Customers lined up outside Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana in Gaithersburg on Father’s Day for a one-day collaboration featuring fried chicken sandwiches and doughnuts instead of the restaurant’s usual award-winning Neapolitan pizza. The demand was enough to sell out the entire menu in about an hour (video of the sandwiches and doughnuts can be seen below).
According to Inferno, approximately 180 chicken sandwiches and 350 Curiosity Doughnuts were sold before everything was gone. The pop-up is one of several special events Inferno hosts throughout the year, with Curiosity Doughnuts regularly serving as part of the collaboration.
Curiosity Doughnuts was founded by husband-and-wife chefs Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa, who first became known in the culinary world through their influential Ideas in Food blog and cookbook. Before launching the doughnut concept, the pair spent years consulting for acclaimed restaurants, researching food science, and developing innovative cooking techniques.
They later brought that same meticulous approach to doughnuts, experimenting with hydration levels, flour blends, and frying methods to create unique dough styles designed to maximize flavor and texture.
Inferno, led by Chef Tony Conte, has built a reputation as one of the region’s top pizzerias. The Gaithersburg restaurant has previously earned international recognition, including a spot on Italy’s prestigious 50 Top Pizza rankings.
While pizza is normally the main attraction, the Father’s Day pop-up showed that diners are just as eager to line up for Chef Conte’s limited-time collaborations. Within roughly an hour of opening, every chicken sandwich and every Curiosity Doughnut had been claimed. Disclosure: While documenting the event, Inferno Pizzeria provided us with two chicken sandwiches and four Curiosity Doughnuts.
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