Pizza City with Steve Dolinsky
Episodes
Nykolas Sulkiwskyj - Loui's Pizza (Detroit)
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nykolas Sulkiwskyj's grandfather, Louie Tourtrois spent time at Buddy's, the founder of Detroit style pizza. He trained with the original owners there...
Marie Guerra Easterby - Cloverleaf Bar (Detroit, MI)
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Marie Guerra Easterby's father, Gus, is widely known as the father of Detroit style pizza. But when he left Buddy's in 1953, to open the Cloverleaf Ba...
Two New Books!!
22 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are several new books about pizza coming out - the Modernist Pizza series, most notably (and we'll have a separate show on that) - but Steve's l...
Matthew Grogan - Juliana's (Brooklyn)
01 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Grogan loved the pizza from Grimaldi's (and later, Juliana's) so much, he quit his job in finance to help Patsy Grimaldi continue his vision. ...
Nick Buckland - Yard Sale Pizza (London)
17 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Nick Buckland and his partner got around to opening Yard Sale, on the outskirts of London, they were looking to try to improve upon delivery and ...
Adam Kuban, The OG Pizza Writer in NYC
03 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Adam Kuban's dad always aspired to have his own pizza place. Maybe that's why the writer wound up becoming New York City's first writer dedicated to c...
2021 International Pizza Expo
20 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After a 19 month hiatus, the International Pizza Expo is back, somewhat diminished due to a raging Delta variant, but still, people from all over the ...
Michael Burke - Denino's (Staten Island, NY)
06 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For 70 years, Denino's has been one of the most beloved pizzerias on Staten Island. Featured in Pete Davidson's film, "The King of Staten Island", the...
Joe Quercia - Freddy's Pizza (Cicero, IL)
23 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Quercia has worked hard his entire life. He started working at Freddy's Pizza in Cicero in 1968, at the age of 13, and never left. Quercia talks a...
Frank Pinello - Best Pizza (Brooklyn)
09 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Frank Pinello grew up in Brooklyn and Long Island, and aside from hearing it in his voice, you can tell how passionate he is about creating the best s...
Mike Friedman - All-Purpose (Washington D.C.)
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All-Purpose is one of D.C.'s best pizza places, and the pies are a result of owner Mike Friedman's many experiences at restaurants along the Eastern S...
Scott Wiener - Scott's Pizza Tours (NYC)
11 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Wiener started out working in the Department of Cultural Affairs in Hoboken, New Jersey, when an impromptu pizza tour for his birthday led to th...
Tinder Hearth Bakery & Pizza (Brooksville, ME)
28 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Semmler and his wife, Lydia, have been running Tinder Hearth Bakery from their home in rural Maine for the past 13 years. More recently, they've a...
Brian Spangler - Apizza Scholls (Portland, OR)
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Spangler has had a lot of jobs. Some in I.T., some in bread baking. But it's the four year period while working in rural Oregon that laid the fo...
Giovanni Cesarano - King Umberto (Elmont, NY)
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There is a lot of discussion in New York about where "Grandma style" pizza came from, but the truth is, this thin Sicilian style of pan pizza has been...
Umberto Corteo - Umberto's (New Hyde Park, NY)
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are several Umberto's locations on Long Island, but none more famous than the one in New Hyde Park, where generations of pizza lovers have visit...
Bud & Alley's Pizza Bar in Seaside, Florida
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Seaside, Florida is known for its pristine architecture and sandy beaches. "The Emerald Coast" - in Florida's Panhandle - sees a lot of tourists, espe...
Lou Malnati's Turns 50
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Marc Malnati, the President of Lou Malnati's, Chicago's most prolific deep-dish purveyor. Opened on St. Patrick's Day, 1971, by his l...
Tandy Wilson - City House (Nashville)
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tandy Wilson grew up in Nashville, went to culinary school and worked in Northern California, studying Mediterranean cooking, before exploring Italy's...
Tony Galzin - Nicky's Coal Fired (Nashville)
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Galzin is a proud South Sider from Chicago. His wife hails from Alabama, but the two met while working at mk restaurant in Chicago. Tony worked p...
