East Village Pizza: Pizza by the People, for the People

East Village Pizza: Pizza by the People, for the People
Black Sea Pie at East Village Pizza & Kebabs. Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times
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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.

At the corner of East Ninth Street and First Avenue. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)
At the corner of East Ninth Street and First Avenue. Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times
Channaly Oum
Channaly Oum
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