Metro Pizza
Bread and Butter
Specialty Pizza – Fennel Sausage, Pickled Peppers, Mozzarella
Detroit Red Top – Mozzarella Cheese, Tomato Sauce, Basil
86th Street Square Pie – Mozzarella Cheese, Tomato Sauce, Romano Cheese, Olive Oil, Old School Pepperoni, Basil
Specialty Pizza – Creamed Corn, Jalapeno Honey, Pancetta, Baby Arugula
Specialty Pizza – Ricotta, Mozzarella, Provolone, Black Pepper, Roasted Tomatoes
The flagship of John and Sam’s family of pizzerias since November of 2012, with an expansive floor-plan including room to experiment with new Dough, it was alongside six others that Metro Pizza on Sky Pointe was entered at 11:30am on Saturday, Pizzaiolo Chris Decker already hard at work baking Las Vegas’ best Crust and Toppings.
Dubbed “America’s Neighborhood Pizzeria” since the early eighties, though past and present Metro is so much more, it was after choosing from a multitude of tables and booths that a server approached with Beverage options including Beer, Wine and Soft Drinks.
Not overly busy just an hour after opening, though doing brisk take-out and delivery, lunch began first with Bread, two piping hot Loaves proving entirely irresistible before diving into a Pizza made by John Arena featuring Fennel Sausage and Pickled Peppers surrounded by a buoyant Cornicione.
Offering generous portions and prices far lower than Ingredient quality or craftsmanship might dictate, Chris’ Detroit Red Top came next, the simplicity of Mozzarella Cheese and Tomato Sauce gracing fermented Dough with unprecedented lightness bordered by a crispy Cheese lattice.
Asking Chris for one of his #instagramworthy masterpieces, and seeing Chef come through with a pair, the “better” of Creamed Corn with Hot Honey versus creamy Ricotta and Roasted Tomatoes came down to personal preference, though both had to be carefully weighed against saving stomach capacity for at least a slice – or four – of Metro’s reference-standard “86th Street” Sicilian.
FIVE STARS: Serving Las Vegas for four decades and continuously evolving the concept while slowly growing the brand it would be difficult to say anyone has contributed more to Sin City’s love of Pizza than John Arena, and although any brand featuring more than one space may suffer from inconsistency Metro sets a high standard by rewarding their old customer base with predictable greatness while Chris Decker’s creativity looks towards a new era and without ever neglecting the basics – the same synopsis as always since it warrants repeating.
RECOMMENDED: Anything offered as a special from @everythingbutanchovies Social Media feed is worth asking about. So is the 86th Street Square Pie. And, really, any of the Pizzas.
AVOID: N/A.
TIP: 11:00a to 8:00p Tues through Thur & Sun, until 9:00pm Friday and Saturday.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
www.metropizza.com
