{"id":1560,"date":"2020-09-29T15:16:58","date_gmt":"2020-09-29T22:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/?p=1560"},"modified":"2026-08-30T22:37:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T05:37:47","slug":"heavenly-pies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/heavenly-pies\/","title":{"rendered":"Luciano Pelligrini's Little Slice of Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chic<\/span><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>

This article was printed in<\/em>
\nChic Compass Magazine - Issue 6<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Luciano<\/span><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>

Heavenly Pies - Luciano Pelligrini's Little Slice of Heaven<\/h1>\n

BY STACEY GUALANDI<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>

It has been said that \u2018too many cooks spoil the broth.\u2019 But at Heavenly Pies, a new neighborhood pizza joint in Southwest Las Vegas, two chefs are better than one.<\/p>\n

James Beard Award-winning Chef Luciano Pelligrini (pictured above), 55, has partnered with his cousin, Texas transplant Chef David Ryan Brister, 35, to show off their artisanal spin on traditional pizza. They hope the family who blaze together stays together.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely, he\u2019s in charge,\u201d Brister says of his internationally-acclaimed partner. \u201cI\u2019m his uh, how do I put it? I\u2019m like the \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChef b***ch,\u201d Pelligrini jokes.<\/p>\n

Of course, a pair of cookin\u2019 cousins wisecracking doesn\u2019t come as a surprise; it only adds to their devilish appeal. Despite a 20-year age difference, they seem to enjoy stirring the pot.<\/p>\n

Says Pelligrini, \u201cIf you knew as much about food as you do music, I wouldn\u2019t be working as hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr working,\u201d Brister retorts.<\/p>\n

All joking aside, Pelligrini says the decision to team up behind the line was as natural as \u201cmacaroni and cheese.\u201d In other words, a recipe for success. Trust me: I\u2019ve already been twice, and the pizza tasted like I died and went to\u2026well, you know.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve revered the Bergamo, Italy-born chef\u2019s cooking ever since he opened Valentino Las Vegas at the Venetian. He\u2019s earned numerous accolades, including \u201cBest Chef Southwest\u201d by the James Beard Foundation in 2004.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think some people thought I was good, which is the right place to be. You don\u2019t want to think you\u2019re good; you want to know that people think you\u2019re good,\u201d Pelligrini admits.<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
\"Chef<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Chef David Ryan Brister<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>

When the restaurant closed in 2013, he opened Dolce Vita Gelato, a manufacturing company producing hand-made gelato for wholesale. Brister (pictured above) relocated to Vegas a year ago and soon joined his older cousin as the pastry chef and production manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been cooking professionally for 13 years,\u201d Brister says. \u201cBefore that, it was like everyone else: stay at home and try to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMicrowave,\u201d Pelligrini roasts, right on cue.<\/p>\n

After years of working in executive kitchens (\u201c42 and counting\u201d), Pelligrini had toyed with the idea of opening his own pizza place well before COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of food; I\u2019ve been to a lot of restaurants,\u201d Pelligrini says. \u201cThere are very talented chefs out there, but I still love my food better.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, when a 15-hundred square foot space in Southern Highlands with manageable overhead became available in 2020, the cousins went all in.<\/p>\n

First-time owner Brister says it was his mom\u2019s idea to team up. \u201cShe said, \u2018Oh, why don\u2019t you get a piece of the pie too?\u2019 literally.\u201d<\/p>\n

But was it a good idea to open a business while a pandemic is forcing so many to close? Pelligrini says restaurants are scrambling to do take out, but pizza places have always served up dining options.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the only deal that made sense all along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their goal was simple: if you\u2019re going to make pizza, make it the best pizza. That\u2019s how the name \u201cHeavenly\u201d stuck. Now, working side-by-side, 24\/7, they\u2019ve created several different menus, including \u201cready to eat or heat\u201d meal packages; Trattoria (which highlights Pelligrini\u2019s pedigree, like Philly cheesesteak eggrolls, and \u201cpollo arrosto\u201d); and, of course, a list of signature pies.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach topping on a pizza is going to be individually handled and prepped before it is sold, so there\u2019s nothing raw on it,\u201d Pelligrini says. \u201cWe oven roast our zucchini and our onions; we saut\u00e9 our porcini with garlic and butter, and we make our own sausage for the breakfast pizza. I\u2019m not making bacon yet, but possibly soon to come\u2026once we get a smoker.\u201d<\/p>\n

But they sure are bringing home the bacon. With just a week under their aprons, the twosome received two-thumbs-up reviews (and long wait times\u2014especially on Golden Knights game nights!), and they just committed to a reality television show for thevegasfix.tv based on their behind-the-scenes banter. Brister is hoping his cousin\u2019s culinary code runs in the family.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to let [Luciano] down or be disappointed. You kind of want to live up to expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTime will tell,\u201d Pelligrini teases. \u201cI told [David] when I\u2019m 60\u2014which would be five years from now\u2014he will be an incredible chef, or he will not, and should look for something else to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think they have anything to worry about. They\u2019re no angels, but I\u2019m willing to bet this team is a match made in pizza heaven.<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been said that \u2018too many cooks spoil the broth.\u2019 But at Heavenly Pies, a new neighborhood pizza joint in Southwest Las Vegas, two chefs are better than one. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4519,3160],"tags":[2802,3176,3174,3178,3175,3177,2805,3179],"class_list":["post-1560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dining","category-issue-6","tag-chef","tag-david-ryan-brister","tag-heavenly-pies","tag-italian","tag-luciano-pelligrini","tag-pizza","tag-restaurant","tag-trattoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10724,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions\/10724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}