Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This episode of the New Yorkers podcast is brought to you by new york100.org recognizing excellence across New York City's five boroughs. Hello, everyone and welcome to the New Yorkers, a podcast by New York City Cop. I'm your host, Kelly Kopp, published photographer, New York City tour business owner, real estate content creator, podcaster, and above all else, a New Yorker.
Ladies and gentlemen, the next Brooklyn bound train in Valhe.
[00:00:29] Speaker B: Stand clear of the closing doors.
Transfer is available to the shovel to grab the central foreign.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: With me today I have Anthony Mangieri. He is a chef, businessman, and pizza connoisseur. But of all else, he is a New Yorker. Hey, Anthony, welcome to the show. How you doing today?
[00:01:17] Speaker B: Great. Thank you so much.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: What an honor to have you here. I'm excited for people to learn about you and what you do as well.
So, Anthony, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself.
Where are you from?
Tell us a little about your family too.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: And what you do.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Well, I'm born and raised in New Jersey, so originally not a New Yorker. Don't hold it against me.
[00:01:43] Speaker A: Close enough, though.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And I've been in New York, you know, since I've been coming to New York my whole life. I started coming up here when I was in high school to go to CBGBs. I would skip school and take the train up from where I lived.
And.
Yeah, and I'm a pizza maker. I opened the first restaurant in 1996 in New Jersey.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: Right.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: 2026 is going to be our 30th anniversary. Wow. Yeah. It's crazy.
And I have made every single pizza we've served for now coming on 30 years.
[00:02:18] Speaker A: You make every single pizza yourself?
[00:02:21] Speaker B: Every single piece of dough that We've served for 30 years I've made.
[00:02:24] Speaker A: That's amazing. And what is the reason that you do that?
Like, you know, a lot of people have a staff to do that too.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Yeah, no, I have a great staff.
Mostly it's honestly selfish reasons because I really want to be better at what I do. So as crazy as I think some people think that is, I really do come in every day kind of like thinking like today I'm gonna figure something out, be better at it. So I'm still excited every day when I'm going to work. So that's really the reason. I have a great team and my wife Christina's a part of the restaurant and I'm very blessed in many ways. But I'm also just kind of still searching to make a Better product. So that's why I do that.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: And you've been doing this for how many years?
[00:03:13] Speaker B: You said we're going to be coming on our 30th anniversary, but I've been doing it since I'm 15 years old and I'm 53, so a long time.
[00:03:23] Speaker A: I love how you said you, you know, just a moment ago you said you're, you know, just to be. You want to continue to be. I forget how you worded it, but you know, better or something. I keep doing it and it's 30 years later and you strive every single day.
[00:03:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:35] Speaker A: Be better. That's fascinating. So how did you get into the pizza business? Like, where did you start? What was your, you know, interest?
[00:03:43] Speaker B: Well, I grew up, as I said, New Jersey. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. She lived right down the street from us. My family is originally from Campania in Italy.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:03:54] Speaker B: And I just kind of grew up, like, I've always been into history and family history and old school places like. And I just kind of fell in love with, you know, Naples and that part of the world and the Italian American culture that I was growing up in. And I just, I was balancing those interests at that young age of like, at this point we're talking probably like 10 or 11 with skateboarding, BMX racing, punk rock music, rock, heavy metal.
[00:04:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: And just kind of being a normal kid in the suburbs in the 70s. And little by little, the food side of things started to get a stronger hold on me. And so when I got out of high school, I eventually opened up a little bread bakery in New Jersey where I made hand mixed dough, wood fire baked, but with the dream to open a pizzeria. But at the time I didn't have the money to open like a sit down restaurant with like a nice bathroom and all that stuff. So I opened like a little storefront with just the counter and made bread. And that was really the beginnings. And that was probably in 1993, maybe.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:05:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: And how did that business do with the bread?
[00:05:12] Speaker B: It was a little bit ahead of its time where I was, you know, there were some great bakers around the US but it was definitely before the artisan bread movement.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.
[00:05:23] Speaker B: Yeah. And so most. And I didn't really know what I was doing either. I was like, it was a lot of trial and error and I was.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: You didn't know you were doing, but you opened your own business. So my point is that's inspirational right there.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: You just, right there, very Entrepreneurial.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Right. Right there.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: In general, I'm kind of like, yeah, so figuring stuff out and finding my way around stuff.
[00:05:43] Speaker A: I think that's fascinating because you're like, I'm going to open a business and with no trepidation. Yeah, that's the right word. You just did it.
[00:05:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: At a young age. What, early 20s, I'm assuming.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: I was probably 21 at the old. At the most, you know.
[00:05:57] Speaker A: That's fascinating.
[00:05:58] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:05:59] Speaker A: That's really cool.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: I mean, I truly didn't know what I was doing and I mean, also though, you know, the, the probably one of the benefits to doing it back then as opposed to now was you didn't have the instant kind of feedback because there was no social media, there was no Internet, there was no.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: Right.
[00:06:19] Speaker B: I'm not even. I don't even think we had cell phone. I didn't have a cell phone back then.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: Yeah. I think we're the same age.
[00:06:24] Speaker B: Yeah. How old are you?
[00:06:26] Speaker A: I am 57.
[00:06:28] Speaker B: I'm 50. So we're almost. I'm 53.
[00:06:30] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, you're young. Oh, you're way younger than you. No, no, no.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: I'm like, I'm aging by the second, as we all are, I guess.
[00:06:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: But yeah, so it was kind of cool because you could do stuff back then. It was harder to find information out, obviously. You had to really want to know something and want to learn something. But when you did things, you also could kind of do things and not be great at it and it wouldn't be like posted on the Internet.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: Right.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: This place is terrible. This guy sucks and you're out of business.
So you could kind of like have a bad day and the 10 people that came in knew and no one else did. So it was kind of cool, like in that era to like, good point things out.
[00:07:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:12] Speaker B: Now it's in a way, I think, you know, more pressure because, you know, people. People can post about it and know about it pretty quickly and, you know, you don't have time to figure things out the same way.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: That's so true. Yeah, that's so true. So then from the, the bread, you know, the artisan bread shop you were doing, then what happened then? Where'd that go? Where'd you go from there?
[00:07:33] Speaker B: Right. So. So I did that and it was really a lot of work. People didn't really get it.
