Pizza Night in Jersey NJ

 

Pizza Town

Route 46 , Garfield , New Jersey

"The First Place I ever had a Calzone!"

  My first memories of PIZZA were from Bella Pizza in East Rutherford, New Jersey. I was a young boy and this Pizzeria just opened on Park Avenue. It was a standard Pizzeria like many others found all over the New York-New Jersey metro area, serving solid pizza just the way the locals like it. The pizza was of a high standard as all the pizza must be if you’re going to make and sell Pizza in the heavily Italian-Populated New York and New Jersey areas. A large pie which you just ordered as a Pizza, the one that is known as Pizza Margherita in Italy is made of the pizza dough topped with tomato sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. Basta!    The Pizza in America are much larger than those made in Italy and are cut into 8 triangular slices and are enough for 2 or 3 people to eat, or even four if you’re not that hungry or sharing a Pizza just as a snack in-between meals. I can still remember the price of the pizza at Bella Pizza in East Rutherford back in the 60s a whole pie cost just $1.50 and a slice was .20 cents. So if you wanted what they call in Napoli and all over Italy the Pizza Margherita, you just simply ordered a Pizza, or a Cheese Pie, or simply a Pie, meaning it was with Tomato, Mozzarella , and Basil and no other toppings. And if you wanted extra toppings, you just say a Pepperoni Pie, or half mushroom half pepperoni, or a Sausage Pie or whatever. That’s the way it was and more or less still is with ordering Pizza at your standard pizzeria. Nowadays most pizza cost between $2.25 and $2.75 a slice and about $16.00 to $20 and even more for a whole plain pie.    Anyway, as most kids did and do, we loved eating pizza, and on most Friday nights it was Pizza Night for many families in Jersey. Mom didn’t want to cook that night, the kids loved getting pizza and looked forward to it as a special treat on Friday nights, as we knew it as Pizza Night and we just loved it. We’d have pizza, Coca-Cola and some sort of sweets, a cake or Ice Cream for desserts after we ate our Pizza. Yes Friday Night Pizza was always a much loved treat as a child growing up in Jersey in the 1960s and 70s. We’d listen to WABC Radio and Top 20 Hits, R&B, and Rock-N-Roll and all was fine in the World, we had all that we needed. How I miss those sweet days of youth and a simpler time than today. Back then you had everything you needed in life. We had Radio and TV and we still do today. We had Cars that were beautiful unlike some of the ugly ones of today. We had the Telephone, no cel phones or internet, we didn’t need them. We all had a Football, a Basketball, a Baseball Bat, Baseball, and Glove to play Baseball, Basketball, and Football as all healthy American boys did back then. We didn’t have Video Games but we had Aurora Racing Car sets, maybe Electric Trains, and wonderful Board Games like; Monopoly, Candyland, Chess, Checkers, Stratego, and Battle Ship. And one of the most wonderful things we had back then in the 60s & 70s was great music unlike the Crap they call music today, we had Great Top 100 Hits, wonderful R&B sounds of Motown and The Philly Sound, we had The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Rock-N-Roll, what do the kids have for music today? Sadly, just Crap Rap and the other garbage they think is music. Yes it’s quite sad what has happened to music in the past 20 years. But yes we had everything we needed; Radio, TV, cars, a stereo, Sports, great music to listen to, and Pizza, we always had Pizza, we still do.    Well sorry, I got off topic, but it’s all part of the story you see. In Italy when it comes to Pizza it’s a bit different than the way Pizza is done in America. Pizza was born in Napoli where it is revered into a high religion and is to made just so. The Pizza is much smaller and is made for one and they do not make slices unless you are in Rome or other parts of Italy where they make Pizza that is made in large pans ahead of time and then cut into squares and heated up when a customer orders some. That’s Pizza Taglio, and most Pizza made in Italy is Neapolitan Pizza that is made to order. As we’ve said they are individual sized (about 12” round) for one person and made to order and are cooked in hot wood burning ovens to strict standardized specifications. A Pizza Margherita made in the true Neapolitan fashion is made with fresh tomato puree, olive oil, salt, fresh garlic, basil, and mozzarella placed on top, then the pizza cooks in the hot wood burning oven, and is ready in just about 4-5 minutes. Pizza Margherita was created by Raffaella Esposito in 1889 where he was working at Pizzeria di Pietro. He made the Pizza and named it in honor of Queen Margherita of Savoy who was visiting Naples (Napoli) at the time. American Pizza on the other hand is made with a cooked sauce and we tend to put more sauce and cheese than they do in Italy .    Now, my own experience eating Pizza in Italy. Well the first pizza I first had in Italy was Pizza Taglio (pan Pizza) and not the Classic Neapolitan Pizza, which is by far the dominant pizza in all Italy, and though there is Pizza Taglio which is sold in square slices, it’s a mere fraction as far as its presence goes, which is just about 1% of all Pizza consumed in Italy is Pizza Taglio, the rest being classic Neapolitan. Anyway, there’s very good pizzeria that makes Pan Pizza close to the train station in Rome. Like other pizzerias that make Pizza Taglio in Italy, there’s an array of different pizzas with different toppings that are already made and are laid out before you. You choose which type of pizza you’d like, tell them the size you want, they cut it and weight it to determine the price by weigh. Yes the pizza is a bit different in America, but it’s dammed good, and America makes the world’s best pizza outside of Italy. And as far as Pizza goes in America, everyone knows that the best Pizza in the country is made in New York, and especially in Brooklyn with great shrines to Pizza in the form of; Tottono’s in Coney Island, Grimaldi’s, and DiFara Pizza by Pizza Maestro Dom DeMarco. Then you’ve got John’s on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village and the first Pizzeria ever to exist in the United States Lombardi’s on Prince Street, established in 1905.    Anyway, enough with the technicalities of Pizza, sometimes things are analyzed too much, just eat it and enjoy. We loved eating Pizza on Pizza Night or any time of the week when we were lucky enough to get it. And there is one particular time that I always remember. We went on a trip with our local church to the big beautiful Riverside Cathedral in New York one time, and it was a very special trip. When we came home, the Priest and other church officials made a little Pizza Party for us in the church basement. They ordered a bunch of Pizzas for all the kids (Grownups too) and it was a very special thing for us, as pizza always was and even so to this day. Yes there’s nothing like when you’re a child and they have a Pizza Party for you, we just loved it. And so these are my memories of Pizza.




