Chefs Nick Krunkkala and Caroline Zeller are the driving force behind Oysterhead Pizza Co., a tiny shop perched above the flowing Damariscotta River, about an hour-and-a-half north of Portland. This vacation town now has a serious pizzeria, where the dough is thoughtfully made and the wood-fired (rotating) deck oven burns a bit lower than your typical Neapolitan joint, producing chewy-crunchy pies. Also, Nick is a whiz with naming his pizzas.
Nov 20, 2020•26 min
Noah Sandoval has to be the only two-star Michelin chef currently making pizza. His fine dining restaurant - Oriole - was taking a break during the pandemic, so he and his business partners came up with a new take on Sicilian pizza, previously unseen in Chicago. With complete humility, he reached out to an expert in Las Vegas for guidance. The result? Pizza Friendly Pizza in the Ukrainian Village/Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Nov 06, 2020•26 min
Mike Keon and his business partner, Anthony Allen, founded Otto Pizza in 2009 in Portland, Maine. Over the past decade, they've expanded in New England, due in part to their creative take on toppings - including bacon, mashed potatoes and scallions, among others. Steve spoke with Mike just a few yards from the original store in downtown Portland.
Oct 23, 2020•22 min
Michael Zaffiro was born into the pizza business. His family has run Zaffiro's for more than 60 years, satisfying a local craving for thin and crispy, square-cut "bar pies" that rule in the Midwest. He shares a few family secrets in this very candid interview.
Oct 09, 2020•22 min
Steve Lanzalotta created a unique Sicilian-style of pan pizza while working at Micucci Grocery in Portland, Maine, but after a falling-out, left to continue that tradition with partners Emily Kingsbury and Chris Bassett at Slab Sicilian Street Food, located in the old Public Market. You can get one pound slices, four pound half sheets or even 8 pounders (entire sheet pans) that look like bricks, but eat like feathers. The key is hand-mixing and making dough throughout the day (plus high hydratio...
Sep 25, 2020•26 min
Thomas McNaughton has had success with Flour + Water in San Francisco for more than a decade, but he wanted something more substantial than the delicate Neapolitan pies from that wood-burning oven. His latest - Flour + Water Pizzeria, in the Mission - emphasizes long fermentation, wet dough and electric ovens, to produce some glorious pizzas with exceptional crumb.
Sep 11, 2020•22 min
For the past 15 years, Jonathan Goldsmith has led the charge for authentic Neapolitan pizzas in Chicago at Spacca Napoli, a result of spending several years living and working in Italy alongside master pizzaiolos. But he got a late start in life, after spending many years in academia and clinical social work. He continues to train, educate and nurture others in the industry, while also furthering his own knowledge of the craft. These days, he's wrestling with the idea of putting in an electric o...
Aug 28, 2020•30 min
Neal DeNardi spent years working for various heavy hitters in San Francisco's pizza world: Pizza Hacker, Tony Gemignani, Del Popolo among them. His hard work led to the birth of his own place - Long Bridge Pizza - located in the Dogpatch neighborhood just south of downtown. If you miss the large, semi-greasy NYC-style slices from back East, you'll want to spend some time eating your way through his menu, which takes a more artisan approach to the standard slice.
Aug 14, 2020•25 min
When friends Brad Shorten, Cecily Rodriguez and Billy Federighi started @eatfreepizza on Instagram, they were known for giving away their handmade, artisan pies to their fans. Fast forward two years, and they're now making a legit East Coast Sicilian with a crispy undercarriage and a focaccia-like interior, from their take out window in Bridgeport. Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream may sell just three things, but pizza is their true passion.
Jul 31, 2020•25 min
This week, Steve takes the ferry from San Francisco's Ferry Building Market, for a peaceful 30-minute ride up to Larkspur, where Chef Mark Hopper has been working tirelessly on a pair of outstanding pizzas: one emerging from a wood-fired oven, the other a near perfect Sicilian square with lots of chew and crunch. Farmshop Marin is probably better known for their wood-fired pies, but you'd be a fool not to try the squares.
Jul 17, 2020•27 min
Noam Grossman grew up in New Jersey, eating cheese pizzas on a weekly basis. His love of pizza grew into not one, but two successful operations: Upside, in Midtown Manhattan, and now Norm's in downtown Brooklyn. In both cases, he is focused on high quality ingredients sourced from the best artisans. At Norm's, he's offering a clear alternative to the subpar $ .99 joints that dot the landscape.
Jul 03, 2020•25 min
Steve takes a slightly different approach to the term "pizza" this week, as he checks out the za'atar manoushe from Z & Z in Washington D.C., then a classic Turkish lahmacun from Turkitch in Chicago. Both are essentially flatbreads with savory toppings. But are they pizza?
Jun 19, 2020•25 min
When you're part of the Manresa group - a widely celebrated 3-star Michelin rated restaurant in Los Gatos, California - you focus on ingredients and technique. Avery Ruzicka has worked with Chef David Kinch for almost a decade, but over the past few years she's been focused on Manresa Bread, with three locations in Silicon Valley. At her Campbell, CA location, she does a "Pizza Night" on Wednesdays, selling an artisan Sicilian pan pizza; while it's on hiatus during the pandemic, she's hoping to ...
Jun 05, 2020•25 min
Steve sits down with one half of the team behind Sofia Pizza Shoppe, on the East Side of Manhattan, just North of the United Nations. Tommy DeGrezia is the force behind the "Doughdici," as well as a number of creative slices at this tiny shop on 1st Avenue. Known for their ideal NYC triangles and Grandma-style squares, the shop also gets creative with vodka sauce and a spinach-artichoke flavor that initially went viral (in a good way).
