Pritty Boys Pizzeria Opens in Madrona with Phoenicia Chef

Pritty Boys Family Pizzeria opened quietly in Madrona shortly before Memorial Day weekend, in the former home of Dulces Latin Bistro. In the kitchen masterminding the pies is chef Byron Hummel, best known for revamping the menu at West Seattle neighborhood restaurant Phoenicia after the passing of much-loved owner Hussein Khazaal.

The restaurant is currently open for dinner, but will expand to lunch service starting Saturday. Recent weeks have brought big changes to Madrona's main drag, with Pritty Boys opening just a few days after the debut of the Molly Moon's micro-shop a few doors down.

Wondering about the name? Pritty Boys is owned by Darren and Janine Pritt, and apparently their sons will be around as well. Darren Pritt is also involved with Belltown restaurant Branzino (which has a pizza reputation of its own) and the Madrona-based Neighborhood Cooking Foundation, which provides monthly meals for the homeless.

Pritty Boys has kept quiet about its opening and doesn't yet have a functioning website. However Madrona Seattle blog has kept tabs on its progress, and reports that the restaurant has a play area for younger kids, plus some video games to keep teens occupied ? a logical arrangement in kid-filled Madrona. Lisa Kennelly's early Central District News piece on the project says the video game area occupies what was once the cigar room at Dulces.

Hummel helped make Phoenicia a destination for pizzas; their house pies are known for enormous, puffed-up crusts, or corniciones if you want to get all technical about it. Local pizza blogger Adam Lindsley dubbed it "the mightiest crust in Seattle." However early reports say Pritty Boys is serving up thinner, crisper pies.

One final "everything in Seattle is interconnected" factoid: According to Providence Cicero, Hummel's background includes training at Januik/Novelty Hill Winery under Charles Walpole, who recently announced his plans to leave Anchovies & Olives to pursue his own project (and cook at Marjorie along the way).

· Madrona's Pritty Boys Family Pizzeria Opening Soon [Madrona, Seattle]
[Photo: Flora B./Yelp]