The East End Pizza Scene is Popping Off
The East End of Pittsburgh saw a boost in their pizza options these past weeks with Alta Via Pizzeria doing pop-ups and Wood Fired upgrading their dough game.
Hello pizza fans!
Have your pizza senses been tingling these past few days? Because there’s something stirring in the East End. Could we be on a verge of a pizza renaissance? I think we just might be.
There was a vacuum left in the East End when Pizza Taglio closed up shop. Where would people get quality neo-neopolitan pizza? And then Dinette shut down reducing pizza options even more. Yes, there was still Slice On Broadway, Capri, and a Dominos. But it felt empty.
That void is being filled in slowly. Like a cement mixer pouring out globs of mozzarella, dough and marinara into a bus-sized sinkhole, the East End of Pittsburgh will soon be flowing with pizza options.
Let’s get to it!
Wood Fired Pizza Substantially Upgrades Dough
Wood Fired pizza took over the Pizza Taglio spot last year. They opened and served some pretty basic pies. I had it early on and it was definitely pizza. Nothing too impressive, but you could tell they were working out the kinks. And I have reason to believe that those kinks have evolved into delicious little pizzas.
A few weeks ago Wood Fired announced they were improving their cheese supplier. Now, this week they announced they are substantially upgrading the dough. Everyone that makes pizza knows that the real flavor of a pizza comes from a dough that has a long, cold, fermentation. It gives yeast more time to expand, the gluten network to form and the dough to establish its own flavor.
So this news was very exciting:
🚨🍕PIZZA NEWS ALERT🍕🚨
Today is an exciting day @woodfiredpgh as we are officially switching to our 48-hour fermented sourdough for all of our pizzas!
We have been playing with our recipe for awhile, incorporating more sourdough, and found a recipe we love.
So what does this mean for you, Pittsburgh pizza loving friends??
1: The new pizza dough is more flavorful, with an extra 24hrs of sourdough development
2: Easier to digest gluten in the dough (less of that “heavy” post-pizza feeling)
3: Overall healthier dough (lower glycemic index, less yeast, more healthy bacteria)
They have basically deconstructed and rebuilt their pizza. Like going from a regular man to the million dollar man. A super pizza that has evolved from its most basic form and reached a level of enlightenment reserved for saints and angels. Excited to dig into it!
Alta Via Pizzeria Soft Opens in Bakery Square
Alta Via Pizzeria is the newest restaurant from the Big Burrito family. It’s a spin-off of Alta Via in Fox Chapel, an Italian join, but this place focuses on pizza. Years ago it looked like they were going to open on Butler St in Lawrenceville. For whatever reason, they pulled out of that and decided to found a home in Bakery Square, in the same building as the Galley.
Alta Via Pizzeria is serving round and square pies at the moment. The menu is eclectic with a number of different base sauces and toppings to choose from. I’m not sure if they’re using different doughs or how they’re preparing the different pizzas, but I aim to find out.
The only lingering question is if they’ll have a Pizzarito on their menu come November.
You can check the website for their pop-up hours and order online.
What another great week for Pittsburgh Pizza! I hope you’re enjoying these pizza newsletters as it seems like there’s no shortage of pizza news these days. If you enjoyed reading this please consider sharing with a friend or posting on social media.
Pizza ya later!
-Pizza Journalist, Dan Tallarico