LAKE FOREST PARK, Wash. — The crust for the pizza at this Lake Forest Park restaurant is aged like fine wine.
Tony Vujovich owns The Local 104 — his dough ferments in a fridge for 10 whole days before it becomes a pizza.
"This process is pretty unusual," Vujovich said. "Some people will age dough, very few people will do it as long as I do.”
Vujovich, who owns and cooks at this restaurant, also adds local beer to his dough — Bale Breaker Field 41 made in Yakima.
His recipe isn't a secret, but there is one ingredient that's hard to come by: patience.
“I tell people how to make the dough, I just know they won't make it. It's too much effort!”
The beer and the 10-day fermentation create the perfect crust. Vujovich describes the taste as ‘toasty.’
The Local 104 does justice to this well-aged dough with unique pizza toppings.
The Quixote is their most popular pie — creme, chorizo, mozzarella, Manchego cheese, and dates.
The Mr. Herman is inspired by Pee Wee Herman — Paul Rueben — and has everything you would find on a Rueben sandwich, including pork belly pastrami and a rye crust infused with onion.
Guests can watch their pizza cook in the red oven that has a face, complete with a flaming mouth.
“The oven's name is Svarog, the Slavic all god that created the universe in a forge, just like the pizzas get created in a forge,” Vujovich said.
From a long ten days in the fridge to a flaming finish, The Local 104 makes pizza with personality.
"It's labor, it's effort, and it's worth it."
The Local 104 is located at 18498 Ballinger Way N.E. Lake Forest Park, WA 98155 and is open Tuesday-Saturday 4-9 p.m. and Sunday 4-8 p.m. 206-309-4104
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