You know, I was making like wood fire baked breads. The cr. Crust was like kind of burnt on the bottom.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: Thick crusted. People would buy it and squeeze it, be like, oh, it's not fresh. I'm like, no, it's like hard crusted. And I did that. And I like, you know, didn't have a car, didn't have a girlfriend, didn't. Wasn't making any money.
And I kind of was seeing my friends, kind of going to college and, like, getting girlfriends and, like, having a good life. And I was like, maybe this isn't what I should do with my life, you know? And I started to really question it and. But that spark of opening a pizzeria was still there. And I did manage to save a little bit of money over those three years. And I found this spot that was available for rent. It was really basic, but it was all tiled and everything. It used to be an ice cream shop, and it was a little closer to where I grew up from where I had opened the bakery.
[00:08:36] Speaker A: And this is New Jersey.
[00:08:37] Speaker B: New Jersey still? Yeah.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: And I'm in the city again.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: The. The bakery was in Red Bank, New Jersey, and the pizzeria was in Point Pleasant Beach.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Okay.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: And I grew up in, like, Ocean County, Toms river, right near the beach.
So I was like, you know, let me take a shot. My mom was very, very supportive, emotionally, always of everything I did in my life, which was a big deal, because, you know, as you mentioned, I didn't know what I was doing. And, you know, I was seeing all my friends go on in life and stuff, and I. She just was very supportive. So that gave me a lot of, like, inner strength to keep going.
And I was like, you know, what the heck, Let me try. It opened up the pizzeria very bare bones, no employees, me doing everything. And there was a woman that had written an article about the bread, and it got a little bit of press, and she was on the James Beard Foundation.
[00:09:31] Speaker A: Oh, nice.
[00:09:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
She had found me when I opened the pizzeria and wrote another article and was, like, really complimentary of the pizza. And that was just really the beginnings then. And I kind of.
It was easier to do. It was less. You know, it was very tough baking bread because the money was very small. And I was working from like, ten at night until like, two in the afternoon, seven days a week.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: And what age are you now here at doing this?
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Now? We're probably like, I'm still in my early 20s.
[00:10:01] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: When I opened the pizzeria.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: That's impressive.
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. So then I opened the pizzeria, and, you know, it was near the beach.
It was still tough because people didn't really know neapolitan pizza at the time. And I think we were probably one of the first, if not the first in the United States to do this.
[00:10:18] Speaker A: And what is Neapolitan pizza? Did I say it right?
[00:10:21] Speaker B: Yeah, Neapolitan or pizza.
I mean it's kind of evolved, but let's just say back then it was a 12 inch pizza.
It was an individual pizza was meant to be eaten as a whole.
[00:10:35] Speaker A: Right.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: It usually wasn't sliced, so you'd get a knife, fork and have to cut it. It was cooked in a wood fired oven. It was usually soft, a little wet. It was usually lightly topped. So it didn't fit like what we know of as like Italian American pizza or what people were used to. So it was tough. It was a tough like thing for people to understand at the time. And especially being in New Jersey where, you know, there's a big Italian American culture and they were kind of like, they like pizza the way that they like it, Italian American style and, and it was tough near the beach and all this stuff.
[00:11:10] Speaker A: Right. So there's one question I have too here, Anthony, is I read that you like to keep the menu small too. Is that true? Like for instance, if you perfect pizzas, small starters, things like that in general with your pizza joint at your pizza places?
[00:11:27] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I mean it evolved from the first place. I mean the very first one in 96 had two kinds of pizza. Margherita, which is tomato sauce and cheese, and marinara, which is tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and no cheese. Yeah, it's evolved from that, you know, to where we are now. But still everything on the menu is very purposeful and everything complements each other and, and I am a very strong believer that everything on the menu needs to be there for a reason. Just like in the dish itself. I, I really love food that like when you eat it, everything in the dish makes sense. There's not when you're eating it and there's like one ingredient where you're like, that didn't really need to be in there. But the chef wanted to show off this thing that makes no sense.
[00:12:17] Speaker A: Right.
[00:12:17] Speaker B: So I'm just like, for at least it makes sense to me.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: It does.
[00:12:20] Speaker B: It represents me and is true to what I think tastes good. So.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: And it definitely works.
I mean, we'll talk about where it's brought you. So how many. So you've had a few restaurants. Can you tell us about those? So sure. You started in New Jersey, like the bread rest, you know, like the artisan bread. Yeah, yep. Bakery and then this first pizza joint that you have had. And then what happened?
[00:12:45] Speaker B: So I had that place, Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, in 96. I opened it, and then, you know, I did that for about. I'm. I'm not great with dates and numbers, but I'm rough. Rough estimating.
I did that for about eight years. And then I had really. You know, I was coming up to New York then a lot, like, on my days off, and I would eat out all the time and go to all the hottest restaurants and. And I just was like, man, I want to be up here, and I want to show people what I'm doing.
And I used to get upset because I'd be in New Jersey and people would eat the pizza, and they'd be like, oh, it's good for New Jersey. And I'm like, oh. I'm like, I want to show people. It's just good. I don't care where you are.
[00:13:29] Speaker A: Right, exactly.
[00:13:30] Speaker B: So I really was planning and thinking about this, and so I eventually, after eight years, got to a place where I could try to open a place. And I was toying with going to California and opening a place because I had been going out there for mountain biking because I'm a cyclist.
But I just was like, you know, New York is where I need to be. It's like my home. It's where I always go. It's, like, close to where I grew up. It's just. It made sense to me. So that was what I ended up doing. So I. I found a little spot on 12th street in each village and, you know, signed a lease and signed my life away, and here we are.
[00:14:09] Speaker A: Oh, nice.
[00:14:10] Speaker B: 30 years later.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: So the spot that.
[00:14:13] Speaker B: No, no. Then evolved. So then I opened that one.
[00:14:16] Speaker A: How long were you with the one in the.
[00:14:19] Speaker B: Like, another eight years or so. The timing on that was beautiful because it was a really and still is an amazing food writer, Ed Levine, who.
That first woman that I had mentioned who was in the James Beard foundation stuff, he was working on a book about pizza. And she had said to him, I think at a James Beard thing, you got to come down and meet this guy that's making pizza. And he was like, the book's finished. Like, I'm not. You know, I have no. I'm not adding anybody else. And she was like, must come. She forced him to come down. He took the train down. I was a big fan, so I had read this book for anyone listening, called New York Eats, which was, like, back then, it was the bible of places to go in New York. And I would have my mom drive me around every bagel shop and bakery and anything else that was in that book. I love that book. So I was super excited to meet him. He came down, fortunately, loved what I was doing. He hit it off, and he included me in the book in a very big way.
