Those who know the culinary skills of Giovanni Mauro have followed him to the outer reaches, specifically to Old School Pizzeria in North Las Vegas. Now Mauro has returned to familiar turf, the original site of Nora’s Cuisine at Jones and Flamingo—the larger, current Nora’s, run by his family, is a block away—with Pizzeria Monzú, showcasing the knowledge and techniques Chef Gio picked up during his sojourns to Italy.
The specialty is Roman-style pizza, thin, rectangular pies that feature a five-day naturally leavened dough. Ten-minute cook times give crispy crusts to creations like the Vegas Meets Italy ($21-$38), featuring scamorza, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses along with pistachio, dates, heirloom tomatoes, arugula, prosciutto and date cream. Pork Reigns ($19-$36) goes whole hog with pulled braised pork, house-made sausage, applewood-smoked bacon, ham, salame Calabrese and guanciale.
An excellent selection of antipasti, oven-fired vegetables, salads and a mega cheese-and-meat board ($38) will also have visitors from all corners of the Valley coming home again.
PIZZERIA MONZÚ 6020 W. Flamingo Road, 702-749-5959. Daily, 5-10 p.m.