Michael Hanna - St. Vito Focacciaria (Nashville)
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Hanna has worked in the restaurant industry for several years, mostly in Memphis and Nashville. He has tapped into his Sicilian heritage and c...
Patti Tubbs - Italian Fiesta Pizzeria (Chicago)
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Patti Tubbs literally grew up in the pizza business. Her grandfather started Italian Fiesta Pizzeria on the city's far South Side in the 1940s, and th...
Nella Grassano - Nella Pizza e Pasta (Chicago)
08 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nella Grassano grew up in Naples, and pizza has been in her family for decades. She wound up settling in Chicago (where she met her husband) and has w...
Best of 2020
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We're taking a long look back at 2020, a year we'd just as soon like to forget. But these four interviews were unforgettable - full of insight, advice...
The Pizza Pilgrims Have A New Book
04 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Thom and James Elliot fell hard for Neapolitan pizza, and decided to buy a small van and drive through Italy, discovering and learning all they could ...
Oysterhead Pizza Co. (Damariscotta, ME)
20 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chefs Nick Krunkkala and Caroline Zeller are the driving force behind Oysterhead Pizza Co., a tiny shop perched above the flowing Damariscotta River, ...
Noah Sandoval - Pizza Friendly Pizza (Chicago)
06 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 pa...
Mike Keon - Otto (Portland, ME)
23 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 Englan...
Michael Zaffiro - Zaffiro's (Milwaukee, WI)
09 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
Slab Sicilian Street Food (Portland, ME)
25 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 co...
Thomas McNaughton - Flour + Water Pizzeria (San Francisco)
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas McNaughton has had success with Flour + Water in San Francisco for more than a decade, but he wanted something more substantial than the delica...
Jonathan Goldsmith - Spacca Napoli (Chicago)
28 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Neal DeNardi - Long Bridge Pizza (San Francisco)
14 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Neal DeNardi spent years working for various heavy hitters in San Francisco's pizza world: Pizza Hacker, Tony Gemignani, Del Popolo among them. His ha...
The @eatfreepizza gang - Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream (Chicago)
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When friends Brad Shorten, Cecily Rodriguez and Billy Federighi started @eatfreepizza on Instagram, they were known for giving away their handmade, ar...
Mark Hopper - Farmshop Marin (Larkspur, CA)
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Noam Grossman - Norm's Pizza (Brooklyn)
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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: Upsid...
Alternative "Pizzas" from the Middle East and Turkey (Z & Z in D.C., Turkitch in Chicago)
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 c...
Avery Ruzicka - Manresa Bread (Campbell, CA)
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Tommy DeGrezia - Sofia Pizza Shoppe (Manhattan)
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 i...
Danny Stoller & Mark Shechter - Square Pie Guys (San Francisco)
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Rosanna D'Amato - D'Amato's Bakery (Chicago)
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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'Am...
Dave Acocella - Philomena's (New York City)
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Tony Gemignani - Tony's Pizza Napoletana (San Francisco)
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 piz...
Dan Costello - Home Run Inn (Chicago)
13 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Massimo Laviglia - L'industrie (Brooklyn)
28 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Derrick Tung - Paulie Gee's Logan Square (Chicago)
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 Greenp...
Paulie Gee - Paulie Gee's (Brooklyn)
31 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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. Pau...
John Arena - Metro Pizza (Las Vegas)
17 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Arthur Bovino - ThePizzaCowboy.com, @nycbestpizza, The Daily Meal 101 Best Pizzas
03 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Arthur Bovino, the guy behind thepizzacowboy.com, @nycbestpizza and the driving force behind The Daily Meal's annual "101 Best Pizzas...
Vincent Rotolo - Good Pie (Las Vegas)
20 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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) ...
Leo Spizzirri - N. American Pizza Academy (Lisle, IL)
06 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Leo Spizzirri is the driving force behind only the second North American branch of the famed Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli. This pizza school has a locati...
Jared Leonard - Grabowski's Pizzeria (Denver)
22 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Chicago native Jared Leonard about his latest pizzeria - Grabowski's - located in the RiNo District of Denver. Leonard is bringing th...
Adam Sweet - King Dough (Indianapolis)
08 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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...
New Haven Pizza - One Tour, Three Legends
25 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 auth...