[00:15:22] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: And timing wise, when I was ready to open the one in New York, the book came out, and he was on a bunch of TV shows and stuff, talking about the book and what are his favorite places? And, you know, ours, one of them. And it just kind of set us off in the first kind of big steps of, like, getting some business.
[00:15:41] Speaker A: Do you remember a moment when you were like, you know what? What I'm doing is working. What? I love what I'm doing. I love. Obviously, what I'm doing is working.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: No, not really. I'm still waiting for that moment.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Oh, really?
Yeah.
[00:15:55] Speaker B: I mean, I say that kind of joking partially, but not totally either, because, you know, it's constant. Like, business is such a. Like there's so much flux in it and.
[00:16:05] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: You know, you.
You feel like you're killing it, and then all of a sudden, you're not. It's just like, I don't take anything for granted with work and with the restaurant, and, like, I truly go in there like, my life depends on it every day.
[00:16:20] Speaker A: With that being said about the pandemic, you know, that had to be rough.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: It was rough. Scary. I mean, again, like, I feel like I've been so fortunate. Like, we. You know. So that's an interesting situation because right before the pandemic, I was. I built out this restaurant in New Jersey in the Atlantic Highlands. And I was gonna. I finally got to a place where I'm like, I'm gonna do two restaurants, which I had never had.
[00:16:47] Speaker A: Right.
[00:16:47] Speaker B: And I'm like, all right, I'm gonna open two restaurants. And so I ended up finishing that one down there. I opened it. I had two restaurants running at the same time. So I would be going back and forth, and I'd make dough in the morning up here and then go down there and run that one. Whatever. I did it for two weeks. And then the pandemic hit.
[00:17:06] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: And I was like, okay, that's signed to me. Like, I shouldn't have two restaurants. So I shut the one in New York, and it wasn't. The one in New York at the time was not doing that great either. And it didn't look like it does now.
And I had some investors and stuff, and I Kept the one open in New Jersey all through the pandemic. We crushed, we sold out of dough every single day. Rain, snow, whatever.
[00:17:32] Speaker A: Good for you.
[00:17:33] Speaker B: Yeah. Doing takeout.
And it was cool. And it also allowed me to really just even go deeper in, like, making dough. And, like, just because we didn't have customers in the restaurant, so there wasn't a lot of interaction. So it was really just about, like, all right, I'm just gonna, like, really, like, geek out on pizza making even more than I had. And I did that for about three years, and during that three year time, bought out all the investors at the place in New York.
It had been shut all that time, and I started rebuilding it, and I made it look like it does now to be more true to me.
[00:18:07] Speaker A: And this is the one I.
[00:18:08] Speaker B: The one that you've been to. Yeah.
[00:18:10] Speaker A: And the name, specifically, Pizza Napolitan.
[00:18:12] Speaker B: I mean, it's always been since day.
[00:18:14] Speaker A: One, pronouncing it correctly.
[00:18:16] Speaker B: And so. And then I finally knew, like, all right, I gotta come back up and open in the city and be where I need to be and do it. So. And I did that about three, A little over three years ago, I opened, reopened at the spot that I'm in now.
[00:18:31] Speaker A: Well, now tell us about Christina and your, Your new, your, your family.
[00:18:36] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:18:36] Speaker A: And what's going on and how do you fit that and everything into your family now? Yeah, you know, got a lot on your plate.
[00:18:43] Speaker B: I do know. I, I, I do have a lot.
[00:18:46] Speaker A: A lot of good stuff, I should say.
[00:18:47] Speaker B: A lot of good stuff. Yeah. So I met Christina during the pandemic. She had moved back to New Jersey, where she's from.
And again, this woman, her name is Andrea Kleurfeld.
She lived in the town where I had opened this place in New Jersey during the pandemic. This is the woman who originally wrote the story about the bread. Wrote the story about the pizza, got Ed Levine to come down, and she was coming in. Then all the time it was Covid. I had nothing to do. She'd come in and see me, and I'd be making dough or whatever, and she was like, I met this girl. She's amazing. I met her at the farm market. She works for Danny Meyer's restaurant group.
[00:19:26] Speaker A: Oh, nice. And.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: And she's never been to Oonah when, you know, when she lives in the city. But she's back here during a pandemic, and I'm gonna bring her in. We're gonna get pizzas to go, and we're gonna sit in my backyard and Eat it, like, cool, whatever. So she brings her in and just, I mean, you know, nothing. Nothing happened in that moment. But over the course of a few months, Christina would come in and pick up pizzas to go and ended up working with this woman on a project that she was working on about food. And little by little, like, you know, we just. She was into baking bread, and, like, I gave her some flour from, from the pizzeria. And then, you know, we went out on our first date to get soft serve.
[00:20:11] Speaker A: I was gonna ask you, Where'd you go? Yeah.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Jersey Freeze. Yeah, yeah.
[00:20:15] Speaker A: That's actually great.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: Great. Soft serve.
[00:20:18] Speaker A: Nice. Nice. Yeah, Yeah. I met Christina. You know, I had the honor to speak with her, too. She's a sweetheart. You know, I tell people, too. I was the guest at your restaurant.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: And did not get sick or food poisoning. Oh, that's our goal.
[00:20:34] Speaker A: Yeah, not at all. But first of all, I. You know what's really amazing? And I want you to tell us, because you have been awarded the best pizzeria in the world twice. Correct.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:49] Speaker A: How did that work? That's amazing. That's such, such an honor. And that's how I met you, through Marco. And, you know, our audience knows Marco really well, mostly. He's a great guy. So Marco and I and Dora went in there to see you.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:02] Speaker A: But. Yeah, tell us how that, how that happened or came to be.
[00:21:06] Speaker B: Yeah, Well, I don't know.
Yeah, I guess, you know, we're just people.
People like what we're doing. And, you know, I think there's a lot of great pizzerias in the US and pizza makers. I, you know, I, I, I think it's awesome that we have been, you know, acknowledged like this so long into our career. One, because usually people that have been in something for so long are kind of, like, kind of sliding down or coasting or not at the restaurant or it's kind of, like, worn out, you know, feeling, and I think that's pretty awesome. And I. And I think it helps to keep us even more where we push and want to be better at what we do and, like, really, like, you know, in the hospitality side, and Christine is a big part of that hospitality side, and just our guests interfacing and all that stuff.
