Valley-based Venezia’s Pizzeria makes appearance on TV’s ‘Better Call Saul’

Venezia’s Pizzeria, the locally owned chain that garnered fame a couple of years ago for an appearance on the critically acclaimed cable TV drama ‘‘Breaking Bad,’’ made a curtain call Monday.

The pizzeria made a surprise appearance on the latest episode of ‘‘Better Call Saul,’’ the ‘‘Breaking Bad’’ spinoff on AMC. A character on the show that Jimmy (aka Saul) is planning to rip off orders a Venezia’s pizza, confirming that he wants it “sliced, please.”

That’s a sly reference to the ‘‘Breaking Bad’’ episode in which main character Walter White tosses an unsliced Venezia’s pizza onto the roof of his house. Later in the episode, another character explains the pizzeria doesn’t cut its pizzas to “pass the savings onto you.”

(The unsliced part was made up. Venezia’s normally slices its pizza.)

Because ‘‘Better Call Saul’’ is a prequel – it’s set in the years prior to ‘‘Breaking Bad’’ – Venezia’s owner Domenick Montanile recreated a menu from the early 2000s for the show.

Both TV shows are set in Albuquerque, where Venezia’s had a location that became popular with the ‘‘Breaking Bad’’ cast. That location has since closed.