On April 13, Pizza Politáno will host a pizza pop-up at Mad Art Gallery (2727 S. 12th) from 6–10 p.m. The event will serve as a teaser for the upcoming announcement of Bruja (BREW-ha), “the latest evolution of pop-up restaurants within the Mad Art space,” says general manager Kelsey Bell. The event on Thursday is free but requires a ticket.
Bruja at Mad Art Gallery
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“Bruja, which means ‘witch,’ draws from the barbecue success of The Capitalist Pig and the Mexican influences from Mad Mexica,” Bell says. “Bruja’s menu will celebrate popular items from those menus as well as include some of its own, so like a witch, we can conjure you up items from several menus.
“I’ve always looked at Mad Art as an evolution,” she adds, “both from a visual and culinary standpoint, so you could say that Bruja is the latest iteration.” For the pop-up, Bruja’s signature cocktails (created by Bell) will be served among artwork by Mad Art Gallery artist-in-residence Oxtoa and Brock Seals and Manny B Art.
The Mexican-inspired pizzas available on Thursday include the following (all pictured below):
- Beef Birria – tallow-brushed crust, cippolini onion, consomme glaze
- Tequila-Lime Chicken – cilantro oil-brushed crust, sliced red onion, cotija and cilantro lime aioli drizzle
- Esquites- street corn sauce base, charred corn, roasted red pepper strips, cotija and cilantro lime aioli drizzle
- Chicharrón – lime and garlic sauce base, avocado, cotija and pickled radish
- Chilaquiles – Roja salsa, chorizo, pickled radish, cilantro, fried tortilla strips, cotija
Pizza Politano
A St. Louis native, Pizza Politáno founder/CEO Henry Matus lives in Soulard and is a self-described “serial entrepreneur” who invented Bark n Sniff, a seasoning for pet food and a digital passport that shares pet-friendly places around town with users.
After Matus was diagnosed with brain cancer, cooking has served as an outlet for the 23-year-old. Matus and his partner, Sam Sternstein, have been testing Neapolitan pizza dough for the past year or so. Matus says his obsession with Neapolitan pizza stems in part from being in awe of how something so “humble”—the dough—transforms into something so “amazing” in 90 seconds.
Matus’ interests in pooches and pizza came together in February during the Purina Pet Parade, which was Pizza Politáno’s launch event. Matus says the consumer response was overwhelmingly positive; they sold more than 90 pizzas that day—nearly double what they usually offer at a catered or private event.
Pizzas are cooked on a Mimiou, a portable, gas-powered oven that heats up to 900 degrees and cooks a pizza in less than 90 seconds. Matus says the portable oven stays consistently hot and turns out pizzas that taste wood-fired. The most popular varieties include the Dolce Calore (hot salsiccia, fried garlic, hot honey) and Napoli Sunset (cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions, and almond pesto). Every pie is finished with a proprietary “crack crust” oil.
Matus and Sternstein plan to set up Pizza Politáno in a semi-permanent residency every Sunday at The Vandy, in addition to selling pies at Grand Spirits once a month and offering pizzas at 4 Hands, as well as catering private and corporate events. The key to their current business model is to keep operations “as mobile as possible,” says Matus.
Looking ahead, Matus hopes that Pizza Politáno will be able to offer pickup options for pizzas within in the next two to three months. Then, in the next 12 months, he would like to be operating the pizza concept out of a ghost kitchen. And in the next two to three years, he’d like to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Matus is also currently experimenting with the idea of vacuum sealing partially baked pizza that can be finished off at home under a broiler.
The event on Thursday also serves as the official launch of Pizza Politáno’s partnership with GiftAMeal, a St. Louis–based startup co-founded in 2015 by WashU graduate Andrew Glantz. Customers download the free app, select Pizza Politáno, and take a picture of their purchase. Pizza Politáno then funds a donation to Operation Food Search to help provide one meal’s worth of healthy groceries to a neighborhood pantry. If customers choose to share their Politáno will remain partnered with the GiftAMeal app at all pop-up events. (Since its inception, GiftAMeal has donated more than 1.3 million meals to people in need.)