Yeah. And it's a testament to, like, not, you know, being like, a restaurant group, too, you know, I mean.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:22:10] Speaker B: I'm an independent owner and operator. I have one restaurant, you know, so it's cool that, like, be free like that and get acknowledged around the world. It's Cool.
[00:22:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, it's a very reputable and a.
[00:22:22] Speaker B: Simple menu and all this stuff. It's just good to show that, like, you stick with what you do and stay focused. You can, like, achieve a lot.
[00:22:31] Speaker A: Yeah. The pizza is delicious. I loved it. I mean, I don't consider myself a big foodie, you know, I think I mentioned that earlier in general before the podcast, but the pizza was everything and more than I expected. It was still good. Absolutely delicious. Absolutely loved everything about it.
[00:22:48] Speaker B: Thanks.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: And the appetizers, too. We had. We just had a really amazing time at your restaurant, you know, left there very happily full.
[00:22:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:56] Speaker A: You know, so, yeah, pizza was. Pizza was incredible. I like how the. The dough is a little bit thicker. Thicker. And. And you mentioned earlier how you like it to be one full pizza and it's not cut or something.
[00:23:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:08] Speaker A: So that's what. You know, we were cutting our own pizza and I really like that about it, too. I thought that was really, really interesting. Most left there super happy.
[00:23:16] Speaker B: Thanks. Yeah, that really is our ultimate goal. You know, we really want people to leave the restaurant feeling, like, really inspired.
[00:23:26] Speaker A: Right.
[00:23:26] Speaker B: And feeling like whatever. Like, I just want people to feel, like, excited and pumped and. And see the love that we're giving and. And I really try to drive home with the staff, like, to walk around the restaurant with gratitude and, like, engage with people and be respectful of people and of each other and, like, really create an environment that's, like, just electric.
[00:23:51] Speaker A: You know, it was. You know, our waiter was.
Well, I wish I could remember his name. Really cool guy. He was incredible.
[00:23:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:58] Speaker A: Really nice guy. Informative, you know.
[00:24:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:01] Speaker A: Made us feel really at home.
[00:24:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:03] Speaker A: You know, here, no attitudes. Yeah. He was really, really, really kind.
[00:24:07] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: Then here, you're right here. I can see you behind the glass making every single pizza.
[00:24:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:13] Speaker A: And then some. There was a couple other guys there with you, too. You know, they were just really nice. Everybody was just, you know. Did you. Do you have a certain layout of the restaurant that you feel is. You know, I never, never use this word, but, like feng shui or something. Do you have a certain way you like your restaurant to feel or something or layout, or is it just how it was?
[00:24:32] Speaker B: Well, I mean, usually I let each space kind of dictate the way it's going to live and be and depending on, you know, like in here, like, have these 10 ceilings. So, like, I would leave those if this was my space because they're beautiful.
[00:24:44] Speaker A: Yeah, they are. Actually Noticed them.
[00:24:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
But, like, I always try to go into a Space and then kind of build out what makes sense in that space and in the neighborhood. And.
[00:24:55] Speaker A: Well, worked very well.
[00:24:57] Speaker B: And it's all personal, you know, everything in there, like, everything you see on the walls in there is personal art from friends. I don't buy stuff. It's not like a concept restaurant. It's like, really, you know, I have little coffee pots from Naples that were my families that are like, I love it 100 years old that are sitting on the bar. It's like, really everything exposed, you know.
[00:25:17] Speaker A: I love how humble you are, and your passion is just amazing. You know, when I, you know, I have my passion for my photography and what I do and everything, too, and showing people New York City.
[00:25:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: And people learning about New York City and bringing people from New York City to learn about such as yourself.
[00:25:30] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:25:31] Speaker A: And no, I just. I just love just feeling I could. I can feel your passion while you're at the restaurant. Yeah, it's a beautiful restaurant. And you bake only three pizzas at a time. Is that correct?
[00:25:43] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:25:44] Speaker A: And why is that? What's the reason?
[00:25:46] Speaker B: You know, that the dough is so delicate to move from the counter into the oven. It's very hydrated, which means there's a ton of water in it, which results in, like, this wild, very light, very digestible pizza. But that being said, it makes it difficult to move and work with and.
[00:26:05] Speaker A: Yeah, makes sense.
[00:26:06] Speaker B: You know, it changes a lot throughout the night. It's not refrigerated. It's not a proofer. It's at room temp.
So you're dealing with a lot of the elements. So just getting them into the oven, turning them in the oven, and cooking them, and they cook in about a minute and a half. That all that combined three is like, our sweet spot.
[00:26:25] Speaker A: I was fascinated by how fast the pizzas cook. I was watching, you know, watching the pizzas, and I was like, wow, you're just quickly cooking.
[00:26:32] Speaker B: Yeah, it was amazing. The oven's about 900 degrees.
[00:26:36] Speaker A: You know what? That, to me, not knowing much about, you know, pizzas, how to prepare pizzas, so to speak, just told me how fresh it was. Yeah, that's. That's what resonated with me. It's so fresh.
So you use only imported Italian ingredients. Correct. As well.
[00:26:53] Speaker B: Not every ingredient. It depends. Like right now, you know, for example, the tomatoes. For the stuff that we use with fresh tomatoes. The tomatoes are beautiful new.
[00:27:02] Speaker A: Understood.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: Like, you know, the garlic is amazing. We just got through garlic scape season. Amazing. The Sorbet, though, is 99% of the time. Local stuff.
[00:27:13] Speaker A: Delicious.
[00:27:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Cantaloupe right now is in season in New York. Amazing.
Pretty soon we'll have watermelons. We had cherries. Right now are amazing. Peaches are amazing. So it's a mix. You know, there's some ingredients that in my opinion for what I want to achieve from Italy is better. Like I love the San Marzano tomato, the canned tomato for the sauce from Italy, the best in the world.
Olive oil, I think the one that we import ourselves is the best in the world. Flour for me from Italy works better for the way we make pizza. But it's a mix. It's a total mix.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: Well, we, we finished, you know, the, you know, you brought, you said watermelon too.
[00:27:54] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that.
[00:27:55] Speaker A: What is a sorbet we had, right?
[00:27:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:57] Speaker A: Oh my gosh.
[00:27:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:58] Speaker A: We had two sorbets, I think.
[00:28:00] Speaker B: Well, we have one with almond.
[00:28:02] Speaker A: That was it.
