Rock Star Pizza Guys New York & Naples

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The Biggest ROCK STAR PIZZA GUY of Them ALL !!!

DOM DeMARCO

DiFARA PIZZA

BROOKLYN , NEW YORK

RIP - DOM DeMARCO

I wrote this in 2017, when Dominic DeMarco was still alive.

For me, Dom was The Greatest PIZZAIOLO of ALL-TIME

The GOAT !!!

"My OPINION" - MANY WOULD AGREE

 

ERNEST CACIALLO

Dal PRESIDENTE PIZZERIA

NAPOLI , ITALY

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON Ate PIZZA Here !!!

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MARK IACONA

LUCALI PIZZA

Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn 

NEW YORK

 

 

PAULIE GIANNONI

PAULIE GEES PIZZA

 

 

ANTHONY FALCO

ROBERTA'S 

BROOKLYN , NEW YORK

  

 

GINO SORBILLO

PIZZERIA GINO SORBILLO

NAPOLI , ITALY

This is a Picture of The Perfect PIZZA

Dal PRESIDENTE

NAPOLI , ITALY

 

 

 

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON Eats PIZZA

at Dal PRESIDENTE PIZZERIA

NAPOLI , ITALY

PIZZAILO / Owner ERNESTO CACIALLI Back left "YEE-haa" !!!

SECRET SERVICE AGENT RIGHT

"I Ate Here in The Summer of 2015" ... Daniel Bellino Z... 

"FRIGGIN AWESOME"

 

 

JULIA ROBERTS 

at ANTIC PIZZERIA Da MICHELE

NAPOLI

CLINTON Does Dal PRESIDENT

ROBERTS Does Da MICHELE

 

 

This Was The BEST PIZZA I EVER ATE in NAPOLI !!!

One of The BEST PIZZA'S I've Ever Had in My LifE !!!

 

  

 

THIS GUY Is a PIZZA GUY ROCK STAR

"I don't know his name. He was one of the Pizzaiolo 

at Da MARINO RESTORANTE / PIZZERIA when I had

Lunch there one day June 2015. He's Japanese and is most likely back

 

in Japan as a ROCK STAR PIZZA GUY in TOKYO."

 

 

My SALAME PIZZA at Da MARINA , NAPOLI

So I was ready for Lunch one day and I knew I wanted a nice plate

of SPAGHETTI VONGOLE along with some sort of antipasto item to start.

I was walking around and came across Da Marino. I popped my head in and it

looked pretty good, so as the hostess greeted me I signaled here a table for 1 and she told me

to sit wherever I wanted to.  I found a table, settle in and looked over the menu. I ordered a 

small carafe of Falaghina local white wine and looked over the menu a little more. As I said I 

knew I wanted Spaghetti Vongole and I decided on an Insalta Frutta di Mare as my first course.

It came and it was Awesome and as Perfect as Perfect can be. I ate it, sipped my wine and was

more or less "In 7th Heaven" .. Then came my Spaghetti Vongole and it was the same, perfect 

as perfect can be. 

After finishing my pasta I had to make a quick trip to the WC. On the way I passed the 

Pizzaiolo at the PIZZA OVEN. I took a look and the Pizza looked great. 

When I came out of the WC I stopped by to chat to the Pizzaiolo who was a guy from

Japan who came to NAPOLI to Learn how to make Pizza. "Where Else?" Well New York

wouldn't be bad, but to the Japanese when he went back to JAPAN, making Pizza in Napoli

was going to look better on the resume than New York, though we are known as the 2nd

Best Pizza spot on Earth, "try telling that to the Japanese." TO make a long story short, 

though I wasn't planning on having Pizza, the PIZZA coming out of that oven looked so

DAM GOOD that I just couldn't resist. I didn't feel stuffed or anything, so I figured

"What The Hell," why not try a Pizza here. Id' just eat as much as I could and stop

when I felt full. Well the PIZZA came and as you can see above, it was Friggin Awesome.

And I surprised myself when I ate the whole thing. 

"It was that Dam Good." !!!

..... Daniel Bellino "Z"  .....

 

 

 

 

 

 

My First PIZZA of The TRIP 2015

It was at a cute little PIZZERA "Da GAETANO"

 

PIZZA at 10 AM  

JET LAGGED OUT "PIZZA was The CURE" !!!

