“It’s a Different Dimension of Pizza”

That’s what Guy Fieri declared after biting into the Thud Butt pizza at Little Betty, the scratch kitchen tucked inside the massive Wiseacre Brewing facility on BB King Boulevard in Memphis, Tennessee. When Guy pulled up, his first thought was “this is like Strange Brew” — a gigantic beer brewing factory with a little pizza joint inside that’s making just about everything from scratch.

The Thud Butt Pizza: Weird in the Best Way

Brothers Kell and Dave Bot, along with Chef Jared Riddle, are playing a game of go big or go home at Little Betty. Their signature Thud Butt pizza features a Mortadella base with ricotta cream, crushed pistachios, black pepper honey, and house-made stracciatella cheese. Yes, they make their own stracciatella — hand-pulling hot cheese curds until they get nice strands, then mixing it with heavy cream and salt.

But what really sets this pie apart is the dough. Chef Jared uses beer wort — the sugar water that feeds yeast to produce alcohol in brewing — right in the pizza dough. The process starts with a poolish made from room temperature water and bloomed yeast with high gluten flour, rested for 12 hours. Then they build the final dough with water, beer wort, ice, olive oil, and a blend of three flours: “O” flour, “A” flour, and high gluten bread flour. After proofing and portioning, the dough ideally rests for three days before use.

Guy watched the team roll out the “super tacky” dough by hand — what he called the “flippy dippy hippie arm swinger” technique — before loading it with ricotta cream, mozzarella, and Mortadella. After baking at 550 degrees for roughly 10 minutes, they finish it with dollops of stracciatella, their signature pistachio crunch, pecorino, and that black pepper honey.

The pistachio crunch alone had Guy hooked: toasted pistachios mixed with brown butter solids, milk powder, and lemon zest. “That’s awesome,” Guy said, noting it would be killer on yogurt or ice cream too. Similar to how chefs get creative with unexpected toppings like a PICKLE PIZZA, the Little Betty crew isn’t afraid to experiment.

Imagine the Future Wings

The wings at Little Betty are equally unconventional. Called Imagine the Future Wings, they feature a flavor profile unlike typical Memphis wings — topped with Capers, olives, and a dill aioli that Guy said “could cure all ailments.”

The process starts with a 24-hour saltwater brine, followed by par-blanching. The wing sauce combines Worcestershire, pepper vinegar, Calabrian chilies, honey chili sauce, and buffalo sauce. Guy called it “sauce gone wild” with its balance of sweet, heat, and tang.

The Sicilian crunch topping is made by dehydrating capers and Castelvetrano olives, then grinding them together in a spice grinder. The dill aioli brings it all together: mayonnaise, crème fraîche, minced dill, green onion, and brunoise celery.

Guy’s verdict: “The briny crunch funk on top of this brined wing which is nice and juicy and plump with a little bit of the Wango Tango spicy sweet honey sauce combo package… I never would have put all of those flavors together.”

Tips from the Little Betty Kitchen

On pizza dough: “If you don’t have good dough, you don’t have good pizza.” Use a poolish for depth of flavor and give your dough time — ideally three days after portioning.

On stracciatella: Work hot cheese curds by hand until you get nice strands, ball it up, let it tighten, then break it off and mix with heavy cream and salt.

On wing brining: A full 24-hour brine makes wings “nice and juicy and plump.”

The Full Experience

With 25-ish beers on tap and food that pushes boundaries, Little Betty delivers what Guy called “trippy dynamite.” One customer summed it up perfectly when asked if they come for the food or the beer: “Both. The more beers you drink, the more wings you can eat.”

Looking for more boundary-pushing Southern spots? Check out Real Deal Soul Food in Savannah, GA or explore our full restaurant directory to find Triple D locations near you.