[00:28:02] Speaker B: Yeah. So that's more of an ice cream.
[00:28:04] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:28:05] Speaker B: Yeah. And we have one that's like usually.
[00:28:06] Speaker A: A fruit and the watermelon sorbet. I was like, yeah, in heaven.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: Made fresh every single morning. Like I. Again, like, that's the secret, I think, to our success. Oh, 100 truly. Like we juice, like for example, with the watermelon or last week we did.
[00:28:21] Speaker A: I could tell.
[00:28:22] Speaker B: We juice the peaches, we make the sorbetto, we serve it, and whatever isn't sold gets discarded. Or we all eat it at the end of the night. Like it never ever gets held over.
[00:28:34] Speaker A: You don't do delivery or takeout, Is that correct?
[00:28:37] Speaker B: No.
[00:28:38] Speaker A: At all?
[00:28:38] Speaker B: No.
[00:28:39] Speaker A: Wow. And why is that? Just because.
[00:28:41] Speaker B: Because the pizza tastes better when you eat it hot?
[00:28:44] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:44] Speaker B: Right out of the oven.
[00:28:45] Speaker A: Nice. Nice. I love that. And no reheating or shortcuts. Every pizza is made fresh to order.
And also, are you obsessive about oven temperatures?
Like constantly monitoring the wood fired oven?
[00:29:00] Speaker B: You know what's funny is we don't even have a thermostat on the oven.
[00:29:03] Speaker A: Is that like.
[00:29:03] Speaker B: I honestly don't know the exact temperature. I can tell when it's like.
[00:29:07] Speaker A: Really?
[00:29:08] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. We have no idea.
[00:29:09] Speaker A: You just look at it, you're like, it's ready.
[00:29:11] Speaker B: Yeah, we know.
[00:29:12] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:29:12] Speaker B: And you know, it's like this throughout the night. And if it kind of gets slower and the oven starts getting overheated, then we have to be careful. Or if we're super busy, it's difficult to keep the oven up to where it needs to be. So it's just always micro adjustments.
[00:29:28] Speaker A: That's really amazing. Because I was watching one of the gentlemen who was moving the pizzas. He was moving them in the oven a little bit and putting it over here. And. But it was so fast and quick.
[00:29:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:38] Speaker A: So it was like a delicate dance. I was watching with anything else.
[00:29:42] Speaker B: You're doing that.
[00:29:43] Speaker A: Really interesting.
[00:29:44] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:44] Speaker A: Very authentic. Very, very authentic. Yeah, I really, really enjoyed it.
So are you. What are your hours or what are your hours at the restaurant? First of all, what's the address?
Sure, yeah, go ahead.
[00:29:57] Speaker B: 175 Orchard street between Houston and Stanton.
[00:30:01] Speaker A: Right. It's like a block away from Kat's Deli.
[00:30:03] Speaker B: It's right around the corner from one side from Katz, one side from Russ and Daughters.
[00:30:08] Speaker A: Nice, nice, nice. And what are the hours again? I'm sorry? Your days, you're open and your hours.
[00:30:13] Speaker B: Were open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5pm until we sell out.
And then we do a lot of private events the other days.
[00:30:22] Speaker A: And it's reservation only.
[00:30:24] Speaker B: No, no. But mostly.
[00:30:26] Speaker A: Mostly it kind of.
[00:30:27] Speaker B: Again, like, that's been a little bit of an evolution.
It used to be years ago. Walk in 100, walk in, no reservations, cash only. And, you know, and I had a different attitude towards the way I ran the business.
[00:30:42] Speaker A: Right.
[00:30:42] Speaker B: And over the years, I've gotten more into the hospitality side of things. And along that way, and with Christina's, you know, influence as well, it just has snowballed into the reservations allow people to have a better dining experience. Because, you know, I. I feel terrible if people come down, wait online, like in the snow or whatever.
[00:31:08] Speaker A: Right.
[00:31:09] Speaker B: And then it's like, sorry, we're done. And it's like, what do you mean? Or like, if you're planning to come there and you drove in from like, wherever and with your family, and then you're gonna wait online and we're sold out or whatever. So this is just a better way to be. Like, all right, I know I have a table at seven for two.
[00:31:24] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: So we try to accommodate with walk ins a little bit as best we can. But definitely, I would recommend, your best bet is try to make a reservation. And the reservations are again, like, thank God we're so busy. But, like, the reservations are usually, they go live normally every two weeks.
[00:31:43] Speaker A: Right.
[00:31:43] Speaker B: And they're taken within like 30 seconds. Like, we've watched. We watch it go like that.
[00:31:49] Speaker A: And that line is out the door.
[00:31:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:51] Speaker A: Down the block.
[00:31:52] Speaker B: It's pretty amazing.
[00:31:53] Speaker A: And so the people in line, they have a chance to get in.
[00:31:58] Speaker B: Well, a lot of the people in line when we first open have the reservation okay, so we. What we try to do is go out before we open and kind of work through the line and be like, hey, do you have a reservation? They're like, yeah, okay, next. Do you know, it's two of us, and we're like, okay. Like, we think we can do it, but, like, come back at like 5:30 instead of at 5. And we try to just like, do the best we can and be open about it Again, like, it's tricky because a lot of people are like, we'll just make more pizza. I'm like, well, I know. No kidding. I thought of that over 30 years.
[00:32:32] Speaker A: But it's actually pretty funny.
[00:32:34] Speaker B: But it also, like the way we do it. And what we do is also why we're busy and what makes the place special, why the pizza tastes the way it does. So you. You know, I'm always scared to go beyond what makes it beautiful just to get more people in. So we try to. To balance, you know, but, like, we can't do more than we do. It's a small restaurant, and we're a small team and.
[00:32:57] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:32:58] Speaker B: It's a family business. So, you know.
[00:33:00] Speaker A: So you're open what nights again?
[00:33:01] Speaker B: Just Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
[00:33:03] Speaker A: Yeah, just.
[00:33:03] Speaker B: No, no, no. Excuse me.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
[00:33:06] Speaker A: You only open three nights? Three nights a week, yeah. Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
[00:33:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:11] Speaker A: Well, that's good too, because, you know.
Can I mention you have a little baby? Did you mention. Did we mention that coming up.
[00:33:18] Speaker B: We don't have it yet.
[00:33:19] Speaker A: You have one?
[00:33:20] Speaker B: Yeah, we have one.
Could be today.
[00:33:22] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:33:23] Speaker B: Crazy. I know. The official due date is Sunday.