 

 

The FIRST PIZZA of THE TRIP

PIZZA FUNGHI

At Da GAETANO PIZZERIA NAPOLI

"AWESOME" !!!!

ARE YOU GOING To NAPLES ?

POSITANO The AMALFI COAST "

GET THIS BOOK !!!

POSITANO The AMALFI COAST

TRAVEL GUIDE - COOKBOOK

VOTED BEST TRAVEL GUIDE by READERS

POSITANO NAPLES CAPRI ISCHIA

The AMALFI COAST - ITALY

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SUNDAY SAUCE

by ME

Daniel Bellino "Z"

BASTA !!!!

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Dining with The Conti Capponi

 

CONTI CAPPONI - BROTHERS SEBASTIANO & NICOLA CAPPONI

The COUNTS of VILLA CALCIANAIA

VILLA CALCINAIA

GREVE in CHIANTI

CONTI CAPPONI

DINING with The COUNTS

      I first met the Conti Capponi in the Spring of 1997, a year that turned out to be the greatest vintage ever for not just Italian Wine in Italy, but it was so remarkable that it was a great vintage for all of the best and most prestigious wine region in the World. The vintage was outstanding in Bordeaux, burgundy, Champagne, The Napa Valley, in Austria and Germany, in Piedmont, Montalcino, Campania, Tuscany (Chianti, Brunello), and the entire World. This was the year I made my first big wine trip to Italy, were I met Count Sebastiano Capponi and his brother Nicolo Capponi, and Giovanni Manetti of Fontodi in Panzano, who produced top notch Chianti and Super Tuscan Wines as well.

     I was in the process of opening the first Venetian Wine Bar (Bar Cichetti NYC), ever to exist in The United States, along with my partner in the venture, Tom T. I had conceived the idea after reading an article on Venice that mentioned the Bacari (Venetian Wine Bars) in the piece in The New York Times Travel Section. I got all hopped up reading the article, and made plans to go to Venice and investigate in the Spring of 1995. I booked a flight to Venice, and was on my way. Over the course of 8 days, I went into every Bacaro in Venice, eating Cichetti and drinking local wine, along with other wines of the Italian Peninsula. I studied the Bacari (Wine Bars) and how each of them did things : what types of cichetti they had, and how they served them,  the wine lists, decor, and every little detail involved in each separate wine bar. I took notes, both mentally and in my notebook. I learned quite a lot, and was armed with the knowledge to set my plan in motion.

     I made a business plan for the Bacaro that I wanted to open in New York. I met Tom T. at an event at the players club in New York. It was a Black Tie Event, honoring comedian / actress Carroll Burnett. It was quite the event. I met Tom, and we took a liking to each other, and somehow my plans to open a Venetian Wine Bar in New York came up. Tom loved the idea, and said, “Let’s get together and talk about this further,” and so we did. We decided to open the place together, and so this was how one-thing-lead-to-the other, and we ended up being invited to Villa Calcinaia to meet the two Italian Counts, The Conti Capponi, Sebastiano and Nicolo Capponi, aka Conti Capponi.

     The meeting was arranged by our friend Olga, who knew the two Noblemen Flroentine Brothers, Sebastiano and Nicola. Olga had a camera shop, just feet away from the famed Ponte Vecchia Bridge of Florence, and was just a block away from The Palazzo Capponi on the other side of the bridge from Olga Shop. A few months before Tom and his girlfriend Kate were in FLorence and met Olga when they went into her store to buy some film. They struck up a conversation and became friends. And so once, it happened that Tom and I were going to open a Venetian Wine Bar, and we were all taking another trip to Italy to do business, and explore more about Italian Food & Wine, restaurant, and wine bars, Olga told Tom about the Conti Capponi who owned Villa Calcinaia, and if we wanted to visit their wine estate in Greve, the Villa Calcianaia. And so we did.

    Another friend of ours in New York, Jean Franco who was from Florence and was the Maitre’d at our favorite Italian Restaurant “Novita,” was friends with the owner of Fontodi WIne Estate in Panzano, where Jean Franco arrange a meeting for us to meet Mr. Manetti, and visit the Fontodi Wine Estate.

     At the time we went on this trip, I didn’t know any proprietors of wine estates in Italy. Once I opened Bar Cichetti, and the Italian Wine Community saw what I was doing, they all wanted to meet me, to taste their wines, and visit their wine estates, any time I desired. This was wonderful and quite a revelation. Anyway, lets go to the day in question. The day we dined with the Conti Capponi.

     It was arrange that we would meet one of the brothers, Nicola Capponi at The Palazzo Capponi adjacent to The Ponte Vecchio. Olga went inside to look for Nicola. A few minutes later, out came Olga with the Conti Cappone Nicola. She introduced him to Tom, Maurat, and I. “How do you do,” said Nicola Capponi as we shook hands. He had an aristocratic English accent. I felt as though I was meeting Prince Charles. We had two cars. Maurat went in the Fiat Panda with Nicola. We had a  driver, and Tom, Olga, and myself were in the Mercedes with driver, following Nicola in the Fiant down to the town of Greve in Chianti, and to the Villa Calcinaia, the Capponi’s family wine estate, that had been producing wine in Greve for almost 500 years.

     We left Florence, we hopped onto the SR222 ancient road, the Chiantigiana and made our way to Chianti Classico and The Villa Calcinaia in Greve. The ride was enchanting, arriving into the beautiful rolling hills of Chianti, dotted with Castles, stone farm houses, and a patchwork of Sangiovese Grape Vines, row after row, Olive Groves,Cypress Trees, and other local flora. Seeing the rows of Grape Vines and Olive Trees, I was in seventh heaven. For this is one of the most beautiful spots in all of Gods Good Earth.

   We turned off the main road and onto the driveway leading up to the Villa. Again I was astonished as the drive, just like you see in the movies, was lined with Great Cypress Trees on both sides of the driveway. It was incredible.

    We arrived at Villa Calcinaia, and again I was astonished. It was beautiful, old, and grand. Outside, Nicola’s brother Sebastiano was waiting for us. Olga made the introductions, and so I met Sebastiano Capponi. What an honored. I have known Sebastiano for almost 25 years now, seeing him many times in New York and at the Villa Calcinaia as well. We went inside, at the doorway that lead into the kitchen where there was an open hearth fire, and the cook (a lady) was cooking, and preparing our meal. Wow?

   Nicola took us on a tour of the Villa , first leading us down the hall, he said “This is Alibaba,” as he led us into the room were large Terracotta Urns were filled with Olive Oil from the Capponi Estate. Nice. Nicola took us into another room, and said, “This is ou 300 year old Mother.” The mother being a gelatinous film that you pour wine over to turn it into vinegar. And the Capponi’s have one that has been kept alive for 300 years. Needless to say, their Chianti Wine Vinegar is amazing. We would try some letter when we’d have lunch with the two Counts.

    After seeing the Olive Oil Urns  (Alibaba) and the 300 Year Old Mothers, Nicola took us into the room where a couple tons of Trebbiano Grapes were hanging on slats to dry out, to make Tuscany’s famed Vin Santo Wine. Villa Calcinaia’s is one of Tuscany's best, and we just love it.

    We were then led into a room with many large Slovenian Oak Cask filled with aging Sangiovese for making Chianti wine. Nicola is quite theatrical, and he didn’t disappoint telling a dramatic story, and telling us about the CHianti and the Wine Theif he used to take some wine out of the large oak cask for us to taste. “Wow,” this was my first time doing what si know in the wine world as a “Barrel Sampl,” tasting wine that is aging in wooden cask out of the barrel to see how they taste at any particular time during the aging process. And I was doing it at a renowned Chianti Wine Estate, being served by the Noble Conti Capponi  Nicola. I couldn't believe my great fortune. Again, “I was in 7th Heaven”

   After touring the Villa Calcinaia Cellars, Nicola took us outside to show us the Herb Garden and some Sangiovese Vines, and Olive Tree Groves of the estate. Again, “Wow”

     We then went back inside the castle and were led into the dining room. “Wow, Wow, & Wow? I was going to have lunch with the two Noble Brothers, the Conti Capponi, Sebastiano and Nicola. We all sat down at a beautiful table in the dining room. The lunch was wonderful, drinking several vintages of Capponi Chianti, as we dined on a lovely Antipasto Misti of homemade Salami, Tuscan Pecorino, Olives, and Crostini Toscano. We drank the most recent vintage Chianti of Villa Calcainaia. After the antipasto, we had Pici Pomodoro (Pasta w/ Tomato Sauce), and drank more Chianti.

