First Stop: V Lounge, Honolulu, Hawaii

For the first stop of The Pizza Therapy Hawaiian Pizza Crawl, we stopped at V Lounge.

We were there a little early and had a chance to meet Aker, master pizzaiolo and Blaine one of the owners.

Aker stretching the dough.

It's always great to speak with people who share your own passion for pizza. Aker and Blaine have the passion. We talked about Chris Bianco,   wood fired pizza ovens, New York pizza and also discussed Pepe's and Sally's Apizza (located on Woooster Street in New Haven, Connecticut.)

 Aker explained that he was born in New Haven.  Hmm, I wonder if that had something to do with how the pizza turned out.

Honestly, I was astounded at their extensive knowledge about pizza. These guys know their stuff.

Aker, is a classically trained Chef who only recently started to make pizza. His last job was as a pastry chef at a famous Japanese Restaurant. As a matter of fact he never made pizza commercially until he started making pizza at V Lounge.

Aker explained that he mixes all of his dough by hand.

Albert's side bar: That's how Chris Bianco makes his dough. By hand. Every bit.

 He makes it the day before and allows it to proof before being ready. He also makes all of his own mozzarella. He was proud of the fact that all of the pizzas contain locally grown ingredients.

 He only makes enough dough for 72 pizzas. So you need to put your order in early if you don't want to be left out.

The wood fired oven uses kiawe wood from Molokai. Kiawe burns very hot, which is important. There really is an art to using a wood fired oven.

After much discussion, our pizzas were ready.

The verdict: in a word: amazing. The crust is light with a slight burn. The tastes of the ingredients melded together to create a wonderful pizza.

Without a doubt this is Artisan pizza. Delicate, tasty with the boldness of the dough shining through.

Without a doubt this is some of the finest pizza in Hawaii. I predict a long future for Aker and his pizzas.
Given the fact that he has been doing this for such a short time, I am confident his pizza will just get better and better.

Here is the video of our visit:




And yes, we will be back.

V Lounge

1344 Kona St.
Honolulu, HI 96814
808-953 0007

More on The Pizza Therapy Hawaiian Pizza Crawl, soon.

pizza all over Honolulu,
Albert Grande
The Pizza Promoter

You can find the Best Pizza in Hawaii at this page.


If you are interested in making pizza, I recommend, The Pizza Therapy Pizza Book

Also, I urge you to check out his book: