New York-style pizza pans out well in Kahala
By Matthew Gray
Advertiser Restaurant Critic
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| Joe Tramontano, left, and Anthony Romano have built up a loyal following at Antonio's New York Pizzeria in Kahala. The large pizza shown is the Brooklyn Combo; the dish to the left is chicken parmigiana pasta. Desserts are cannoli, top left, and homemade cheesecake.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser Antonio's New York Pizzeria 4210 Wai'alae Ave. 737-3333 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays Noon-8 p.m. Sundays
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When I was a kid growing up in Syosset, N.Y., my favorite pizza was at a tiny take-away shop called Piece-a-Pizza. An upper-middle-class neighborhood with manicured front lawns, Syosset wasn't considered a hotbed of mob activity. But Piece-a-Pizza had a Soprano-ish reputation even then.
The story (of mythical proportions) goes like this: An unhappy customer returned to the pizza joint to complain and never was heard from again. Was he snuffed out by the pizza man? Was he morphed into marinara? Or did Piece-a-Pizza have its public relations machine at full tilt? One way or another, they became the town's busiest pizza place.
Here in Honolulu, at Antonio's New York Pizzeria, you can have your pizza and eat it, too. Anthony Romano, his wife, Neva, and young son Antonio are recent transplants from New Haven, Conn.
What happened is this: Anthony's cousin, Joe Tramontano, heard that Antonio's was up for sale. He immediately called Romano, who flew to Honolulu, negotiated successfully, and within a short period of time had his new Honolulu pizzeria up and running. Neva and Antonio joined him after tying up some loose ends back home.
Slightly more than one year later, Antonio's has a loyal following of pizza lovers from all over O'ahu.
The dough is a handed-down recipe: flour, water, yeast, sugar, salt, a bit of oil, and perhaps a "couple little secrets," said Anthony Romano. Asked what "New York style" means, he said, "it's thin-crusted, lightly sauced, and should be crisp on the bottom with just a bit of give — not enough to flop over, because it needs to stay put."
The pies come in 9-, 14- and 18-inch sizes. The smallest ($3.50) is a plain cheese pizza, for purists. Additional toppings are 50 cents each. The 14- and 18-inch pizzas with cheese and tomato sauce ($11.80 and $13.80 respectively) are priced fairly, but I loved the pizzaola ($13 and $15.20) even more. This one combines that same cheese pizza foundation but adds olive oil, sweet basil and parmesan cheese.
With toppings such as spinach, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, black olives and garlic, any vegetarian can find pizza-pie bliss inside these four walls. And with pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham and meatball, well, we carnivores can have a field day, too. Special toppings such as sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies, ricotta, Genoa salami, grilled chicken breast, and pineapple round out the offerings.
And if you also feel like an awesome Philly cheesesteak sandwich ($6.99), they sell 'em, as well as one made with chicken. A large selection of hoagies ($5.99 to $6.99) include choices such as pastrami, chicken parmigiana, vegetarian, and sausage and peppers.
Pasta dishes such as baked ziti al forno ($7.99) and creamy pesto with sautéed mushrooms ($7.99) lead the way, but there's lasagna ($7.99), pasta with meatballs ($8.99) and lots more.
For dessert, Neva makes New York-style creamcheese cake ($2.99 a slice). Genuine cannolis ($2.99) — crisp pastry with sweet cream filling — are available too, shipped from Ferrara's in New York.
Near the end of our conversation, I asked Romano what makes him tick. He said, "I love my family, I love what I do and I want my customers to be happy. For me, food is a love thing."
Reach Matthew Gray at mgray@honoluluadvertiser.com.
