First Annual New York Pizza Show focuses on NYC's pizza heritage
New York, NY - Pizza makers
from around the U.S. and the world will pay homage to New York City's
pizza industry pioneers at the first annual New York Pizza Show, Nov. 2
and 3, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Attendees can register online at www.newyorkpizzashow.com or by telephone at (203) 925-0004 ext. 117.
The New York Pizza Show's
attendees will load up on buses every night for dinner and socializing
at the city's most storied pizza hotspots, including John's on Bleecker
Street, Lombardi's and Totonno's.
John's on Bleecker Street
Monday, November 1st
John Sasso, a Lombardi's
veteran (see below for info on Lombardi's), opened John's Pizza on
Bleecker Street in 1929. "What a time to open," said Bob Vittoria, the
pizzeria's current majority owner. "It was the middle of the
Depression."
Sasso's nephews, Augustine
‘Chubby' Vesce and Joe Vesce, bought the restaurant from Sasso in 1953.
"Chubby and Joe were my uncles," Vittoria said. "They got out about
1980, and Peter Castellotti, Sr. and Rose Vesce (Chubby's wife) became
the shareholders. You see, this place has been in our family since
1929, and I've worked here since 1965."
Lombardi's
Tuesday, November 2nd
Gennaro Lombardi is
credited with opening the first pizzeria in the U.S. Over the years,
Lombardi's earned legendary status among pizza lovers before it closed
its doors in 1984. Ten years later, John Brescio, a childhood friend of
Gennaro's grandson Jerry, started talking to Jerry about reopening
Lombardi's, and in that same year they did, with a slight change in
location: They moved a block down the street to 32 Spring Street.
"My grandma used to make
pizzas at home, and I wanted the same kind of pizza," Brescio said. "I
wanted to keep things the way they were (at the original Lombardi's),
so we had the original oven moved from the old location and put in
here."
Totonno's
Wednesday, November 3rd
Gennaro Lombardi's paesan,
Anthony Pero, created the famous Totonno's in Coney Island. "Anthony
and Gennaro were friends in Naples," said Larry Goldberg, present
co-owner of Totonno's, located on the Upper East Side's Second Avenue.
"Anthony was a baker, and when he came to New York, he convinced
Gennaro to let him make pizza. He worked for him for 20 years, saved
his money and opened his own pizzeria."
"Back then, Anthony only
made so much dough for the day," Goldberg said. "When it was gone, that
was it. Ask any of the old taxi drivers who the Pizza Nazi was ... it
was Anthony. Because the ovens cook so fast, you get some small burn
spots on the bottom of the crust. That's New York pizza. But if a
customer would come up to the counter and (complain), Anthony would
take the pizza from them and tell them to get out because he had plenty
of people who wanted it."
All of the tours for A Slice of History require registration and have a $25 registration fee.
For more information on the tours, go here or check out PMQ's articles on these pizzerias: John's on Bleecker Street, Lombardi's and Totonno's.
For more information on the New York Pizza Show, go to www.newyorkpizzashow.com. To register for A Slice of History Dining Tours, folow the directions of the online registration here.
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