Food & Beverage

Philadelphia pizzeria launches collaborative 'star' chef series

Photo: Down North Pizza via Twitter

February 10, 2021

The founder of Philadelphia's Down North Pizza, chef and activist Kurt Evans has launched "A Match Made In Philly," featuring limited-edition menu collaborations with some of Philadelphia's culinary stars. The series kicked off appropriately on Tuesday, National Pizza Day, with 11-time James Beard Award nominee and Best Chef Mid-Atlantic winner Marc Vetri, a news release said.

Vetri's concoction featured beef shank ragu, smoked scamorza and grated horseradish. That collaboration will be followed by additional monthly specials in limited quantities from the West Lehigh Avenue pizzeria.

"The pivot to opening the doors of Down North Pizza as a pop-up concept, in response to limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, continues to be an unexpectedly fun ride," Evans said in a news release

This past December, Down North Pizza hosted its first pizza pop-up, and customers may pre-order pies each weekend at the brand's "downnorthpizza.com" website. Orders are then retrieved at an appointed time. The brand said it has sold out on its specials every weekend for the last nearly three months of weekend events.

"We adapted to the challenges in ways that made our connection with the community stronger and our menu offerings even more creative," Evans said. "The response to our unique pizza flavors, which we think capture the soul of the city, has been overwhelmingly positive. The 'A Match Made In Philly' chef collaborations are an extension of our creative culinary journey. We are excited to see what creations our friends come up with over the next few months."

Other chef collaborations include Omar Tate (Honeysuckle Projects), Chad Williams (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), Stephanie Willis (Everybody Eats), and Mike Solomonov (CookNSolo) and others. And it also all comes with a good purpose since the goal of the series is to raise funds and awareness for Down North Pizza's mission reduce recidivism in Philadelphia. Evans and team also hope that the 'A Match Made In Philly' collaboration series will help raise enough funds for the concept to be fully operational in late Spring 2021.

Down North Pizza serves Detroit Style pies and slices, wings, salads, fries and shakes with unusual toppings, such as collard green pesto, short rib and spicy crab. It is located in the city's Strawberry Mansion neighborhood