Papa Pinny’s Pizzeria pairs old-world style with new recipes

One of the latest entries into the competitive Las Vegas Valley pizza market is Papa Pinny’s Pizzeria. The alliterative name is fun to say, easy to remember and a nod to owner Jason Faber‘s late grandfather.

Papa Pinny’s portrait holds a place of honor on the wall inside the establishment, 8125 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 170.

Faber spent much of his career working in the big-chain pizza industry. When he decided to open his own place, he developed his own dough and sauce. The result is a light crust that won’t weigh one down. Papa Pinny’s opened last August and has gained a steady following. It’s one of the limited places offering gluten-free options.

Pizza dominates the menu and uses a build-your-own approach, charging a flat rate for the cheese style, then add-on charges for the toppings. They include Italian sausage, pineapple, mushroom, pepperoni, green peppers, green or black olives, jalapeno, onion, garlic, ricotta cheese, spinach, tomato, bacon and meatballs. There’s also Canadian bacon, chicken, anchovies, ham and shrimp.

There are also specialty pizzas such as Meat Lovers (pepperoni, Italian sausage, meatballs and ham), Veggie Lovers (mushrooms, onions, green peppers, black olives and tomato), Hawaiian (pineapple and ham), and Chicken Alfredo (Alfredo sauce, garlic, grilled chicken, spinach and tomato).

Lighter fare includes chicken wings and fingers in plain, mild, medium, hot or BBQ style and served with either ranch or bleu cheese dressing, celery and carrot sticks. No proper Italian eatery would be complete without stromboli or calzones. The latter is baked with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and served with a side of marinara. Add pizza toppings for a little extra to make it your own.

There’s also sandwiches. Papa Pinny’s offers hoagies in a variety of styles, such as sausage and peppers, meatball, chicken Parmesan, Italian and Italian beef. Vienna beef hot dogs are also on the menu, as is a Philly cheesesteak and sliders in either meatball or beef styles.

Ten pasta dishes are offered for dinner, including capellini-al pomodoro chicken, capellini agilo olio, spaghetti with meatballs, fettuccine Alfredo, cheese ravioli, rigatoni with meat sause, and penne all vodka sauce with prosciutto. Then there are house specials such as chicken piccata, white fish, salmon with pesto sauce and capers, chicken Marsala, and chicken Parmesan.

And be sure to leave room for dessert: The menu has cheesecake, tiramisu, cannolis and zeppolis.

Hours are from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Call 702-979-9222 or visit papapinnyspizzeria.com.