6 new reasons to watch the Philly pizza scene
Three new pizzerias are elevating the experience, while new joints on the way show further promise.
The Philadelphia pizza scene, which over the last decade or so has seen a rise in quality, is one to watch these days.
Three brand-new shops are making noise.
1. Angelo’s Pizzeria
Danny DiGiampietro, whose now-closed Angelo’s Pizzeria in Haddonfield drew aficionados for his New York, Trenton, and “grandma”-style pizzas, has brought his uncompromising quality to a new shop on Ninth Street near Fitzwater Street.
By “uncompromising”: DiGiampietro announced on Instagram recently that the batch of dough that he had made that day did not measure up. He trashed it. No pizza. It made for an interesting day.
DiGiampietro bakes his own bread (while buying 50 to 100 loaves a day from neighboring Sarcone’s) and prepares everything for his sandwiches from scratch. Don’t bother calling; there’s no phone. It’s at 736 S. Ninth St., open from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.
2. 20th Street Pizza
Marinara meatball? Hot potato? Or how about kalettes -- the tasty cross between kale and Brussels sprouts? Last month, Mark Mebus opened the all-vegan 20th Street Pizza at 108 S. 20th St. as an offshoot of his popular Blackbird Pizzeria in Northern Liberties. Dough is naturally leavened.
Hours for now are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday; there’s no phone, either, but ordering for pickup or delivery is available at www.20thstreetpizza.com.
3. Pizzeria Beddia
Five years ago, Joe Beddia demonstrated that by using high-quality ingredients and patience, you can make outstanding, perhaps even America’s best, pizza out of a deck oven. His new location of Pizzeria Beddia, which opened in March at 1313 N. Lee St. (on a Fishtown backstreet between Frankford Avenue and Front Street), is packing in crowds nightly for a simple menu and a bar. Its reservation book, which goes out 60 days, has been filled since Day One, but more than half of the seats are kept open for walk-ins. The idea is to arrive as close to 5 p.m. as possible.
And three more significant openings are on the way
4. Stina Pizzeria
Chef Bobby Saritsoglou is saying mid- to late May for Stina, the Mediterranean restaurant that he and his wife, Christina, are opening at 1705 Snyder Ave. in South Philadelphia. Central to the menu will be pizza made in a wood-fired, high-temp Neapolitan oven. The pizza, he said, will be a cross between the soft-centered Neapolitan and the sturdier New York; like the rest of the menu, the pizza varieties will include North African and Turkish flavors.
5. Circles + Squares
Daniel Gutter, who makes square, crunchy-crusted, Detroit-style pizzas under the Pizza Gutt name out of the Spring Garden Street bar W/N W/N, is planning an early May opening of Circles + Squares, his own parlor, at Tulip and Firth Streets in Kensington, the former Lil Lina’s Slices & Scoops. Befitting the name, pizzas will not solely be round.
6. Emmy Squared
More Detroit pizza? Oh, yes. Brooklyn-rooted Emily and Matt Hyland’s rep confirmed to me that they are coming to Philadelphia with Emmy Squared, a scalable spinoff of their Pizza Loves Emily brand that specializes in Detroit-style pizza and top-flight burgers. No location has been signed.