[00:33:27] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:33:28] Speaker B: Yeah, but we. Official appointment today. Yeah. It's been beautiful.
[00:33:32] Speaker A: Do you know if it's a boy or.
[00:33:33] Speaker B: We don't know.
[00:33:34] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:33:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
Look at Christina. She was at the restaurant when I was there.
[00:33:38] Speaker B: Oh, she's gonna be there. Like, we're going to dinner tonight. That's why I'm dressed up. I normally wouldn't get dressed like this. This is. But I have to go to a dinner, and she's. We're going out tonight.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: Oh, good for you guys.
[00:33:47] Speaker B: Yeah, she's amazing. Like, such a positive, beautiful influence on the restaurant and the team and the way we do business.
[00:33:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree. She was, you know, the little bit that I did speak with her and talk with her, she was. She was just. She's a sweetheart.
[00:34:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:02] Speaker A: You know. Yeah, she really was.
[00:34:04] Speaker C: Anthony, I read on the website that you started making a frozen pizza. I'm curious about, like, how. What was that process? How did that come to you. And what was it like trying to create, like, recreate your restaurant experience for anyone to buy in the supermarket?
[00:34:20] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it came about kind of with the idea of like, was there a way for us to connect to a bigger audience outside of the restaurant without opening more restaurants? Because again, like, my idea on the restaurant is, you know, maybe this is extreme, but I feel like if, if I have more than one restaurant, I might as well have 100 restaurants, which is cool and I may do someday, but I don't really see a difference between two restaurants and 100 restaurants. If I'm not there every time we're open and really giving myself to the restaurant, then why not just go the other direction and find a way to make these amazing restaurants you have a ton of and build a beautiful team. So I don't want to do that right now, or didn't want to do that. And so the thinking was, is there something that I could do that would be able to connect to people, have a bigger audience, maybe potentially change my life financially? Because obviously the restaurant business, busy or not, is not like, you know, it's not like the safest way to make a living in New York City is not the easiest place in the world to run a restaurant. So you combine all that and you get where I'm going with that.
So, you know, it just seemed like frozen pizza would be the thing to do since I make pizza, and that was sort of the catalyst for that.
And it was a really, really tough learning experience because obviously the frozen pizza, I don't make them.
So trying to learn how to do or at least approach it with the same way that I think with what we do at the restaurant was really tough. And there's a lot of hurdles to get over and a lot of ways to change your thinking.
I think it's made me a better pizza maker at the restaurant too, because I've had to learn these things on a bigger scale and find a partner that could, you know, let me do what I want and would be willing to grow with me and understand the needs that we had as a small startup. And that was, that was the beginnings. And it was just like I went into this, you know, factory. We make everything in Italy and it's, yeah, it's all hand stretched wood fire baked naturally leavened Italian tomatoes on it, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil.
Every one of them is like top by hand with fresh basil. Like, it's amazing. I think it's the greatest frozen pizza that's ever existed. And that was Sort of the goal. Is there a way to make a frozen pizza that's better than what we grew up eating, that I wouldn't feel embarrassed to have my name connected to that? People that don't live in New York City, where you have all this great, you know, food to choose from, could get something that's, like, restaurant quality and feel okay giving it to their kids or eating it alone, or like, people that are professional and single and want to have a good dinner at night without. So that was the goal. And it took three years of R and D to get it to where I was happy enough to let it go out into the world. And we officially launched it into the world a little over two years ago, and it's still going and building. And it's a tough, tough world. The restaurant or the retail space is really tough. There's a lot of people and middle people and people in between me and the, you know, the end customer in, like, middle America that's going to buy it in their freezer section. So it's so not transparent compared to the restaurant business, which is, you bring me the mozzarella, I cut the mozzarella and put it on the pizza.
I serve it to a customer, they eat it, they pay me, they leave. That's the end of the whole thing. This is, like, you know, it's made in another country, it's shipped to America. It's in a facility, it has to get trucked to another facility. It goes to another facility and ends up in a food store in the back of the food store. Hopefully it gets out on the shelf. It gets a good shelf spot.
It's just like, you know, finally, somewhere along the way, it ends up in someone's freezer at home, and they finally get to eat it.
But it's been amazing, and it's been so cool to, like, have people write us and be like, you know, oh, my God, thank you for this product. It's, like, been amazing to serve to my family and all this stuff that, like, you know, they don't even know me. Most of the people that buy it have never been to Una. I've never even been to New York City. Don't even know me. And it's cool, like, to kind of experience that and touch people and be outside of the little bubble that I live in. So that's kind of where it's at right now. It's tough. It's building. We're going to keep going. And, you know, eventually my dream is to see it, like, really in most Food stores, you know, for everyone to be able to access.
[00:39:22] Speaker A: So how do people get it? How can I get it?
[00:39:24] Speaker B: It's in Whole Foods. Oh, it is in Whole Foods. Yeah, it's in Whole Foods in from like Maine all the way down through, like Connecticut, you know, Pennsylvania.
[00:39:35] Speaker A: New York.
[00:39:36] Speaker B: New York. Yes, New Jersey.
It's not called Una Pizza. It's called Jenny O Della Pizza.
[00:39:42] Speaker A: Right.
[00:39:43] Speaker B: G E N I O. And again, the name is purposeful because I didn't want people to buy it thinking that it is the restaurant's pizza. And I joke frequently where I'm like, look, if somebody eats this frozen pizza and they like it better than what I make at the restaurant better, I got a problem and I'm shutting the restaurant down. So it's obviously the best frozen pizza that I can make and that I believe in, but it's not me making every pizza every morning and serving it in the restaurant to 100 people. So it's a different two completely different businesses, but with the same 30 years of experience behind that and approaching it like that. And it's crazy thing is, most or all frozen pizzas that exist are not really at scale, are not from pizza makers. Like, these are just like conglomerates that are making crap that is with a bunch of ingredients that you should not be eating and dough that's like literally mixed, risen and baked within like a half an hour. And then everyone wonders why they have stomach issues. Your body cannot assimilate and digest stuff like that. It's super unhealthy.
[00:40:52] Speaker A: I read every ingredient and everything I buy. Yeah, yeah. And.
[00:40:55] Speaker B: But the sad thing is there's so many ways, even around that now, where things are hidden within an ingredient. You don't know, really, what is that? How is that made? It's just like so tough, you know? And that's one of the beauties, at least with producing in Italy, is that they're a non GMO country. They're starting, unfortunately, to try to have that changed because they want to be competitive, but currently they still are. So it's nice to know, like, ingredients are really clean and straight and there's nothing hidden in there that you don't understand.