  Excerpted From "MANGIA ITALIANO" Memories of Italian Food  


     by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke  




 

Typical Large Pie for PIZZA NIGHT in The 60s

 

Read about PIZZA NIGHT , CANNOLIS, PROVOLONE, MEATBALLS, 

Growing Up Italian in America, Italian Food, Italy, and more, 

in best selling author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke's 

latest book, Mangia Italiano - Memories of Italian Food.

     

MANGIA ITALIANO !

The Latest From Daniel Bellino "Z"

PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE

POSITANO The AMALFI COAST

TRAVEL GUIDE - COOKBOOK

100 REGIONAL RECIPES - NAPLES

Including - PIZZA DOUGH PIZZA Recipe

POSITANO CAPRI NAPLES SORRENTO

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Booby Flay Secret BBQ Sauce

 

BOBBY FLAY

SECRET WEAPON

Is BONE SUCKEN BBQ SAUCE

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Put it On CHICKEN, RIBS, BURGERS

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Worlds Best Steak House PeterLuger Brooklyn NY

PETER LUGER

 

 

The WORLD'S GREATEST STEAK HOUSE

 

Right Over The WILLAIMSBURG BRIDGE

 

 

BROOKLYN

 

 

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PORTERHOUSE STEAK

 

PETER LUGER

 

BROOKLYN

 

The PORTERHOUSE STEAK

 

PETER LUGER

 

 

"The BEST THING I EVER ATE"

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LEARN HOW

To COOK a PETER LUGER STEAK

at HOME

RECIPE in The BADASS COOKBOOK

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Ginos Secret Sauce Recipe

TONY tells a LADY

"Get the RIGATONI SEGRETO

with SECRET SAUCE

Gino's of Lexington Avenue was without question one of the Greatest Italian Restaurants in the history of Italian Restaurants in New York. The food was great and very affordable. The ambiance was wodderful, full of Gino's many regulars, a loyal clientel that included Celebrites such as ; Italian-American writers Gay Talese adn Nicholas Pileggi, and entertainers like Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner and Tony Bennett, as well as Titans from, Advertising, Wall Street, Real Estate, and otherr high-profile businesses in New York.

Yes the clientale was a loyal one, whose went to Gino's over and over again for the great comradery wth good times eating, drinking, laughing, enjoying life. They put out some tasty food, including all of America's favorite Italian dishes like; Baked Clams, Mozzarella en Carozza, Lasagna, Sausage & Peppers, Bracioli, Veal Milanese and Parmigiano, and Gino's most famous dish of all, the one all the regulars would get all the time. That dish was PASTA SEGRETE made with SALSA SEGRETO , Gino's Secret Sauce, "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." No not really, but without question "One of" the Best Things I Ever Ate, yes along with a few thousand others, Rigatoni Segrete at Gino's was favorite of mine, that you could only get at Gino's, unless you were like me and knew how to make it yourself, GINO'S SALSA SEGRETO . Well you can, "I've published the recipe in my book SEGRETO ITALIANO, SECRET ITALIAN RECIPES & FAVORITE DISHES .