Marc Malnati - Lou Malnati's (Chicago)
11 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 jus...
Steven Dilley - Bufalina (Austin)
27 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 uniqu...
Chris Bianco - The Manufactory (L.A.) and Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix)
13 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks to Chris Bianco - of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix - about his new collaboration with Tartine Bakery's Chad Robertson and Elizabeth Prueitt, ...
Michael Schwartz - Genuine Pizza (Miami)
30 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Steve talks to Chef Michael Schwartz, the owner of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami and Cleveland, and Genuine Pizza in Miami. Schwa...
Robert Garvey - Robert's Pizza & Dough Co. (Chicago)
16 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Robert Garvey, an engineer-turned-playwright-turned-pizzaiolo who grew up in Queens with a slice-a-day habit. Moving to Chicago in 19...
Justin De Leon - Apollonia's Pizza (Los Angeles)
02 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Justin De Leon, a former professional photographer who has married his love of photography with his passion for pizza at Apollonia's ...
Anthony Falco - International Pizza Consultant
19 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks to Anthony Falco, one of the founders of Roberta's, in Bushwick, Brooklyn, who, over the past three years, has become a pizzaiolo for-hire...
Dan Richer - Razza (Jersey City, NJ)
05 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Richer is serious about his pizza. Time, temp and a laser-focused intensity about the quality of his ingredients all combine to make his artisan p...
Frank Tuttolomondo - Mama's Too! (New York City)
21 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Rich Aronson - My Pi (Chicago)
07 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve sits down with Rich Aronson, the 2nd generation owner of My Pi, which his father Larry opened in 1971. Rich talks about how they were the first ...
Mark Iacono - Lucali (Brooklyn)
24 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve sits down with Mark Iacono, owner/founder of Lucali, one of New York City's most revered pizza joints. Iacono designed his Carroll Gardens resta...
Gina Pianetto - Pat's Pizza (Chicago)
10 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Gina Pianetto, the 3rd generation owner of Pat's Pizza in Chicago. The pizza the late film critic Roger Ebert dubbed his favorite, is...
Michele Forgione - Pizzeria Gema (Montreal)
26 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve travels to Montreal in the middle of winter, to taste one of the city's best pies at Pizzeria Gema. Chef/Owner Michele Forgione and his Pizzaiol...
Ann Kim - Pizzeria Lola & Hello Pizza (Minneapolis)
12 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Ann Kim, the owner of Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza and Young Joni, all in Minneapolis. Kim attended Columbia University in New York, st...
Franco Stanzione - Stanzione 87 (Miami)
29 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s show, Steve talks with Franco Stanzione, owner of Stanzione 87 in Miami. Franco takes an Old World approach to Neapolitan pizza-makin...
Matthew Hyland - Pizza Loves Emily, Emmy Squared, Violet (NYC)
15 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Matthew Hyland, the chef/owner of three unique pizzerias in New York: Pizza Loves Emily, Emmy Squared and Violet. Hyland met his wife...
Dave Lichterman - Windy City Pie & Breezy Town Pizza (Seattle)
01 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve travels to Seattle to talk with former Chicagoan Dave Lichterman, a computer science engineer who worked for Amazon for about eight years before...
Wes Pikula - Buddy's (Detroit)
15 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Steve talks with Wes Pikula, the VP of Operations at Buddy’s, a Detroit institution, where “Detroit style” pizza was born in 19...
Justin Bazdarich - Speedy Romeo (NYC)
01 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Justin Bazdarich, the owner/founder of Speedy Romeo, with two locations in New York City. Justin is originally from Kansas, but his f...
Rich Labriola - Labriola (Chicago)
18 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve stays home in Chicago to talk to the man behind his favorite deep-dish pizza: Rich Labriola. Labriola grew up in the South suburbs, and his fath...
Daniele Uditi - Pizzana (L.A.)
04 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve travels to Los Angeles to talk with Daniele Uditi, the Pizzaiolo at Pizzana, in Brentwood. Uditi comes from a small, Italian village, where he f...
Pizza City Trailer
02 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Coming January 4th, a new podcast from Steve Dolinsky, the author of "Pizza City USA" and Co-founder of Pizza City USA Tours. Shows run every other Fr...