[00:41:27] Speaker A: I might get a pizza on the way home.
[00:41:29] Speaker B: Do it. Yes.
[00:41:30] Speaker A: I'm going to tell you what I think of it.
[00:41:31] Speaker B: Good.
[00:41:32] Speaker A: But you know, I know it's going to be amazing because, you know, I've eaten your restaurant and your pizza. Your pizza is truly amazing.
[00:41:37] Speaker B: Thanks.
[00:41:38] Speaker C: So, other question for me, I'm curious about what are for people who might not Be aware, you make a Neapolitan pizza, right? What are the other kinds of pizza that are made in New York at other places? And then what are your inspirations? Like what are, what other places do you like? Where do you draw inspiration from that helps you to create your own.
[00:42:03] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, we make a Neapolitan style pizza. I mean, even at the restaurant though, just to preface this, we generally try to tell people like the name is Una Pizza Napolitana. We started it 30 years ago.
It was done in an innocent, open hearted way by a kid from New Jersey. And there was no one making the apartment pizza in America at the time. It's evolved into its own thing. And I would say what we serve at Una is our pizza. It's very, it's got a very specific thing about it. When you eat at our restaurant, you would see and know that pretty quickly it tastes a certain way, it looks a certain way. It is ours, we own it. You can feel it. And that's important to me. Like when you listen to music or anything, like you just hear someone, you're like, that's so and so. You just know it. You know, it's like otherwise you're a studio musician and then you're like, you can play anything. This is like very like specific to what we do.
That being said, all the styles in New York, gosh, I mean, New York is like, you know, the center of the universe in every way and influenced by so many cultures that like, I mean, you know, you have from like the old school, Italian, American, like coal fired places that were their version of what was made in Naples 100 years ago. You know, Lombardi's and Patsy's and Totonos and John's on Bleecker and Arturo's on Houston. Like these places are amazing and a big part of the New York history.
And they were actually their version of what was made in Naples. But back then no one had wood fired oven, so they use coal ovens because that's what was available in New York. And it evolved into this other thing that became the New York pizza. And from those pizzas and you have like Joe's, you know, and amazing slice and all that, all that kind of stuff. And then now you have all these like younger kind of artisan like elevated slice places like Mama 2's which I love.
You know, there's a ton of them. Like there's so many opening like every week that are using just better ingredients and understand dough more and you know, leavening times and using like just better ovens and just like really trying to push it, which is beautiful and gives New Yorkers and visitors like such a variety. And then you have like Korean pizza now and like all this stuff where it's just like people are just. Because really, when you think of pizza, really, it's just like, it's basically like a flat sandwich.
You could put anything on it. There's no rules really, if you think about it. I mean, obviously if you're claiming like this is this or whatever, it's Neapolitan, then you know, there are things that are markers to make that Neapolitan. But if you're just saying it's pizza, it's like there's no limits to what you can do. I mean, I think if you use good ingredients and you understand how to put flavors together, there's no limits. You could do anything. Like, I mean, it's beautiful.
Pizza inspirations and stuff. For me, I mean, I'm not really inspired by food so much.
I don't know, you know, I'm pretty self motivated, you know, I'm like kind of a self motivated guy. I'm kind of aloner in my work and stuff.
If I were to say food, I would say like, you know, in New York, one place that like is a big inspiration is Eleven Madison park, which obviously seems like another planet from what we do. You know, it's super fine dining, considered one of the best restaurants in the world, 100% vegan.
But like, their commitment to quality and excellence and their way they run the place and their team and just like, if you ever get a chance to go there, like, I recommend it, like, it's pretty, pretty special. It's a beautiful experience and it's inspiring and it's the kind of inspiration that like translates past food, you know, where you could walk out of there and be like, you know, whatever you're doing, you're like, I am going to do what I'm doing and I'm gonna kick ass with it and I'm gonna go deep and I'm gonna push it. And that's like what we try to do at una. Like, that's what I want the reaction to be. I want people to feel like whatever I'm doing, I'm going for it, man. Like, there's no limits, you know? And I think Eleven Madison is a great example of that.
I think Teresi is incredible. If you guys haven't been there, that's a big inspiration to me. It's like New York, like translated in by an Italian American, but, like, super elevated. It's amazing. It's got, like, things from all different cultures of New York mixed in to make it still be Italian American. But then, like, there's these, like, influences from, like, all the different cultures in New York. I love it.
I love Massimo Batura in Italy. I don't know if you guys know who that is.
[00:47:06] Speaker A: I've heard of it.
[00:47:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, one of the greatest chefs, like, built, you know, an empire in Modena that the world comes to now. And it's amazing. Like, I love when people do things and the world comes to them, you know? Like, I think that's awesome, you know, And I think that's the way to approach whatever you do in life is, like, to be like, I'm doing what I do, and hopefully I can make a living, and hopefully I survive, and hopefully I don't lose my mind along the way. And you just keep, like, grinding, you know? And then eventually people come and, like, people don't see what went on in the back. They don't see, like, 30 years of struggle. 30 years and not being able to pay your bills. 30 years having to sleep on the floor of the restaurant. Thirty years, like, making a lot of sacrifices. And I think that's the case with sports, with music, with everything.
And, you know, that's what I get inspired by. When people just grind it and the world comes to them on their terms.
[00:48:02] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:48:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:04] Speaker A: Gosh, you completely.
I'm so inspired by you right now.
Thanks.
No, truly. I mean, it's just. I mean, your proof. I mean, you know, passion is what. When you have a passion and you just keep at it, you know, it rewards you. It does. You know, it really does, I think. Inconsistency and loving what you do and having that passion. I mean, how can you go wrong?
[00:48:27] Speaker B: You can't, you know, with.
[00:48:28] Speaker A: Whatever it is. No. Whoever's listening. Whatever it is. Yeah.
[00:48:32] Speaker B: I mean, I've always said, like, it just happens to be pizza. I could have been a plumber, and I probably would have been more wealthy if I was, you know?
But, like, it doesn't matter what it is.
[00:48:43] Speaker A: Right.
[00:48:44] Speaker B: It's just, like, the approach. It's the mentality, it's the. The idea and the concept behind it on how you work, you know?
