Pineapple on pizza polarizes people.
Chef (and pizza poobah) David Nayfeld knows this. Even his fiancée is not typically partial to pineapple on pie. Still, the co-founder of the wildly popular and highly regarded Che Fico Pizzeria in San Francisco, which is popping up March 19 to 21 at Aria, persists in his pineapple partisanship — aka, his Pineapple and Chili pizza.
The pie, which will be available at Aria, convenes a Calabrian chili bomba condiment, mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, red onions and pineapple. But not in the way you might think.
“I grew up eating pineapple pizza — overly sweet pineapple chunks from a can,” Nayfeld said. “We ripen our pineapple in-house. It’s sliced paper thin. It almost melts into the pizza so you don’t notice it. The fat from the cheese, the heat and spice from the bomba — Anderson Cooper came in and had this pizza. He posted about it on social media. It’s one of our No. 1 or No. 2 best-selling pizzas.”
Light yet substantial
Che Fico (“That’s cool,” in Italian slang) is taking over Moneyline Pizza & Bar on the Aria casino floor next to the sportsbook. Che Fico builds its pies using dough that is naturally fermented, without commercial yeasts or flour that is overly processed.
“It’s light and airy but still has texture and crunch,” Nayfeld said. “It looks and walks and acts like a New York-style pizza. It’s a thin crust, but it doesn’t flap. The toppings are just enough to give you the flavor and seasonings but not over-the-top or greasy.”
Che Fico’s 20-inch pies call on ingredients like Parmigiano-Reggiano from Emilia-Romagna aged 24 months, Pecorino-Romano from Lazio, housemade mozzarella, high-end finishing olive oil from Sicily. “It really shows itself in the flavor,” Nayfeld said. “It gives you the ability to dial things in just the way you like them.”
Besides the pineapple pizzas, the pop-up will offer cheese, tomato, and pepperoni and long hots chili pies; a broccoli rabe white pie version; seven antipasti dishes (including suppli al telefono, the Roman rice balls with a melty mozzarella core, and grilled sourdough bread swiped with burrata and charred spring peas); and a trio of desserts (Meyer lemon sorbetto, chocolate chip cookies, dark chocolate budino). Pizzas are served by the slice or as whole pies.
Back in Las Vegas
The pop-up marks a homecoming of sorts for Nayfeld, who once worked at Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand, and perhaps serves as a scouting party for Nayfeld, his business partner Matt Brewer and their Back Home Hospitality to open a Las Vegas restaurant (after five in the Bay Area).
“It would be something I would enjoy doing in Vegas,” Nayfeld said. “I love the community, the vibrancy. I had a lot of fun there for a number of years. It would be a dream come true to come back to Vegas and open a restaurant.”
The hours for the Che Fico pop-up are 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. March 19, 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. March 20 and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. March 21 for the slice counter and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. March 19 and 20 and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. March 21 for the dining room.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at [email protected]. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.