On a cold winter evening, I unlocked some golden secrets of pizza making. I was speaking—over pizza, what else—to Frank Kabatas, the man behind East Village Pizza, which has been going strong since the Dutch were in charge.
I exaggerate. But still, since 1997, nearly 18 years, a lifetime in restaurant longevity. Kabatas was so enthusiastic about pizza making that he would divulge a technique and then catch himself: that’s off the record, he said.
These secrets go back to a pizzeria where Kabatas worked as a student, on West Third and MacDougal. It’s long gone now, but the owner, a 65-year-old Italian man, showed Kabatas the Neapolitan secrets of his craft. “Showed” is right—Kabatas spoke such little English at that time, that it was all through sign language, he said.