[00:48:50] Speaker A: Well, this might be a silly question. You know, I sometimes ask people questions at the end, and to ask you this kind of seems silly because I sometimes I say, if you weren't doing what you're doing, what else could you see yourself doing?
[00:49:06] Speaker B: No, like, I really love music, and I wanted to be a jazz musician when I was young, but I realized that I suck.
And, you know, it just wasn't gonna make, like, I just don't have it, you know? And so, you know, that if that was in the cards, that probably would have been a dream to, like, be a jazz musician and just be with a small band and, like, tour in the world, playing in little clubs.
[00:49:32] Speaker A: Right.
[00:49:33] Speaker B: Would have been cool.
[00:49:33] Speaker A: I can see you doing that.
[00:49:35] Speaker B: Yeah. Except that I'm not good, so that. That would have not been probably the best.
[00:49:39] Speaker C: What instrument did you play?
[00:49:40] Speaker B: The bass. Oh, yeah.
[00:49:42] Speaker A: Well, you know, we have to close up. We have to close the show out. And I want to keep talking, though, but I was gonna ask you, do you have a favorite restaurant in the city?
You know, a favorite. Do you have. We'll say a couple. Not to be a couple. Yeah, a couple.
You know, a couple on your. When you do have free time.
[00:50:01] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:50:01] Speaker A: You know that you enjoy going.
[00:50:03] Speaker B: Totally.
[00:50:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:50:05] Speaker B: Yes.
I would say my favorite restaurants in the city are abcv.
Love that place.
Chef Neil. Amazing. Teresi, As I mentioned, 11 Madison Park, Sema. I love that Indian food. It's amazing.
I would say those are my top right now, but, like, I'm always open to, like, new stuff or what's coming up, but those are kind of my. My go tos.
[00:50:33] Speaker A: Nice. Very nice. Well, thanks for chatting. I mean, of course.
[00:50:37] Speaker B: Thank you for having me.
[00:50:38] Speaker A: Really interesting. I mean, I'm gonna. I'm walking out of here, you know, even more inspired, you know, to do more of what I do, too.
But, you know, what I want to do is just, you know, I want to be clear here for our listeners, you know, because, you know, I want to brag about you a little about your awards, twice that. That you have received of the best pizzeria in the world. So I just want to just discuss, you know, what it is.
According to food and wine, 50 top pizza crowned Una Pizza Napoletana.
[00:51:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:51:11] Speaker A: Is that correct? The best pizza in the world, 2024, following years of being the best in the US in 2022, Mangieri's Pizzeria, Anthony Mangieri Pizzeria, tied for number one globally. Globally as well, with Menelli. Am I saying it right? And Casterta, honored at a ceremony in Naples by 50 Top Pizza, curated by Barbara Guerra. Luciano. Don't know if I want to say.
[00:51:43] Speaker B: Taro.
[00:51:44] Speaker A: Yeah, Perfectly. Perfectly said. And Albert.
Yeah. And then in 2024, Una Pizza Napoletana regained the number one spot in the world at another award ceremony held at Pietro Mercadante in Naples. Just. Am I correcting that? Saying that correctly?
[00:52:02] Speaker B: I think so.
[00:52:02] Speaker A: Yeah. So that's awesome. I think it's important that people know your accolades and, you know, they're well deserved because you have worked your butt off. Something to be really impressed, though, with, because I am truly impressed. Like I said, I went to your pizzeria and I was. I was blown away. Truly blown away.
So thank you for. For joining us. And lastly, I have to say, the global accolade was granted by 50 Top Pizza via a panel of anonymous inspectors and curated by the Italian food publication team.
So that's pretty impressive. Jay, what do you think?
[00:52:35] Speaker C: I think I want to go there.
[00:52:38] Speaker A: We're going to go.
So, Anthony, before we let you go, we here at the New Yorkers podcast want to know what it means to you, Anthony Mangieri, to be a New Yorker.
[00:52:51] Speaker B: I think to be a New Yorker is a big responsibility.
That's what it means to me, because I think the world looks to New York, and I think you should carry yourself with dignity and respect and be inspiring because people come from, like, I love a lot of places in America. I love California. I love, like, I love. I love so much of America, and I love the outdoors. But I think if you travel the world, most people think of New York as America. You know, like, if people are like, I want to come to America, they're not like, I want to come to Kentucky. Kentucky is probably beautiful. I think Corvettes are made there. Bowling Green, Kentucky, amazing. But, like, New York is, like, you know, it's. It's interesting because New York means that to the world. And then in a way, New York belongs to the world because there's so many people here that are from all over the world. It's almost like its own place. So I think there's just a lot of responsibility with that, you know, to, like, represent.
In a way, this is, like, humanity. It's like I'm like a little dish of, like, humanity, you know, all in one, and the world looks at it. So I think the better we are and the more beautiful this place is and the more awesome it is, the better it trickles around the whole world, you know?
[00:54:17] Speaker A: Love it. Nicely said.
[00:54:19] Speaker B: I'm running for Mayer.
[00:54:21] Speaker A: I wish you were.
Thank you, Anthony, for joining us today for this week's episode of the New Yorkers podcast. Why don't you let everyone know where they can find you on social media?
[00:54:33] Speaker B: Thanks for having me. My Instagram is Anthony underscore W underscore Manjiri and the restaurants is Una Pizza Napolitana.
[00:54:45] Speaker A: Once again, I'm your host Kelly Kopp, also known as New York City Cop all across social media.
[00:54:51] Speaker B: Please like and subscribe to the New Yorkers Podcast and you can follow the New Yorkers on social media. At the New Yorkers Podcast you can.
[00:54:59] Speaker A: Leave a rating or a comment to let us know how you are enjoying the show. We read through all your comments and DMs so please we would love to hear from you. Thank you Sue Rothwell, Chris Beck and Lucky for your kind words on the last episode. If you want to be featured featured at the end of an episode, leave a rating on Apple podcast or a comment on Spotify.
[00:55:22] Speaker B: And thank you Jeff Pinson, Carmen Conti and Georgina Vals for your comments on Facebook.
[00:55:30] Speaker A: Have a lovely day and we will see you next time.
[00:55:33] Speaker B: Goodbye.
[00:55:37] Speaker A: Thank you New York 100 for sponsoring this episode.
To learn more about them, visit ny100.org.
[00:55:46] Speaker B: This is the last stop on this train. Everyone please leave the train.
[00:55:50] Speaker A: Thank you for riding with MTA New York City Transit.
