Scott's Pizza Tour Pizza News

A new phone book arrived on my stoop and it reveals amazing insight into the state of pizza in Brooklyn. Here are some stats:

- The book lists 518 phone numbers for pizzerias
- There are 19 listings for Domino’s Pizza
- There are 14 listings for Papa John’s plus a location at 3528 Nostrand Ave that’s spelled “Pappa John’s” for some reason (it’s a Papa John’s)
- There are 5 listings for Little Caesar’s
- No Pizza Huts are listed
- Popular pizzeria names include Sal’s (4), Vinny’s (4 + 1 Vinnie’s), Luigi’s (5), Rocco’s (6), Gino’s (6 + 1 Gina’s) but the most popular is Tony’s (13)
- There are no Ray’s pizzerias but 2 Not Ray’s listings remain
- Remove all duplicate listings and the Big Four chains and you’re left with 449 pizzerias in Brooklyn!

I am beyond excited to be a guest on this Thursday’s Running Late with Scott Rogowsky along with David Cross, Andrew WK and Alan Zweibel. Running Late is a live talk show featuring amazing guests and run by a guy named Scott whose sidekick is his dad. We did a couple videos for his show (watch one here and the other here) and I’m pumped to bring some pizza love to the party.

Show is at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO (Brooklyn) this Thursday at 8PM. Buy tickets HERE!

David and Kim Sheridan have been planning on opening a pizzeria for years. They searched for restaurant spaces while David honed his skills on the wood-fired oven he built in his own backyard. Some pizza tour attendees were even lucky enough to have eaten pizza with Kim and David in their backyard shrine to deliciousness. They welcomed us and shared some of the best pizza we’ve eaten on any tour. The good news is that they found a space in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn and plan to open their pizzeria/bar called Wheated in early 2013. (While cleaning out the basement a few months back, they even found a century-old coal-burning bread oven!)

In David and Kim’s backyard with a pizza tour group last summer.

It was shaping up to be an extremely exciting spot for pizza lovers but Superstorm Sandy created a major speed bump. David and Kim had restaurant equipment stored in Coney Island, one of the worst hit parts of the city. It wasn’t until a week after the storm hit that they learned about the flooding in their storage space. A pair of Moretti Forni ovens were already corroded and insurance doesn’t cover losses from flooding. It’s a huge setback, but David and Kim are more determined than ever to open their pizzeria.

One of David’s pizzas. It was amazing.

Please consider donating to Wheated’s recovery. If you’re thinking of checking out David and Kim’s place anytime in 2013, it only makes sense to pay for your pizza now when they need it the most!

DONATE NOW

Amazing video of Frank and Bill from Best Pizza in Williamsburg showing off some of Brooklyn’s best pizza and visiting Grandma for dinner.

Cool video about the Brooklyn Brainery, an amazing place where you can go to learn about interesting things from people who love to talk about them! I did a 3-part class about the history of pizza last October for National Pizza Month and this camera crew from Mailchimp just happened to be there. SWEET!

New pizzerias are always exciting, but this one has a fun story that goes beyond the crust. Sottocasa opened just a couple weeks ago with pizzaiolo Luca Arrigoni at the helm. He obviously picked up some major skills from Keste on Bleecker Street, which is where he worked before splitting off to open his own spot.

Some friends and I tried a few pizzas and all were delightful. I especially liked the Reginella, with bright cherry tomatoes and creamy mozzarella di bufala. He also makes an excellent dessert pizza that builds on the popular Nutella filling with some marscapone and toasted almonds. The space is also quite lovely, with a real DIY vibe flowing from the decor. Apparently Luca & Co handled all of the handiwork themselves and it forges a real connection between the staff, food and space.

But I was most intrigued by Luca’s oven. It’s your usual story about thick brick wood-burning heat chamber imported directly from Italy, but the oven’s journey has a very unusual twist. Sottocasa is located in the ground floor of a brownstone near the corner of Atlantic Ave and Smith Street. The restaurant is recessed a few steps below street level but there are no visible obstructions that would prevent the oven from moving to its position near the back of the space. Yet the folks at Sottocasa couldn’t just roll the oven effortlessly across the floor and it’s the fault of the oven itself.

Sottocasa’s oven is a pre-built Acunto and it weighs just over two tons. That’s a bit much for old floors to handle, so Luca had to find another way to get the oven in place. Contrary to what anybody thought physically possible, the best course of action turned out to be lifting the oven over the three story building with a giant crane. That’s right - they lifted it off a flatbed, over the building, and lowered it into place in the back yard. Insane!

Check out this cool video Luca took of his oven being lifted into the clouds.

Remember that the oven is still too heavy to sit on the floor of the restaurant, so it’s actually living on a piece of the backyard. They had to build a special chamber around the oven to make it cohesive with the actual building space. This is exactly why so many old coal-fired ovens in NYC were built beyond the building lines of their respective properties. It’s so neat! Here were some photos to better illustrate what’s going on.

Sottocasa’s backyard with the oven-in-a-box visible through the glass.

Luca tending the oven.

Side view of the oven chamber.

Totally awesome! So not only is Sottocasa a worthy visit because of the pizza, but it also has a great oven story to accompany your meal. Check it out…

Sottocasa
298 Atlantic Ave (between Smith St & Hoyt St)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 852-8758