Any way you slice it, the International Pizza Expo always keeps us coming back for more. This annual event returned to the Las Vegas Convention Center March 25-27, bringing pizza makers and restaurateurs, competitors and global suppliers together to celebrate the industry. Here are some of the best things we saw and ate at this year’s conference and World Pizza Games.
Best things we ate
450 Gradi’s Gnocchi di Luigi
If food is a love language, then this Italian eatery speaks it fluently. Before I could finish a greeting, the chefs had a steaming bowl of gnocchi ready for me. Pillowy soft and tossed in a rich, sweet Neapolitan sauce, the dish grew progressively tastier and more comforting with each bite. The sensation of being lovingly fussed over and fed also wasn’t lost on me. I’d gladly stay for dinner at 450 Gradi again.
Green chili jam on everything
This award-winning jam has range. It’s been used to jazz up eggs Benedict, pork tacos and, most deliciously, pizza. At the expo, we scarfed down a chicken and bacon pizza with the good stuff drizzled on top, and the result was dynamite. Green Chili Jam’s spicy and sweet flavor fully enhanced the garlic cream base of this pie, adding more kick and a honeyed finish. It’s a dip. It’s a sauce. It’s a spread. It’s the best thing to happen to pizza, so get to jamming.
The Be-Hive’s taco pizza
Plant-based pizza can be hit or miss, but The Be-Hive seems to have cracked the code. The Nashville-based vegan cheese and meats manufacturer displayed a couple of great slices, namely the Nashville hot pickle pepperoni pizza (say that three times fast) and the taco pizza, a favorite of mine. Topped with The Be-Hive’s plant-based sausage, diced tomatoes and a crema-like sauce, it struck a balance between light and flavorful with a thinly baked crust.
Best Things We Saw
Local pizzerias representing Vegas
Pizza makers from Las Vegas favorites like Yukon Pizza and Metro Pizza were spotted slinging dough. Tony Gemignani, the award-winning pizzaiolo and owner of Pizza Rock, also hosted a demo on creating the world’s best slice, when he wasn’t hanging out with his fellow champs.
The World Pizza Games
Each year, the International Pizza Expo hosts competitions based on everything from a pizza triathlon to acrobatic dough-tossing and the fastest box-folding. We got to catch many master pizzaioli at work, firing pies and prepping the freshest of ingredients. Tension mounted on the expo’s final day as 2022 Pizza Maker of the Year Carmine Candito faced off against Tony Palombino of the nationally acclaimed BoomBozz Pizza & Watch Bar, and pizza champ Tony Cerimele, who regards Gemignani as a mentor. Watching these pizza pros sweat it out over dragonfruit and other niche toppings worked up quite the appetite. After much deliberation from the judges, Cerimele took home the Best of the Best title.
The embrace of pizza-core
It’s a saucy aesthetic to wear a male pizza romper in public, but we spotted multiple versions, along with attendees sporting pizza bucket hats. One pie-obsessed patron took it to another level, dressing as the Pope of Pizza. Blessed be.
