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.
Archives: Podcasts
Marc Malnati from Lou Malnati’s in Chicago
Steve talks with Marc Malnati, President and CEO of Lou Malnati’s, the mammoth deep-dish pizza group started by his father in 1971. With more than 50 locations, Lou’s has become the largest deep-dish slinger in the country, and as Marc explains, their approach is more independently-minded than that of a large chain. Marc tells the story of how his father (and grandfather) were linked to the birth of deep-dish in 1943.
Steven Dilley from Bufalina in Austin, TX
Steve talks with Steven Dilley, the owner of Bufalina and Bufalina Due in Austin, Texas. Dilley’s parents are Italian and Taiwanese, so he has a unique perspective on food; his experience in the financial world in New York City, combined with some traveling and research in Naples, led to Bufalina in 2013 in East Austin. He talks about the city’s pizza scene, and why he didn’t bother trying to attain VPN certification for his thin and blistered pies.
Chris Bianco from The Manufactory in L.A. and Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix
Steve talks to Chris Bianco – of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix – about his new collaboration with Tartine Bakery’s Chad Robertson and Elizabeth Prueitt, in The Manufactory in downtown L.A. He’s focusing on flatbreads, rather than the wood-fired pies he’s known for, but the scale of the operation is mighty impressive.
Michael Schwartz from Genuine Pizza in Miami
Steve talks to Chef Michael Schwartz, the owner of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami and Cleveland. Schwartz’s new book, “Genuine Pizza: Better Pizza at Home” just came out, and Schwartz was in Chicago recently, doing a takeover of one of the ovens at Pacific Standard Time. He talks about some of the must-have tools for home pizza-making, but also discusses how he grew up on bad pizza in Philadelphia, then eventually opened Harry’s Pizza in the Design District of Miami, which led to the name change more recently to the Genuine Pizza brand.
Robert Garvey from Robert’s Pizza & Dough Co. in Chicago
Robert Garvey is an engineer-turned-playwright-turned-pizzaiolo, who grew up in Queens with a slice-a-day habit. Moving to Chicago in 1993, he started tinkering with dough recipes and spent the next decade or so, tweaking his recipe until he got it right. He recently re-opened his namesake pizzeria in Chicago after being closed for nearly two years, and his memorable pies are better than ever.
Justin De Leon from Apollonia’s Pizza in L.A.
Steve talks with Justin De Leon, a former professional photographer who has married his love of photography with his passion for pizza. Having grown up with heavy pizza in Monterey Park, he has spent years developing his Sicilian/Angeleno squares at Apollonia’s, which have enormous interior crumb and impossibly high cheese fricos around the lacy edges. The fact he knows how to photograph them makes them even more irresistible on Instagram.
Anthony Falco: International Pizza Consultant
Anthony Falco was one of the founders of the beloved Roberta’s, in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Over the past three years, he has become a pizzaiolo for-hire. He’s set up new pizzerias all over the world, and continues to create new, artisan options for some pizza shops in the U.S. as well. We met at Upside Pizza, in Midtown Manhattan, one of Falco’s recent clients, to learn more about how he’s helping pizzeria owners improve – and in some cases, create – their pizzas.
Dan Richer from Razza in Jersey City, NJ
Dan Richer’s pizzas have been praised by The New York Times (which awarded the restaurant 3 stars) as well as the Italian-based 50 Top Pizzas list (where his place landed at #1 in North America). His meticulousness and attention to his craft has won him fans around the country; he recently did a series of pop-ups with the likes of Mozza’s Nancy Silverton in L.A. In this episode, I talk with Dan about how he built Razza over a couple of gelatos at Freddy’s in Cicero, IL, where I met him on a recent trip to Chicago.
Frank Tuttolomondo from Mama’s Too! in New York City
Steve talks with Frank Tuttolomondo, owner of Mama’s TOO! on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Frank’s family has owned Mama’s Pizza nearby for nearly 60 years, but his approach to pizza making is far different. He experiments with hydration levels, baking technique and fermentation, but also offers a more artisan approach to Sicilian and classic wedges (baked in gas ovens).