May 22, 2020•27 min
Danny Stoller and Mark Shechter finally opened Square Pie Guys after many months of doing pop-ups in San Francisco. Their pizzeria reflects their love of Detroit-style, but they definitely take some liberties, not adhering to all of the Detroit-style rules (no Wisconsin brick cheese, for example). The result is a unique pan pie that is both delicious to look at as well as eat.
May 08, 2020•27 min
Rosanna D'Amato is the 3rd generation of her family to run the namesake bakery on the Near West Side of Chicago. Known for their coal-fired oven, D'Amato's produces some of the best sandwich bread and focaccia, but they also produce a Sicilian pan "bakery" pizza that is one-of-a-kind. Steve talks to Rosanna about how she grew up in the business and what makes their pizza so special.
Apr 24, 2020•24 min
Dave Acocella has spent a lifetime in the restaurant business, but waited until he was 50 before opening his own pizza place. Philomena's offers both traditional wedges and Roman-style squares, airy and light, with incredible crunch and chew. Despite most of his training on wood-fired ovens, his dexterity with ovens, and his embrace of the remarkable Roman square shows a keen eye and advanced palate.
Apr 10, 2020•25 min
Tony Gemignani has won multiple championships in Italy for his pizza making prowess, but he's also authored books on the subject, teaches would-be pizzaiolos how to make various styles (and certifies them) all while overseeing a pair of San Francisco pizzerias that produce upwards of 17 styles of regional pizza between them. Steve spent an afternoon talking (and eating) pizza with the man many refer to as the ultimate Pizza Ambassador.
Mar 27, 2020•28 min
Steve talks with Dan Costello, the President and CEO of Home Run Inn, one of the nation's largest frozen pizza companies (in 40 states), but also the great grandson of the founders of this Chicago-based pizzeria. They started on the city's Southwest Side, offering square-cut, thin pizzas, which have come to define Chicago pizza (among locals). They have no idea how a deep-dish is made.
Mar 13, 2020•28 min
Steve talks with Massimo Laviglia, proud son of Tuscany, who only moved to the U.S. in 2012. His story of hard work, perserverence and most important of all, his courage to ask for help from some of New York's top pizza makers, ended up saving his fledgling business from going under. Laviglia is now widely considered one of the top pizza makers in New York City, and L'industrie is a must-stop if you're ever in Brooklyn.
Feb 28, 2020•25 min
Derrick Tung gave up med school, then a promising career in healthcare administration to pursue his love of pizza. He reached out Paulie Gee in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, seeking his advice, and it led to a partnership in Chicago. Tung has expanded beyond the store's usual wood-fired pies to include a remarkable Detroit-style that's winning awards.
Feb 14, 2020•29 min
Steve sits down with Paulie Gee, of the namesake wood-fired pizzeria in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, at his new slice joint just a couple of blocks away. Paulie talks about ditching his corporate I.T. job for a life in pizza. He has become a mentor to many young pizza makers in the country, and has even sprouted additional locations in three other cities.
Jan 31, 2020•31 min
Steve sits down with John Arena, a native New Yorker who moved to Las Vegas 40 years ago to make his name in pizza. What he learned along the way was invaluable, and he's taught a generation of young pizza makers how to navigate the business. As the owner of Metro Pizza, he's also overseen the growth of the industry in his adopted hometown, now host to the annual International Pizza Expo and the Las Vegas Pizza Festival.
Jan 17, 2020•27 min
Steve talks with Arthur Bovino, the guy behind thepizzacowboy.com, @nycbestpizza and the driving force behind The Daily Meal's annual "101 Best Pizzas in America" list. They met at Leo in Williamsburg, to try some Roman pizza, and talk about the business of covering the pizza world in New York City.
Jan 03, 2020•31 min
Steve talks with Vincent Rotolo, the driving force behind Good Pie in Las Vegas. Rotolo is a native New Yorker (grew up working at John's on Bleeker) who brought his love and passion for pizza to the desert. He is part of a growing roster of pizza makers there, raising the level of pizza quality in the city that hosts the International Pizza Summit every Spring.
Dec 20, 2019•27 min
Leo Spizzirri is the driving force behind only the second North American branch of the famed Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli. This pizza school has a location in San Francisco, but Spizzirri now has an accredited program about 45 min. west of downtown Chicago. He talks about how he got into the business, fell in love with Italy's regional styles, then convinced Italian authorities to let him open a school in the Midwest. Some classes are for die-hards who want to open their own pizzerias, while others...
Dec 06, 2019•26 min
Steve talks with Chicago native Jared Leonard about his latest pizzeria - Grabowski's - located in the RiNo District of Denver. Leonard is bringing the pizza of his childhood (that means tavern-style, thin, square-cut pizzas) to his newly adopted home.
Nov 22, 2019•25 min
Steve talks with Adam Sweet, an Arkansas native who ended up in Indiana. His first King Dough started on the campus of Indiana University, but he more recently opened in Indianapolis, directly across the street from Smoking Goose Meatery, a world-class producer of cured and smoked meats, and the collaboration has been a delicious one.
Nov 08, 2019•22 min
Steve travels to New Haven, CT, home to Yale, as well as some of the most revered pizza joints in the country. He meets up with Colin Caplan, the author of "Pizza in New Haven" and Owner of Taste of New Haven Tours. Steve (and a few lucky contest winners) learn about the city's unique pizza history, then taste the legendary pies at Frank Pepe's, Sally's and Modern.
Oct 25, 2019•34 min
Steve talks with Marc Malnati, the President of Lou Malnati's, Chicago's most prolific deep-dish purveyor. Opened in 1971 by his late father, they just opened a new store beneath Michigan Avenue this month; the company sells nearly six million pizzas a year, and are known as one of the original sources of authentic deep-dish in Chicago.
Oct 11, 2019•33 min
