Iconic riverside bar will be slinging only 75 deep-dish rectangular pizzas a day.
Melbourne’s much loved floating bar and restaurant Arbory Afloat will be hosting a Detroit Style Pizza (DSP) pop-up, serving a special menu of signature Detroit deep pan goodness from 12–31 March, with only 75 of the 8 × 10 inch cheesy rectangular pizzas available each day.
The DSPs will be dished up by Arbory Afloat’s resident pizza phenomenon Salim Gafayri (ex-Bar Nacional and Cecconi’s Flinders Lane) and Executive Chef Nick Bennett.
Topped with plenty of cheese from edge to edge before more ingredients are added, the DSP is baked in a hot deck oven resulting in a fluffy pizza with crisp cheesy edges and a slightly chewy centre. Referred to as an upside-down pizza because they are built in reverse, the DSP is topped with sauce post-bake.
“The combination of the cheese, dough, toppings and the cooking pan makes DSP the ultimate pizza. The dough is made from a specific blend of flours, hydration level and fermentation time, which creates a unique crust and flavour like no other,” says Gafayri. “And the smell when you take it out of the over is like something Melburnians have never experienced before,” adds Bennett.
DSPs are cooked in a rectangular pan, with the rumour that the idea originated when the inventors were looking for a new pan to bake pizza in when they discovered an unused automotive oil drip tray (Lloyd pan).
The DSP pop-up at Arbory Afloat will feature the following five pizza varieties at $26 each:
• Detroit Style Margherita – cheese, Arbory’s red sauce & parmesan
• Classic Pepperoni – cheese, Arbory’s red sauce, pepperoni & jalapeño
• Supreme – cheese, Italian sausage, pancetta, olive, green pepper & Arbory’s
red sauce
• Detroit Style Funghi – cheese, mixed mushrooms, goat’s feta, caramelised
onion, truffle oil & rocket
• DSP of the day
The pop-up starts Friday, 12 March and will run daily until Wednesday, 31 March. Only 75 pizzas will be available daily from 11:30am. To make sure you get your hands on one, Arbory Afloat is offering special DSP packages for groups of three to eight people, including snacks to start, DSPs for mains and wine to share around. For more information, bookings or enquiries, head to the website.
So run, don’t walk.
Arbory Afloat
Northbank Yarra River, Melbourne VIC 3000
03 9629 1547
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Images: Simon Shiff