It would be a shame to whittle down Floriana Pastore’s Neapolitan pizza concept to “just a food truck.” Signora Pizza is more like a little slice of Italy on wheels.
“You don’t expect to have this kind of pizza from a truck,” says Pastore, who grew up cooking with her grandmother in Salerno, Italy, near the Amalfi coast. “I don’t consider my truck a truck. I consider it my pizzeria.”
The mobile kitchen, built by Pastore’s husband from a 20-foot shipping container, features a wood-fired oven and a wall of paneled glass, providing customers with a window into her world.
As she kneads dough that has been fermented for more than 36 hours, and gingerly applies hand-selected ingredients directly sourced from Naples, all eyes are on the master pizzaiolo of 20-plus years. As a reigning world pizza champion, she’s used to the attention. She has won eight first-place titles for pizza-making, including at the International Pizza Expo, where she became the first woman to win the International Pizza Challenge.
“Pizza is my passion,” she says in a warm Italian accent. “It’s something that I fell in love with and I never stopped.”
Pastore opened her first pizzeria in Italy at age 21, and “at that time, it was very rare to see women doing pizza,” she recalls. “It’s not easy. You have to work with your hands; you have to be in front of the oven and standing all the time. It’s hot. That’s why it was [considered] a man’s job, but it doesn’t mean women can’t do it.”
Signora Pizza prides itself on Neapolitan pies, specializing in traditional pizza, deep-fried pizza and folded wallet pizza, a treat Italian errand boys began selling as street food during the 1700s.
Fried pizza couldn’t have happened without women like Pastore. The calzone-like pizza originated in the post-World War II era, after ovens in Italy were destroyed and wives started frying dough.
“Sometimes, people think that I’m crazy if they see my menu. I have a lot of pizza [for] a truck,” Pastore says. “Usually you see three or four dishes maximum, because it’s a tiny space. I always have 10 to 15.”
Pastore plans to offer even more when she eventually opens a brick-and-mortar shop. Until then, she plays with new ideas, as if her pizzeria on wheels is a mini test kitchen.
Weekly specials like the Blossom ($20), a Parmesan-packed pizza with creamy burrata and squash blossoms, should satisfy an adventurous palate, while permanent options, such as the 13-inch Patatosa ($16), with Italian sausage, fresh basil and roasted potatoes, should also strike a chord. A potato pizza might sound like carb overload, but this one succeeds on the strength of its airy crust and flavorful fixings.
“Our slogan is ‘simple Italian pleasures.’ Simple meaning, not necessarily plain, but even how you balance an ingredient,” Pastore explains. “You don’t have to exaggerate, you don’t have to put too much. If it’s coming from your heart, everything will be great.”
SIGNORA PIZZA Signorapizza.com, 702-945-5126. Schedule at instagram.com/signorapizza.
Click HERE to subscribe for free to the Weekly Fix, the digital edition of Las Vegas Weekly! Stay up to date with the latest on Las Vegas concerts, shows, restaurants, bars and more, sent directly to your inbox!