Yes I love the dish, and you will too, it's easy to make, but "The BEST THING I EVER ATE," it's not Rigatoni Segreto, the Best Thing I Ever Ate is without question my Recipe for Ragu Bolognese, there's nothing like it, probably the Tastiest thing you ever ate, as simple as that. "You Will Love It."

BASTA !

GINO'S RIGATONI SEGRETO

with SALSA SEGRETO

"The BEST THINGS EVER"

SINATRA LOVED IT

The SECRET SAUCE

But AVA Even More

The BEST THING I EVER ATE !

Learn How to Make

GINO'S RIGATONI SEGRETO

With SECRET SAUCE

One of  Frank Sinatra 's Favorites

He LOVED GINO'S

and Their SECRET SAUCE

New York s Best BURGERS Are in NEW JERSEY

WHITE MANNA

Hackensack NJ

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BEST BLT Ever

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You Gotta Have RIPE TOMATOES

And Awesome BACON of Course

The BEST BLT EVER

LEARN HOW to MAKE One at HOME

Instructions in The BADASS COOKBOOK

The BADASS COOKBOOK

RECIPE The BEST BLT Sandwich Ever !!!!

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Number 1 BEST THING I AVER ATE

PICI BOLOGNESE

And The WORLDS BEST EVER RAGU BOLOGNESE RECIPE

by DANNY BOLGONESE

aka Daniel Bellino Zwicke

RECIPE  in The RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK

 

It's The #BestTHINGever !!!

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The RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK

And The WORLDS BEST BOLOGNESE SAUCE

by Danny Bolognese

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The Best Things in Life are Free ... It's a great old saying. A wonderful old song was evven written on the sbject. The song The BEST THINGS in LIFE are FREE starts out with the lines "The Moon Belongs to Everyone. The Best Things in Life are Free." The song mentions "Flowers in Spring," "Robins that Sing," and "The Sunbeams that Shine." They don't mention Bolgonese Sauce, though they easily could, for it is without question, one the Best Things in life, and it certainly is one of "The Best Things Ever." No doubt. And it can even be free, and if not free, and if you are making it, and paying for the ingredients to make it, it may not be free, but it's dam near it, costing a measly .95 Cents to serve a portion of it. Bolognese the taste is so devine, almost orgasmic, "seriously, it is." It's that good. The taste of properly made Ragu Bolognese, dressing whatever pasta you choose; Spaghetti, Tagiatelle, Rigatoni, whatever, a proper made Ragu Bolognese is one of the most devine dishes imaginable. The great Marcell Hazan said of it, "There is no more perfect union in all Gastronomy than the marriage of Ragu Bolognese and homemade Bolognese tagliatelle." Well I couldn't agree more with Marcella, except that, though homemade tagliatelle is absolutely wonderful, it is not absolutely essential for the great dish of Pasta w/ Ragu Bolognese, they very most improtant element is that you have a perfectly made Ragu Bolognese, the thing that will give the dish 90% of its unmatchable sinfully luscious flavor. The Pasta and the grated Parmigiano Reggaino are great, but "it's all about the Bolognese (Sauce)."

There are many great dishes in the World, and of many different international cuisines, but nothing quite like a well made "Ragu Bolognes," trust me. I love a great Bouf Bourgonnone, Coq au Vin, Foe Gras, Vietnamese PHO, lush American BBQ Ribs, the perfect Hamburger, a juicy Prime New York CUt Sirloin Steak, Tandoori Chicken, a NY Pastrami Sandwich, Belgian Chocolate, perfectly Roast Chicken, I could go on and on, I love these dishes and a couple hundred more, but there is no dish that I love more than a properly made Bolognese, and no Bolognese Sauce that is better than mine, "None," not Marcella's, not anywhere in Bologna, Italy, nor anywhere in all of Emelia Romagna the region it comes from. I know it may sound pompous and egotistical for me to brag about my Bolgonese as I do, and I know people would call me insane, for me to think that of all the great Italian Chefs all over Italy and especially in Emeia Romagan, that I would have the nerve to think that I make "The Worlds Best Bolognese," but it's TRUE, "I do!" I make without a doubt, the single Best Ragu Bolognese in the entire World. Yes it may sound absurd, but absurd it's not. Just ask the some four or five-hundred people who've had it, they'll all confirm the fact that the worlds single best tasting most perfect Bolognese Sauce is made by none other than Italian-American Italian-Cookbook Author (formerChef) Daniel Bellino Zwicke of Greenwich Village, New York.

