During most of my adolescent years my family would have pizza for dinner on a certain night of the week-you guessed it, Friday. And if it wasn’t pizza you could bet money on Chinese. Pizza on Friday night was almost as certain as my Italian friends and their family’s “Sunday Dinner”.  Except in their case, there was a tendency to involve lots of eggplant, chicken cutlets, antipasto and an extremely loud kitchen.

Lucky for us there was no shortage of delicious pizza places in the neighborhood because we lived right near New Haven, CT. The center of the universe for pizza. We frequently went to DiMatteo’s after high school for a slice, Bimonte’s with my Dad’s parents, Sorrento’s to visit friends at work, Yorkside if you were hungry before your favorite band went on at Toad’s Place and Modern if it was a family affair you were in for a treat. Because, what most locals will tell you, Modern Apizza is the best.

Today I still friggin’ love pizza but not imposters like Pizza Hut or Domino’s. I’m picky about my pie. I will always love traditional thin crust, brick-oven pizza simply made with tomato sauce and mozzarella. On the other end of the spectrum I totally love creativity. In college I was obsessed with a local pizza’s bbq chicken and insanely scrumptious bufflao chicken with bleu cheese. At the time these were exotic and new but today these flavors seem to be staples for tons of pizza restaurants everywhere.

When your pizza shop supports local farms, uses fresh organic produce and showcases art and photography on your walls, then I really friggin’ love your pizza. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have a several unique recipes up your sleeve. I went up to Stanziato’s a few nights ago in Danbury, CT to visit my friend Mike Copela, who is the master craftsman behind the design of the jigsaw puzzle bar and tables and tiled wood-fired oven and now perhaps some of their funky pizza concoctions. I had a slight meltdown when he texted me a few months ago saying they were playing with peaches, proscuito, mozzarella and arugula. He joined Matt Stanczak, owner and creative Chef  behind Stanziato’s not too long after finishing numerous design projects which helped them prep for opening. The one-size-fits-all 12″ pizzas have a distinct, artisanal touch featuring ingredients like salami from notorious Arthur Avenue.

After a cold one (porkslap awesome btw), a taste of Stanziato’s garlic cheese bread and a crisp version of their Greek salad I made a margherita (tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmigiano & basil) and put a few finishing touches on the olive harvest (cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, roasted garlic and olive pesto). My margherita pie looked more like a donut when we pulled it out of the wood-fired oven. I swear that never happens at home.

Thanks to Matt and Mike for putting up with my kitchen hi-jinks and for letting me exhibit a few of travel photog shots on the wall! You guys rock. Next time I’ll teach you how to make an apple pie, Alabama style.