Pizza Quest

Anthony Mangieri is one of our favorite guests. Now that his NYC restaurant Una Pizza Napoletana was recently anointed by one poll as the "best pizzeria in the world," this is a timely return visit to the show. On this episode, Anthony tells us all about his new line of frozen pizzas under the name Genio Della Pizza, and how he managed to create and package a frozen wood-fired pizza, made in Italy, that he is now bringing it to selected outlets here in the States like Whole Foods Markets. A lot has happened since Anthony's last visit so we're playing catch-up. Hang on for the ride as we enjoy an inspiring conversation with the ever-growing pizza giant, Anthony Mangieri, here on Pizza Quest.

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Roman-style pizza is in a steady ascent across the country, due in no small part to the success of this week's guest, Rob Cervoni. Rob is a disciple of the acclaimed Massimiliano Saieva pizza tree, but is now forging his own glittering path. Many of you have seen him kick everyone's butt and become champion on Chopped in 2023, or saw him compete and showcase his work at various Pizza Expo's. Pizza Today named him a rising star in 2022, and now, it's all coming together for him at his Mineola (Long Island) pizzeria, Taglio. At Taglio, many patrons are experiencing the unique pleasures and joys of Roman-style pizza for the first time. Rob shares with us his journey of climbing to the top of the pizza mountain in this delightful conversation recorded at the Northeast Pizza and Pasta Expo in Atlantic City, NJ.

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Peter hasn't seen Ronnie Costello in 53 years, since they played together on their high school baseball team. It has also been 60 years since they attended Belmont Hills Elementary School together. They lived on different sides of Mary Waters Ford Road, the street that, like the Maginot Line, separated the mostly Irish and Italian kids of "The Hill" from the mostly Jewish kids of Penn Valley. There are a lot of stories that each of them could tell (and have) about living on those two sides of the road, and a few years ago Ronnie decided it was time to do just that -- but as a series of imaginative adventure stories under the general title called the On The Hill series. In these books, such as Dead Kids Don't Speak, Insomnia, and The Visitor, the kids that both Ronnie and Peter grew up with back in the day, are now fictional characters (but under their real names) in fabulous action adventures where they go up against the Mafia, Russian spies, and even alien invaders in the 1960's. Think of these books as The Bowery Boys meets The Hardy Boys meets David Lynch, all happening in Belmont Hills.

One thing that Ronnie and Peter had in common as kids is that they both loved the pizzas and cheesesteaks at Mama's Pizzeria. Now, 53 years later, they reconnect in this nostalgic, memory-lane conversation about Ronnie's terrific, action-packed books, while discussing all that has passed since those not so innocent childhood days on "The Hill." They also talk about what it was like reinventing Ron's old friends and family members as fictional characters and placing them into outrageous, roller-coaster-like adventures. As you will see, this conversation brought back a flood of memories for them both as they share their divergent journeys of roads taken, and not taken, to places neither of them thought they would go.

For more about Ronnie's book's, check out his website at https://www.onthehillbooks.com

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Welcome back to Pizza Quest. On this episode, Peter talks with one of the fastest rising stars in the pizza firmament, Michael Vakneen, co-founder of Truly Pizza in Dana Point, CA (near Laguna Beach), partnering with pizza legends Chris Decker and John Arena. Michael is also making some of the best pizza in Las Vegas at his Double Zero Pie & Pub. He consults and he competes, winning many of the championships he enters (he's a member of the World Pizza Champions team), working at the highest level in nearly every style of pizza. In short, he is a pizza genius, as well a successful businessman and consultant. Hear all about Michael Vakneen and his quest for greatness right here on this episode of Pizza Quest.

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On this episode we welcome Bill Crawford, former Air Force jet fighter test pilot and, now, the owner of Righteous Slice in Rexburg, Idaho. Bill shows us all about his Grand Prize winning El Pollo Barracho Pizza (aka "Drunken Chicken" pizza, with tequila marinated chicken) from the 2024 Real California Pizza Contest, sponsored by the California Milk Advisory Board. Peter competed in this contest too (and didn't win), working directly across the bench from Bill during the competition, so he's particularly excited to hear how Bill came up with his concept. Bill even makes us the winning pizza and takes us on a tour around his Idaho pizzeria, in this fun, fascinating, and informative episode.

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The pizza and artisan bread worlds inevitably found each other during the past two decades, and it's a marriage made in heaven. Now, we see a lot of cross-over as pizzerias are making their own breads and many bakeries are making great pizza.

The common denominator in all of this is the Bread Bakers Guild of America, which serves as the networking repository of knowledge and training for everything related to the art and science of bread. The Guild is at the root of the improved quality in bread products across North America and beyond.

In this enjoyable conversation, recorded at the Northeast Pizza and Pasta Expo in Atlantic City, Peter (a founding member of the Guild) meets with the Guild's Executive Director, Karen Bornarth, to catch up on the ever-evolving work and influence of the Guild, including the growing influence and opportunities for women in both bread and pizza.

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Welcome back to Pizza Quest. Yes, the Yodi's are back! John Arena and Brian Spangler, our two original Pizza gurus who helped launch these Pizza Talk/Pizza Quest shows during the pandemic, are joined by the true global bagel poet laureate of our time, Philip Korshak, for a delightful conversation of show-and-tell as we celebrate the emerging bagel renaissance across the land. More and more pizza operators are getting into bagels, as we've discussed on recent shows, and both John and Brian have, likewise, been bitten by the bagel bug (how's that for alliteration?). They couldn't wait to show Philip their latest results. Join us as we dive ever-deeper down the bagel rabbit hole with three of our favorite guests -- yes, the Yodi's are back!

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This episode was recorded at the Northeast Pizza and Pasta Expo in Atlantic with two of the giants in the pizza world, Roberto Caporuscio of the acclaimed Kesté Pizza Napoletana in Greenwich Village, and Massimiliano Saieva, the master teacher of the ASR PIZZALAB, who has been featured on Pizza Quest in the past as well as in Peter's book, Pizza Quest. Learn all about how they are raising the bar by educating pizza makers across the world with their pizza schools, and pick up some tips about how they make their extraordinary pizzas.

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Yes, bagels are back, with a vengeance! Wonderful shops are bobbing up all over the country, in much the same way as their "kissing cousin" the donut shop. The bagel cycle is fairly predictable, as bagels never really go out of fashion, but the trend often spikes every ten years or so, rejuvenating itself as bakers find more creative ways to make or market them. "Schmears" are sometimes part of the secret sauce of the bagel business, but other factors, such advanced fermentation methods, or the use of non-traditional flours or other ingredients, can play a role. Sometimes it just comes down to bagels being an idea whose time has come -- again! In this episode, Jacob and Alex Cohen, the husband and wife owners of Kismet Bagels, located in Philadelphia's food crazed Kensington/Fish Town neighborhood, share their story of growing Philly's fastest growing bagel company as an intuitively driven outcome of the Covid pandemic. Bagels it would seem, like pizza, are a comfort food whose time has come yet again (and again, and again).

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Will Grant seemingly burst on the scene about 8 years ago as an "overnight success" after winning the Caputo Cup Championship in NYC for his White Sourdough Pizza with Gorgonzola Creme Sauce. For 25 years prior to that, he had simply been a well-kept secret in the Pacific Northwest at his now destination pizzeria, That's A Some Pizza on Bainbridge Island. His 120-year old sourdough starter is even registered in the International Sourdough Library in St. Vith, Belgium, and Will is now a certified pizza teacher. He also delivered the keynote address at this year's Pizza and Pasta Northeast Expo. Listen in as he shares his story and some of his keynote message.

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