'Out of this world pie': Little Bettie at WISEACRE featured on 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'
Memphis craft brewery WISEACRE and Little Bettie Pizza & Snack Bar appeared on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” on Jan. 12, and we are not sure who had more fun, Guy Fieri or the team at WISEACRE.
"A funkalicious spot in Memphis with 'out of this world' pie," is how Fieri described Little Bettie.
The pizza stand inside WISEACRE Brewing Co.’s Downtown taproom (398 S. B.B. King Blvd.) appeared on an episode entitled “Hearty Handfuls.”
Little Bettie serves a small (and fun) menu of pizzas and snacks that complement WISEACRE’s beers. The pizza at Little Bettie’s is unique in Memphis as it is New Haven-style pizza. New Haven-style pizza has a chewy crust like its wood-fired Neapolitan pizza counterpart, but is a thinner-crusted pizza. This thin-crust pizza originated in New Haven, Connecticut — hence the name.
This is the third Memphis restaurant to be featured after Guy Fieri visited several restaurants in town in September.
"It's a great opportunity for Little Bettie to grow and share the best pizza in Memphis with more new people," Little Bettie chef Jared Riddle said. "Guy Fieri and his crew were a blast to work with. It was an experience I'll never forget."
Riddle and WISEACRE founders Davin Bartosch and Kellan Bartosch were featured on the show.
What did Guy Fieri try at Little Bettie?
Two Little Bettie dishes were featured on the show: The Thud Butt Pizza and the Imagine the Future Wings.
The “Thud Butt” is a one-of-a-kind pizza topped with mortadella, ricotta cream, black pepper honey, pistachios and stracciatella cheese.
Fieri was enthralled by the pistachio crunch that garnishes the pizza. "That funky crunch has to be one of my favorite parts," he exclaimed after taking a bite. "The dough is legit. It's a different dimension of pizza. It's a dynamite pie."
“Thud Butt is definitely our most popular non-red sauce pizza and it is the only one of those to be a staple on the menu as we have rotated through a lot of the specialty and oddball pizzas,” said Kellan. “The Thud Butt has definitely become a calling card for Little Bettie and we've heard it mentioned a few times in "Best Pizza in Memphis" lists so there is a chance DDD heard about it on one of those lists too.”
Fieri also tried the Imagine the Future wings.
“They are unique as a food fusion item with the Memphis honey-hot kind of sauce paired with rustic Sicilian ingredients used in the crunch that goes on the wings,” said Kellan. “They are really good and I'm glad more people will know the story and flavors to expect there.”
"So outside of the ordinary," Fieri said of the brined wings tossed in a sauce that has olives and capers and is served with a dill aioli.
The one thing Fieri missed out on is trying one of Memphis’ favorite craft beers.
“Davin made sure we sent him off with some Tiny Bomb as he literally placed a six-pack in his hands as he was being rushed out after filming,” said Kellan. “Guy asked a lot of questions about the beers, the brewing process, and the names of the beers, but I don't think drinking beers was able to be a part of his schedule that day.”
'An absolute blast'
Kellan Bartosch described the filming experience as “an absolute blast.”
“Jared said he was smiling ear to ear for a few days, but I think we all were. The show has been on the air for over 15 years and at this point is a big part of culture in our country. I've had countless people tell me they google DDD when they travel or that they watch DDD with their kids. So to have it show up at your business is a big deal, but it also is really fun,” said Kellan.
Kellan said he was amazed at how much Fieri knew about the restaurant and brewery when he arrived.
“He truly came prepared for the kitchen and had clearly read up a ton for that part of the episode, but he also had clearly read up on WISEACRE as he referenced our backgrounds, cities where we had lived, and work we did before the brewery opened,” said Kellan. “A big part of why the show has had such appeal and longevity is because Guy Fieri himself is a real tour de force and as far as we can tell a genuinely good person too.”
How to watch “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’
The episode titled “Hearty Handfuls” is described on FoodNetwork.com as: “This trip, Guy Fieri's digging into hearty handfuls of major flavor. First up, a funky joint in Memphis, Tenn., is taking pizza and wings to the next level. Then, in Calgary, Alberta, an authentic Mexican spot is dishing out legit chicharron and tasty tacos, and in St. Simons Island, Ga., it's a taste of Argentina with elevated empanadas and the bomb beef short ribs.”
The episode will re-air on Food Network on these dates: Jan. 13 at 11 p.m.; Jan. 20 at 10 p.m.; Jan. 21 at 1 a.m. It is also available on streaming services.
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining Reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at [email protected] and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.
If you want to keep up with the tastiest news in the Bluff City — like the story above, sign up for our Eat Drink Memphis weekly newsletter for a hearty serving of stories on everything from restaurants to recipes. You can sign up here.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Little Bettie Pizza on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: What Guy Fieri said
