Pizza with a Local Flavor
by Cate Murway
Round or square, simple or slathered, pizza just might be the most perfect food.
You have very likely visited many pizza restaurants and eaten wedges of tomato pie in a lot of different places, always hoping to find really incredible pizza.
'Perfect pizza' in ideal symmetry is of course a subjective idea.
Who makes the best pizza on earth? This is the eternal question, the one that must be answered. What really makes a great pizza? Some people say it comes from the soul, some say it comes from the faultless ingredients, some will say it is technique.
But then again, sometimes there is just no explanation for great pizza but the quest is worthwhile. Seriously.
If you've ever visited a pizza shop on a busy day, you've probably witnessed the controlled chaos as pizzas are readied for the oven, sliced, thrown into boxes and rushed out the door and pizza has been pleasing taste buds for a very long time. It can be an entire meal, laden with unique wacky toppings and extra cheese.
In one of its many forms, it has been a basic part of the Italian diet since the Stone Age, the earliest form was crude bread that was baked beneath the stones of the fire.
94% of the population of the U.S. eats pizza, approximately 100 acres each day, or about 350 slices per second and Saturday night is the biggest night of the week for this essence of fast food.
Children ages 3-11 prefer this to all other foods for lunch and dinner, per a recent Gallup Poll.
According to Guinness World Records, the record for the world's largest circular pizza was set at Norwood Hypermarket in South Africa in 1990. The gigantic pie measured 122 feet 8 inches across, weighed 26,883 pounds, and contained 9,920 pounds of flour, 3,968 pounds of cheese, and 1,984 pounds of sauce.
The simple truth is that pizza in its most primal form — cheese, tomato, crust — is a perfect food, one of the best foods a “round” and one of the healthiest of treats.
The first licensed pizzeria in the USA, originally only a grocery store, was opened in 1895 by a baker and pizzaiolo from Naples, Gennaro Lombardi “the father of American pizza”. It quickly became a popular lunch hangout after Gennaro began promoting and selling tomato and cheese pies to take out. Within a few years, he realized that while bread and groceries were business, the future was made of pizza. He opened his shop in lower Manhattan, NYC on 53-1/2 Spring Street, naming it simply “Lombardi's” and he came to be known as Don Gennaro.
"Now, let's hear the rest of the story."
Let’s keep it simple. Anthony Favoroso was “born into the business” and has apparently had no difficulty in becoming a master of the crust with just the right balance of crunch and tenderness.
Anthony, the son of softball/swimming athlete Donna [Stewart] and baseball athlete Joseph Favorosa, Sr. BHS ’69, grew up in a family with entrepreneurial spirit. His parents at one time owned several pizza businesses in Wildwood, NJ. His dad and his family have owned and operated Villa Vito Ristorante in the heart of downtown New Hope, PA for over three decades.
Donna and Joseph have been together since they were young teens.
Joseph, Sr.’s father was a barber who cut Donna’s policeman father’s hair.
A “penny tip” started their relationship and they are the proud parents of “Pizza Boys”, Joseph and Anthony; and Krista, Gabrielle and Michael.
Anthony Favoroso, Sr. BHS ’90 /Penn State ’94 and his fiancée, Jessica Doddy are getting married on May 20th.
The track and field/ football/wrestling/basketball athlete grew up in Harriman with his two brothers and two sisters. He always enjoyed art, especially pen & ink and pastels. He shared “I still draw and paint and build additions just for fun”.
The “Pizza Boy’s” logo is his own design.
Anthony worked in his father’s stores since he was 10 years old and he saved his money to open his first of many pizza places on Jefferson Avenue across from the ball field, as a senior in high school. His mom and his late grandmother, Dolores Saenz-Stewart would work at the shop until he completed his school day.
On his own, he proved that tomato pie is essential to a successful college experience when he opened a Pizza Boy’s on the Penn State campus. He continued making slices. Croydon was home to his Casino Pizza and the Cadillac Diner reigned in Myrtle Beach. He opened AJ’s when he resided in Florida, named for his sons, Anthony, Jr. and Jacob Favoroso.
