LuLu’s Bread and Breakfast, 6720 Sky Pointe Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89131
702-437-5858 www.lulusonthemove.com
