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Stanford has the best pizza, declared BTS member V on May 16 at the K-pop group’s Stanford concert.
It didn’t take the BTS ARMY long to figure out what pizzeria V was referring to. On May 11, the boy band was spotted dining at Redwood City’s Vesta, a 14-year-old wood-fired pizza restaurant on Broadway. After announcing his love for Stanford pizza, V and other members returned to Vesta twice, according to owner Peter Borrone.
“The whole experience, even up until now, has been amazing,” the Redwood City resident said. “It’s very surreal.”
The first time BTS came to dine at Vesta they were accompanied by their manager and security, sitting in a back room that patrons must walk through to access the patio, Borrone recalled. Two other two-tops were also seated in the room. Because of the group size, they ordered everything on the menu, according to Borrone, including salads, small plates and all sorts of pizzas.
“Their favorite pizzas, though, are the pepperoni and the sausage and honey,” he said. “The pepperoni has a Calabrian spiced honey that we put on it, and then the sausage and honey has honey and serranos on it. So they really like that sweet and spicy.”
Borrone decided not to post about the group’s visit on social media or tell people outside of friends and family that they had visited in the hopes that BTS may return to Vesta – and they did. On Monday, V and j-hope came back, sitting again the back room. But this time, Vesta was flooded with the BTS Army, who came to Vesta after hearing that the group had dined there.
“Some fans saw them, and it was the coolest thing to see the excitement, the energy of these people sitting there staying calm, but so excited and enjoying everything about it, and they were so respectful,” Borrone said.
The next morning, Borrone decided to buy tickets to the Stanford concert that night for him, his wife and two kids.
“It was amazing,” he said. “And at the end of the show, again, V mentions how much he loves the pizza here. And we’re just so ecstatic.”
After coming back from the concert, Borrone was inundated with texts letting him know that BTS was livestreaming while eating Vesta’s pizza and desserts.
“It was so wild to sit there and watch that after we just watched them perform,” Borrone said.
Since May 16, Vesta has been extra busy, with the BTS Army curiously asking about the staff’s experience with the K-pop group, what they ate and where they sat.
“The entire experience has been unforgettable,” Borrone said. “Having BTS, the biggest band in the world, visit our family restaurant and offer such high praise is incredible … We are forever grateful for this experience.”
Vesta, 2022 Broadway, Redwood City; 650-362-5052, Instagram: @vestarwc. Open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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