Good Food March 1, 2024
Photo: ModCatShop/Unsplash
Hello Brooklyn! National Pizza Day may have passed on February 9, but every day is Pizza Day in the Borough of Kings. With that in mind, we are happy to share the story of Thomas Ardito, a physical trainer and entrepreneur who took his mastery of home pizza making to brick-and-mortar Brooklyn DOP Pizza on 5th Avenue in Park Slope. We’ve also asked, in this week’s “Open Table” section of the newsletter, for your favorite Brooklyn pizzeria. Please respond to [email protected], as we’d love to share a roundup of the most popular answers. Remember, Brooklynites: Sharing is caring (especially when it comes to food)!
Speaking of sharing, we have included a video the Eagle’s lead food columnist and Good Food co-editor, Andrew Cotto, made at Cremini’s Aperitivo & Kitchen in Carroll Gardens, where he makes Olive all’Ascolana, the signature dish of Italy’s Le Marche region, with co-owner Elena Salati.
We’ve also provided a classic Sunday Sauce recipe from Brooklyn’s own Anthony Scotto, successful restaurateur and brother to beloved local TV personality Rosanna Scotto of Good Day New York.
Faces Behind the Food: Thomas Ardito
Photo: Andrew Cotto/Brooklyn Eagle
Thomas Ardito of DOP Pizza went from a pandemic-era pizzaiolo selling pies out of his apartment to a pizzeria operator in Park Slope.
Since 2016, Ardito has been working on pizza in his home kitchen. “Unknowing that the pandemic was going to hit, out of my own passion for the craft, I enrolled in the Goodfellas Pizzaiolo Mentorship in Staten Island,” he says. “Andrew and Scott–the owners, founders and master pizza trainers–tailored my focus and curriculum to more of the business side of things, and I got my reps in and learned about more principles of making pizza. I started selling pizzas every Friday on Instagram in April of 2022 to pay my own rent, and it started to take off.”
DOP Pizza stands for Denominazione di Origine Protetta, which translates to Protected Designation of Origin. Ardito explains: “This is a certification used in Italia to denote a product having distinct regional and process-driven origin. It is government-backed and strictly protected by the producers. What we are saying is that we are a distinct, regional and process-driven product.”
His passion for perfection (and pizza) has brought our borough a noteworthy new addition to its iconic landscape for slices and pies.
News
The Food Network has announced that they will relocate much of their New York area Wine & Food Festival from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Many of this October’s largest events (from Oct. 17-20), including the Grand Tasting, will take place at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park. Among the other activities will be a Best of Brooklyn showcase. Ticket availability and the full schedule will be released this summer — watch this space for details.
Fulton Hot Dog King in Downtown Brooklyn has lost its lease and is temporarily closing its storefront at 492 Fulton Street, where it has operated since the 1980s. The community favorite has been in business for over 100 years. There are plans to reopen in the neighborhood, and the Good Food newsletter will keep you updated.
Littleneck, a New England-style seafood shanty in Gowanus, is closing its doors after more than a dozen years. Their closing date is TBD, but early March is suggested on their website, where this note to their customers can be found: “To our dear friends, family, and wonderful community: it’s with heavy hearts that we share the news that we’ll be closing Littleneck in Gowanus. On behalf of the entire LN team, we would like to say thank you for all your love and continued support over these last four years.”
Making Olive all’Ascolana at Cremini’s Aperitivo & Kitchen
The Brooklyn Eagle’s food columnist and Good Food co-editor, Andrew Cotto, visited Cremini’s Aperitivo & Kitchen in Brooklyn to make the signature dish of Le March, Olive all’Ascolana, with chef/co-owner Elena Salati. Watch the video and then try to make them at home (or just go to Cremini’s).
Restaurant Highlight: Lighthouse BK
This week, we are reminding our readers why Lighthouse BK in Williamsburg is such a special Brooklyn restaurant. With equal parts exquisite veggie-forward Mediterranean fare and warmth that emanates from co-owner Naama Tamir, ss Andrew wrote last summer, “Lighthouse BK beckons diners inside with its promise of warmth and comfort where the food equals the ambiance in elegance, inclusivity and well-being.”
Sunday Sauce
Brooklyn-born & raised restaurateur Anthony Scotto may have left the Big Apple to conquer Nashville’s fledgling Italian food scene, but his roots remain true, especially as it pertains to this Sunday Sauce recipe he now serves down south but was born in Brooklyn.
Anthony Scotto’s Sunday Sauce (courtesy of Appetito Magazine)
This newsletter is written by Alice Gilbert and Andrew Cotto. Email [email protected] with any questions or comments.
Copyright (C) 2024 Eagle Urban Media. All rights reserved.
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View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.