Anthony has honed his craft in the pizza world and is very happy in his Lafayette & Pond Streets location, making everything himself, “except the cheese”.
Pizza Boy’s pizza is more than just an artful, commendable, earthy, bready crust, an example of how tremendously satisfying an amalgam of thin, chewy, and crunchy can be. It is explosively inventive, with freshly made summery tasting, rich and savory outrageous sauce and an artist’s palette of toppings as ingenious as the American cuisine can get.
He uses fresh tomatoes in his sauce. Indulge in the savory garlic or herb crust pizza.
Pizza Boy’s mean business when you ask for heavy on the cheese. It is melted exquisitely and when smothered with mushrooms, an astonishingly compatible combination, the extraordinarily well-balanced pie is slightly shy of unbelievable, bordering perfection.
All is swell!
His proud mother stated, “He has pride in everything he does; in his work, his food, his displays. If he wouldn’t eat it, then he won’t serve it. He learned that from his father. Everything has to look pretty!”
His mom prepares the signature recipe homemade macaroni, potato and pasta salads, using her incredible recipes. “They are all my favorites”, Anthony admits.
The well-stocked Italian deli will also offer a full line of specialty meats, including aged to perfection, sopressata [super sod].
Need dinner to go?
Bring home a delicious bucket of spaghetti and meatballs with a side dish of crispy, toasted garlic bread or try one of their specialty sandwiches or subs.
There is always room for dessert.
Relive those fond childhood memories of sharing your favorite ice cream treat with friends. Come in for a cup of water ice or hand dipped Jack & Jill ice cream in your choice of sugar, waffle or regular cones later this month.
Pizza Boy’s can be the template for the new style of soon-to-be legendary pizzerias, the ones where the owners prepare pies with deliberation, calculation, and stunning pride. When one begins with quality, one can finish with excellence.
Pizza is one of the few foreign foods we’ve embraced wholeheartedly, and made entirely our own, any way you slice it……… as American as Pizza Pie!
P.S. October is National Pizza Month. Start celebrating early.
Great food, great family and friends are what make memories.
Pizza can become the basis for discussions about philosophy, values, and life in general.
Get your slice of the superlative pie. Call ahead and “reserve your dough”. Quick pickup.
Or ask them to deliver your classic “custom made to your order” deliciousness in a white cardboard box. Fast free delivery.
"Mangia"
Pizza Boy’s
Mon-Thurs 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Fri & Sat 11:00 AM- 11:00 PM
366 Lafayette Street
Bristol, PA 19007
Recommend a “Spotlight”. E-mail: vjmrun@yahoo.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dolores Saenz-Stewart died peacefully surrounded by her children and grandchildren, Saturday, March 19, 2011. She was 79.
Dolores enjoyed trips to the boardwalk in Seaside, N.J., playing Bingo, trips to the casino, and long walks with her dog, Zuko, but most especially enjoyed her time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Dolores was preceded in death by her loving husband of 40 years, Thomas Stewart Sr.; and her son, Theodore Stewart.
She is survived by her daughter, Donna Stewart-Favoroso and her husband, Joseph Sr.; and her son, Thomas Stewart Jr. and his companion, Beverly Rago. She also is survived by her grandchildren, Joseph Favoroso Jr., and his wife, Stephany, of Delaware, Anthony Favoroso (Jesse Doddy), Krista Favoroso (Dan Judge), Gabrielle Favoroso, Michael Favoroso, Teddy Favoroso, and Tina Dee Stewart; and her great-grandchildren, Vincenzo Favoroso of Kentucky, Anthony Favoroso Jr. and Jacob Favoroso, of Tennessee, Christopher Shinn Jr. of Pennsylvanie, Joseph Favoroso III and Carly Favoroso of Delaware; along with several nieces, nephews, and her beloved dog, Zuko.
Funeral services will be held privately.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Dolores' name to either St. Ann Church, 350 Dorrance Str., Bristol, Pa 19007, or the American Cancer Society, 700 Horizon Circle, Suite 201, Chalfont, Pa 18914. Wade Funeral Home, Bristol
CLOSED 2013
