Miracle Christmas bar hosts holiday pizza pop-ups
The normal Christmas cheer at Sand Dollar Lounge’s Miracle on Spring Mountain holiday pop-up has been getting a delicious boost from a series of pizza takeovers. Locale’s Nicole Brisson, Good Pie’s Vincent Rotolo and, most recently, Chris Decker of Metro Pizza have spent some time in the kitchen this month, crafting pies to raise money for a good cause. And there are more on the way, with two set for this weekend.
At Decker’s appearance on Sunday, he offered butternut squash and Swiss chard pizzas dubbed Sweet Cheeks and a version with nduja, caramelized onion and pepper called Deck The Halls to a house packed with holiday revelers and local foodies. Like all pop-ups in the series, the money raised through the specialty pizza sales was earmarked for the Las Vegas Rescue Mission.
“First and foremost, I’ll do anything (Sand Dollar partner Anthony) Jamison asks me, ever,” Decker says of his takeover. “Once I found out that all the money was going to Las Vegas Rescue Mission, then I wanted to do it so much more. And I wanted to do two pizzas instead of just one, to really raise some money.”
Decker, who got some help in the kitchen from Metro’s John Arena, sold about 50 pizzas at $13 apiece.
Next up in the series are Graffiti Bao’s Marc Marrone, starting at 7 p.m. Friday, Esther’s Kitchen’s James Trees, starting at 9 p.m. Sunday, and Justin Kingsley Hall, kicking off at 7 p.m. Dec. 29.
Because Trees’ appearance coincides with the first night of Hanukkah, he’ll pay tribute to the holiday with a pair of themed pizzas. One will be based on matzo ball chicken soup, while the other will combine brisket, latkes and apples. (The chef, who grew up making Hanukkah and Passover meals with his Aunt Esther, originally wanted to make gefilte fish pizza, but was talked out of it by friends.)
“It’s about hanging out with friends and making some cool pizzas,” Trees says of the series. “That kind of amazing camaraderie between all the great pizza makers in the city and all the chefs — I’m just excited to be a part of that.”
Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.