World champion pizza maker opens pizzeria and pub in Chinatown
World champion pizza maker Michael Vakneen has brought his crust cred to Chinatown. His ∅∅ Pie & Pub, which the Review-Journal reported in January was coming to the neighborhood, opened recently at 3853 Spring Mountain Road, in The Center at Spring Mountain.
The restaurant takes its name from the finely milled 00 (double zero) flour used to make Neapolitan pizza. Double zero, the finest grade, produces the elastic softly textured dough essential to Neapolitan pies. At ∅∅ Pie & Pub, those pizzas emerge bubbling and blistered from a wood-fire oven.
“I’ve really enjoyed making pizzas in a bunch of different styles,” Vakneen said, “but when I was given the challenge of pursuing the ‘perfect’ pizza, it had to start with wood fire.”
And if you want to experience the pizzaiolo’s take on wood-fire pies, you’ll have to sit down at the restaurant. There’s no takeout or delivery (and no reservations; visit Resy for the wait list).
Look for pies such as a Diavola with spicy sausage, a Funghi with garlic butter mushrooms and charred green onions, and a Speck (a type of ham) with fig jam and saba, a cousin to balsamic vinegar. The menu also offers salads, and desserts such as burnt caramel budino and individual tiramisù.
Beer and wine are available on tap and by the bottle. Craft cocktails created in partnership with Adam Rains of The Golden Tiki (in the same center) will be introduced soon. ∅∅ Pie & Pub is a collaboration with the Lev Group, a Vegas firm that helps develop hospitality concepts. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram and @ItsJLW on Twitter.