L'Artigiano Serves Up Pizza Napoletana on a Food Truck

Buckle up, Vegas. A new food truck is about to start roaming the streets of Vegas and this one's a doozie. L'Artigiano touts itself as one of the first pizza Napoletana food trucks in America.

Owner Shon Ben-Kely was a sous chef under master pizzaiolo Carmine D'Amato at Settebello for six years before he decided to branch out and build his own truck complete with a Stefano Ferrara wood burning oven from Naples, Italy. The 1,000-degree oven is made from compressed volcanic stone from Mount Vesuvius and cooks the pizzas in 60 to 90 seconds.

"It gives the pizza this incredibly unique smoky flavor, un-replicable with coal or gas-fired ovens," Ben Kely says. "It took us a month to receive it. It came in a barge across the oceans from Naples, Italy. It weighs two tons? One of two food trucks in the country with a Stefano Ferrara oven."

The dough rises in 24 hours at room temperature, making what Ben-Kely calls a light and fluffy crust. "Most people can eat a pizza by themselves and want more because they don't feel full as opposed to other pizza where you feel it on your stomach. After 24 hours of room temperature rising the dough has a vague sour taste, a very light sourness to it that makes it unique," he says, adding that he uses all-natural Caputo double 00 flour.

Look for five pizzas on the menu, including a Margherita with crushed San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil. Others include Margherita di bufala, pizza Caprese, four cheese and Margherita with spicy salami. The bufala mozzarella is flown in from Naples two days after it's made.

The pizzas will come as a single servings at 12 inches just like Settebello and served unsliced or in a Neopolitan wallet, folded in four.

L'Artigiano starts roaming March 19 with a private party for VPN pizza artisans at the International Pizza Expo. Vera Pizza Napoletana is a nonprofit group of pizzerias who meet strict requirements that respect the tradition of the art of Neapolitan pizza making.

Follow on the truck on Twitter or catch the schedule on the Website.