    The main course was a delicious Roast Chicken with Potatoes, and Chianti Reserva that was absolutely wonderful. We finished the meal with  Villa Calcinaaia Vin Santo and Biscotti, that was one of the most magnificent pairings imaginable. “Wow? What a meal?” , Needless to say, “It was the most memorable meals of my entire life. One I shall never forget. Thank Goodness I do have one nice picture of the meal. It is of me, in the dining room of Villa Calcinaia. “I wish I had more.” Thank God I do have at least that one.

    We finished lunch, thanked the brothers for such a wonderful time, and we bid then adieu. We hopped in the car, and made our way to Panzano. We’d meet Giovanni Manetti, nibble on Salami, and taste their amazing wines. The wines of Fontodi : Chianti, Chianti “Vigne del Sorbo,” Flaccinella, and Vin Santo. 

    “What a day?”

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

January 1, 2025

Me at VILLA CALCINAIA

GREVE in CHIANTI

"LUNCH with The COUNTS"

"Wish I had a BETTER PICTURE"

With CONTI SEBASTIANO CAPPONI

MYSELF & GIOVANNI MANETTI

NEW YORK 2024

CHIANTI

CONTI CAPPONI CALCINAIA CHIANTI

BOOKS by DANIEL BELLINO

DANIEL BELLINO has authored SUNDAY SAUCE, La TAVOLA, Mangia Italiano,

SINATRA SAUCE, The RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK, Got Any Kailua ?

And POSITANO The AMALFI COAST Travel Guide - Cookbook

AMAZON.com

SUNDAY SAUCE

AMERICA'S FAVORITE ITALIAN COOKBOOK

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The Brooklyn Bridge NYC

 

The BROOKLYN BRIDGE

Painting Copyright 2021 by Bellino

The BROOKLYN BRIDGE - A Brief History

The Brooklyn Bridge is a suspension/cable-stay hybrid bridge in New York City that connects Manhattan and Brooklyn. It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in United States (completed in 1883) and a first steel-wire suspension bridge in the world.

Brooklyn Bridge was designed by John Augustus Roebling. While conducting some of the last measuring across the East River ferry crushed his foot against the piling. HIs foot had to be amputated but he got tetanus from it, fell into a coma and died from tetanus 3 weeks after the amputation and just few days after he placed his son Washington Roebling in charge of the building the bridge. Construction began on January 3, 1870. First step was building of solid foundations for the bridge. That was achieved by using “caissons”, closed wooden boxes that were placed under water and filled with compressed air that allowed workers to dig the riverbed. Problem with caissons is a danger of getting so-called “caisson disease” - a decompression sickness that appears in construction workers when they leave compressed atmosphere to fast and enter normal atmosphere. One of the first victims of caisson disease was Washington Roebling, which left him paralyzed and bedridden, so his wife, Emily Warren Roebling had to step in and spend next 11 years as his assistant and supervisor of the construction of the bridge.

On May 24, 1883, Brooklyn Bridge was opened for public. Thousands of people were present and the opening ceremony as well as many ships. American president Chester A. Arthur and New York Mayor Franklin Edson crossed the bridge from the New York side to Brooklyn side where Brooklyn Mayor Seth Low greeted them to cannon fire in celebration of the opening. Washington Roebling was not able to attend ceremony so President Chester A. Arthur visited Roebling at his home shook hands with him. Nevertheless, Roebling held a banquet at his home on that day, in celebration of the opening of the bridge. On a first day after opening, some 1.800 vehicles and 150.000 people crossed the bridge. First one to cross the bridge was Emily Warren Roebling.

At the time when constriction was finished, Brooklyn Bridge was the longest bridge in the world with total length of 1825 meters. It stayed longest until 1903. Its cost was $15.5 million and 27 lives was lost during construction. On 30 May 1883, mere six days after the bridge was opened, a rumor spread that Brooklyn Bridge will collapse. That rumor cased stampede in which caused some twelve people to be trampled and killed. To remove rumors that the bridge is not stable (and to promote his circus at the same time), P. T. Barnum led 21 elephants across the bridge on May 17, 1884.

At the time when the bridge was constructed, there were no conditions to test aerodynamics of the bridge (tests of aerodynamics started in 1950s) but, luckily, there was no need for them. John Augustus Roebling designed the bridge six time stronger than it is needed and with that assured that it will last.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE Tee Shirt

BROOKLYN BRIDGE NOTEBOOK / JOURNAL

BROOKLYN BRIDGE COFFEE MUG

SALE !

