Most customers recognize business owner Andrea Onetti as “the pasta guy,” but Onetti started his culinary career by making pizza.
“That’s the funny part of the story; I did pizza in Italy,” Onetti says. “I studied pizza when I was 18, 19 years old, and then I let it go for a little bit. When I got here, everybody was making pizza.
“In America, there are so many different ideas about what pizza is — New York, Detroit,” he adds. “Nobody was making pasta; it wasn’t as special as it is nowadays.”
Onetti studied pizza when he was living in Rome. He recalls a friend who operated a successful restaurant in the town.
“[For PizzAlba], I tried to do something that is close to what he does, something I appreciate,” he says.
Onetti moved to Hawaiʻi in the fall of 2011. He launched his pasta business, Onda Pasta, in the following spring.
When he sold Onda Pasta a few years ago, starting a pizza concept was natural for Onetti.
“A lot of people were questioning, ‘What are you going to do? You always did pasta,” he remembers. “Nobody has ever asked me if I did pizza. That’s the first thing I studied — for food — and that’s one thing that, more than even pasta, I never get tired of it.”
Onetti describes his pizza as a crossover between contemporary and Neapolitan. His pizza business, PizzAlba — named after his daughter — is at the Kakaʻako and Kailua farmers markets on weekends.
“It’s not as chewy as Neapolitan, but it’s not as bready as fully contemporary (pizzas),” he says. “In Italy, the contemporary (style) is very big on the crust and soft. I don’t necessarily love that because they’re selling you a lot of bread.”
While he describes his savory pies as “simple,” Onetti emphasizes the importance of using high-quality ingredients.
“It’s good quality food with quality ingredients at a decent price,” he says. “I try to cut down on unnecessary costs to have higher-quality ingredients. The flour is Italian, the tomatoes are from Italy, and the mozzarella is from Bocconcino [in Kakaʻako].
“Pizza is a lot different from pasta,” he adds. “There is the fermentation process and everything that happens, especially during the farmers markets, where the conditions are never the same. You don’t have the same temperature [every time].”
Since February, Onetti has been popping up in the vacant space next to Bevy; it was the former location of Doner Shack’s Kakaʻako store. PizzAlba’s pop-up is open on Thursdays only from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch, and from 5 to 10 p.m. for dinner.
The menu always includes margherita ($17) and pepperoni ($20) pizzas. There’s also a rotating flavor that customers can exclusively order if they dine at Bevy. During our visit, the featured pizza at Bevy ($25) includes salame, truffle pate, asparagus, Parmesan, zucchini and micro greens as toppings.
“It always changes, depending on what I’m finding at the market,” Onetti says. “This is a little salty, a little sweet. Not many people like to eat salami when it’s warm. In my opinion, it gets a nice crunchiness; it gives the pizza a little saltiness because of the curing. The truffle pate is a mix of mushrooms and truffle.”
No matter what the rotating pizza is, though, Onetti tries to stick to classic combinations and flavors.
“I don’t want to become the person that does things just to do them,” he says. “You’ll never see me do a salami and honey, but I will do a pear, honey and gorgonzola pizza, which is very much classic.”
He says the margherita is the most popular option — and is his personal favorite.
“It’s simple,” he says. “It’s fluffy on the inside and a little bit less chewy than the Neapolitan. I try to keep it fluffy, but with a little crunch.”
Onetti also offers pasta-making classes at Hana Kitchens in Downtown Honolulu. He says there are about five pasta classes every month, and he also offers private classes.
“I do pasta and gnocchi [classes], then there is a regional dinner,” Onetti explains. “It’s less interactive — it’s more of a dinner — and we do a region of Italy each month. We’ve done 16 so far; four more regions to go.”
The Kakaʻako pop-up used to be on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but from this month, it’s been Thursdays only. This is also the first time the pop-up has been open for lunch.
“Food is life, connection and culture, and that’s the beauty of it,” Onetti says, as he prepares to make another order.
“You don’t win if you don’t fail,” he adds. “The beauty of cooking is that the failure is not that bad.”
CONTACT
PizzAlba pop-up at Bevy
675 Auahi St., Honolulu
Instagram: @andrea_onetti
Open on Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5 to 10 p.m.
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
