October '24: Saint Francis Apizza News and Reflections
Reflections on 24 hours in Manhattan, connecting with the Cincinnati pizza community, and some exciting frozen pizza announcements!
“Most newsletter suck. This one doesn’t” - an anonymous real reader of this newsletter
I'm the owner of the pizza restaurant Saint Francis Apizza in Cincinnati, OH. I write a newsletter most months to send out updates about the pizzeria, share my love of pizza and the travels I embark on to learn more about my favorite food, and the business behind it.
My Current Favorite Pizzeria in NYC (It Hasn’t Changed)
I just got back home to Cincinnati from a whirlwind trip to Manhattan with some friends.
On this trip, we visited, all yesterday…
Lucia Pizza (SoHo)
L’Industrie (West Village)
Mama’s Too (West Village)
John’s of Bleeker (West Village)
Scarr’s (Lower East Side)
If you think that’s not all that much pizza, keep in mind I had a burger for dinner afterwards…I went a on a run early this morning. Still.
Anyway… my favorite pizzeria in NYC is L’Industrie. To me there isn’t a more satisfying, consistent, perfect slice of pizza anywhere than their margherita (see below).
And if I had to pick three favorites, in no particular order, the ones I always recommend first are:
L’Industrie (either location) for the margherita slice
Mama’s Too (either location) for any of the squares, but especially the Angry Nonna
Wheated in Brooklyn for a vodka pie
Razza in Jersey City for the best overall, ‘change-your-idea-of-what-pizza-can-be’ experience
Yes, that was four not three. That’s OK.
We Had a Cincinnati ‘Pizza Alliance’ Meetup Last Month
Most of us owner/operators of small independent pizzerias in town know each other, but mostly from social media or a single meeting, which often happened years ago when one us opened our shop for the first time. It’s hard to keep up with everyone!
I admire the pizza scenes in other cities that are pretty collaborative, such as Portland, OR, where I spent most of my youth. Most of the pizzeria owners there eat at each other’s shops, say genuine, kind things about one another to colleagues, on social media, and to their customers.
I get asked a lot, ‘Why would you post something on Instagram about another pizzeria?’ ‘Why do you share information openly?’ Well, why not? I like to eat a variety of pizza styles, and this town needs more great pizza made by people who care. Plus, I know intimately how intense and at times isolating an experience it is to open a pizza restaurant and build a reputation from nothing.
It’s also nice the way us independent shops are pretty spread out around the metro area. I suppose I might feel more touchy about competition if someone making pizza I thought was better than what my team and I make opened across the street.
Anyway, I invited as many ‘pizza people’ as I knew how to contact, and seven of us got coffee together on a Monday morning. Some of us have two restaurants, most have one, and some are working towards it via their pop-ups. We talked shop, shared where each of us are in our business journeys, laughed, cried (kidding) and made plans to meet up again.
Most importantly, I sensed that I wasn’t the only one leaving the cafe and heading out into a rainy late morning feeling a little more buoyant and connected than when I walked in.
Saint Franky’s Frozen Pizzas at The Winter Farmer’s Market at MadTree
I’m excited to share that we’ve been approved to sell our frozen pizzas at the MadTree Winter Farmer’s Market [link] starting next month!
I’m a longtime customer of the market, and look forward to being a part of the community of vendors there, including Zoftig Bakehouse, Rich Life Farm and Fungi, and many more! The first market date is TBD. We will be incorporating meat and veggies from other vendors to special frozen pizzas we make just for the market. So please stay tuned!
In the Meantime…
We are delivering frozen pizzas straight to your door this Sunday, 10/6. Get the details and place an order here [link]!
New October Special at Saint Francis Apizza
100% credit to the team for this one. Anna and Bridget on our kitchen team worked with Eric, our Front of House Lead, to imagine and bring to life one of our best specials ever. It features:
Local delicata squash
Roasted pepitas
Housemade chimichurri garnish
I can’t recommend it highly enough.
For now, thank you for reading, and thank you for trusting us with your pizza needs!
- Alex Plattner, Saint Francis Apizza
saintfrancisapizza@gmail.com