Design by Bellino

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Homemade Pizza and Dough Recipe

Make Pizza at Home

"Yes You Can" !

PIZZA

    

Italian all over Italy, as well as their Italian-American cousins in America,love to make this tasty homemade pan pizza at home. It’s absolutely delicious, and a lot easier to make than you’d think. This is the basic recipe for a Pizza with Tomato & Mozzarella, and you can add other toppings like; Sausage, Pepperoni, Mushrooms, and / or Sweet Peppers if you like. You can even make some delicious Rosemary Focaccia by eliminating the tomato and mozzarella, and adding fresh Rosemary instead. Once you know how to make this basic pizza, you can do a lot of things with this recipe. so give it a shot. Make it a few times and you’ll become a pro, and a hit at the Friday Night Pizza Party, or anytime at all. Buon Apettio!

Enjoy.

Ingredients for the Dough :

1 packet Dry Yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 cup Warm Water  (about 110 degrees)

3 cups Bread Flour

2 tespoons Kosher Salt (or Sea Salt)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil for dough & more for pan

You will need a Food Processor to make this dough.

Place the water, Sugar, and Yeast in a small bowl, stir it a little, then let it rest at room temperature until it starts to foam (about 10 minutes).

If your food processor has a plastic dough hook use that. If it doesn’t, then insert the metal cutting blade onto your processor.

Add the Flour and Salt to the food processor and pulse for 2 seconds.

Add the water / yeast mixture and 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil to the processor.

Turn the processor on and let it run until the dough starts to form a ball, and is pulling away from the processor bowl. Then turn the processor on again, for exactly 30 seconds and stop.

Get a large glass or ceramic bowl and lightly coat the whole inside with some Olive Oil. Place the dough in the bowl and move it around so it gets coated completely with olive oil. If you need it, add a bit more olive oil.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and leave the dough to rise for one hour, in a draft-space. Usually somewhere on the kitchen counter is fine.

After one hour to 1 hour & 15 minutes, your dough should have risen to double its original size. The dough is ready ro roll out and make pizza.

PIZZA TOPPING :

A jar of Italian Passata di Pomodoro (Tomato Sauce)

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

½ pound whole milk Mozzarella Cheese (Polly-O)

¼ cup grated Pecorino Cheese

8 Basil Leaves, torn by hand

Note : Passata di Pomodro is puree of Italian Tomatoes, aka Tomato Sauce. I recommend getting a good quality Italian product like, Mutti, or anything labeled San Marzano for best results.

MAKING THE PIZZA

You will need a half sheet pan (16.5” x 11.5” ) to make the Pizza.

Turn your oven on to 400 degrees.

Place 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil in the sheet-pan, and spread with your fingers so the whole bottom surface of the pan has a thin coat of oil.

Remove your dough from the bowl and place it in the center of the sheet-pan. Pussh the dough down with your hand, and push and stretch the dough until it forms into the size of the pan, and is completely covering the bottom of the pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest inside the pan for 10 minutes.

Take a spoon and spread enough of the tomato passata (tomato sauce) over most of the pizza dough, leaving a half inch around all sides without tomato, as a border that pizzas always have. 

Drizzle a couple tablespoons of Olive Oil over the pizza. Sprinkle a little Salt over the whole pizza. 

Sprinkel the grated Pecorino Romano Cheese evenly over the whole pizza. 

Evenly spread all the torn Basil over the pizza. 

Then evnenly spread shredded mozzarella evenly over the pie. Don’t over do it with the cheese. There should be spots where ther is just tomato and no cheese over it. You don’t want the cheese to completely cover the pied or it will be out of balance.

Place the Pizza in the oven and bake for about 16 to 20 minutes, until the crust looks nicely browned. Serve and enjoy.

Note : Naturally you can add other toppings to this basic tomato pizza, such as Pepperoni, Sausage, or Mushrooms, whatever you like.

You can make tasty basic focaccia by not adding the tomato and cheese as the toppings on the dough. Instead, add a little more olive oil, some extra Kosher or Sea Salt sprinkled on top. Then add some chopped fresh Rosemary on top, throw it in the oven and bake, and you’ll have some tasty Rosemary Foccacia.

RECIPES From My SICILIAN NONNA

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CAPONATA - ZUPP -PASTA

ARANCINI (Rice Balls)

And More ... 

Sicilian Pizza 

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