Zagat editor James Mulcahy traveled to Staten Island with a chef who looks to the borough's pizza for inspiration. He filed this report.
GG's, recently opened in the East Village, is attracting crowds with its New York-style pies. When creating the menu, chef Bobby Hellen was inspired by his childhood favorites from Staten Island.
"We kind of wanted to hit all of the different styles - it's our pizza for this restaurant. We have a grandma pie, people call it Sicilian. We do a normal round. We have a margarita, we have clam pie, we have a spicy sopressata pie," he says.
On his day off, Hellen agreed to take us back to the Staten Island pie shops that inspired him. There were two must-try venues on our itinerary.
"Pizza hasn't changed much on Staten Island; it is the same today as it was years ago. The two places I would normally always check are Denino's and Joe and Pat's. At Denino's, their white pie is one of the best things I've ever had,” he says. “That first bite, when you smell the garlic, and you have the texture of the onions and the cheese and the crust, is just perfect. It's taking a few simple ideas and putting them together."
After we devoured a few garlic-packed slices, it was off to Joe and Pats to try the inspiration for Hellen's grandma pie.
"I really like them baked, because it takes so much longer. It's in a pan, so you get a little bit more caramelized on the bottom. I love the texture of biting through the sauce, to the cheese and then the crispy underneath," says Hellen.
Upon returning to GG's, it was easy to see the parallels between Hellen’s gourmet pies and the classics that inspired him.
I would say that it's better than the original. It is a little bit fresher. The ingredients are stellar.
"I'm trying to do something a little different but keep it very similar to how it used to be or what I remember,” says Hellen.
At his new restaurant, the chef is able to play with these creations, but on Staten Island, these timeless recipes are written in stone, as they should be.
"If you're on Staten Island, and you make pizza, that's the only pizza that's ever been invented. They don't look at other places for inspiration because they have it right there. That's the Staten Island way," says Hellen.
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