I was taught the recipe of this the Worlds Greatest Bolognese when I was a cook at the now defunct Caio Bella Restaurant, up on Thrid Avenue at 75th Street in New York back in 1987 by Chef Pasquale, sorry I can't remember his last name. Anyway, Chef Pasquale was from Brindisi Italy, a city in the South of Italy in the region of Puglia. Pasquale started working in kitchens in Brindisi where he first honed his craft. He later went on to work in kitchens in Milan, Bologna, Parma, London, and Tokyo, Japan before moving to New York and becoming the Head Chef at the restaurant Mezzaluna, the 1st restaurant to make and serve real Italian Pizza made in a wood-burning Pizza Oven in New York and in the United States. The restaurant was a big hit, and a couple of the waiters at the restaurant, a guy named Rocco and my ex-boss Enrico Proetti wanted to go out on their own and open their own restaurant, and so they did. They got togehter with a wealthy older Italian man "Fred" who became their partner and put up all the cash to open the restuarant up the street, called Caio Bella. Caio Bella was a big success, and a quick one at that, and it was soon one of the hottest restaurant of the day, back in 1987 when I went in looking for a job. I met Pasquale, we chatted, I told him about my background and my asperations with Italian Food. Pasquale hired me, and the rest is history. I had mostly worked in French Restaurants before that, and I'd gone to New York Technical College in Brooklyn where they taught Classical French Cusisine, which is the food I wanted to cook when I first got started. Yes I first wanted to cook French. But after I made my first trip to my ancestral home of Italy in the Summer of 1985, I caught the bug, and from then on, i wanted to cook authentic Italian Food. I soaked up and learn all I could of true Italian Food, made the Italian way, and I don't mean Italian-American, but by Italians. So I decided I needed to get a job at a great Italian Restaurant in New York that had a great Italian Chef from Italy. I went to Sandro's and Arqua first, and they both offered me jobs, but when I went up to Caio Bella and Chef Pasquale hired me as a line-cook, I decided to take the job at Caio Bella.

Pasquale was a great teacher, and he showed me personally how to make all the dishes on the menu, including his great recipe for Ragu Bolognese. I made it just the way Pasquale showed me how to make it, and from then on, I was the person at Caio Bella who always made the Ragu Bolognese. Pasquale liked the way I made it, exactly the way he showed me, and that was that. And I've always made my Bolognese just like that. No matter what others may tell you, every Bolognese is at least a little different from all others, and so was Pasquale's which latter became mine, and ever since I've made it at Caio Bella in 1987, I've never tasted one quite like mine, which as you know by now, is "The Worlds Best Ragu Bolonese Ever." No Brag, Just Fact as Walter Brennan used to say in his Cowboy TV Show back in the 60s.

In 1998 I finally acheived my dream of opening my own restaurant. I opened up what turned out to be the 1st Ever Venetian Wine Bar (Bacaro) in the United States of America in Bar Cichetti. I was the Chef / Wine Director and managing partner of Bar Cichetti. I received numerous accolades from the New York Times, Time Out Magazine, New York Magazine and other publications, including my favorite one of all, a 5 page spread about me and my restaurant Bar Cichetti, and my favvorite line of all from The Journal of Italian Food Wine & Travel Magazine which saide, "Daniel (Bellino Zwicke0 makes the Best Ragu Bolognese in America." Yes they said that, I couldn't agree with them more.

  Thanks, Daniel           THE BEST THINGS in LIFE are FREE   LYRICS The moon belongs to everyone The best things in life are free The stars belong to everyone They gleam there for you and me The flowers in spring The robins that sing The sunbeams that shine They're yours, and they're mine love can come to everyone The best things in life are free The moon belongs to everyone The best things in life are free The stars belong to everyone They gleam there for you and me The flowers in spring The robins that sing The sunbeams that shine They're yours, and they're mine love can come to everyone The best things in life are free The moon belongs to everyone The best things in life are free The stars belong to everyone They gleam there for you and me The flowers in spring The robins that sing The sunbeams that shine They're yours, and they're mine love can come to everyone The best things in life are free ooh... Lord... Everything... Every one of those good things The best, best things in life are free...  

#BestThingYouEverATE !!!