A pizza that takes three days to make delivered to your stoop & a pizza bracket update
Get some superb, saucy, magnificent Roman pizza dropped off on your doorstep next Wednesday.
Happy Pizza Friday! Another week, another couple of slices swimming their way down my gullet. We are entering ice cream season here in the city. Some people, like me, consider ice cream the perfect companion to pizza. Do you eat pizza first then the ice cream? Or vice versa? Due to logistics or timing I often coat my stomach with ice cream before eating pizza. Provides a nice base for the grease, sauce and cheese. A little dairy pillow that provides a soft landing for the slices.
Anyways, I did have some Mercurio’s last Sunday and it was really good!
But this week we are talking about Black Cat Pizza. Black Cat Pizza is a small pizza startup in the city hand delivering roman style pizza to you, a fellow pizza enthusiasts. They prepare small batches of pizza and tend to these dough balls over three days. They carefully raise these wet, juicy blobs into airy, crunch roman style pizza that is nothing short of amazing.
It took three days to make this pizza and I ate nothing but this pizza for the next three days.
Let’s learn more about this up and coming niche pizza shop.
Interview with Black Cat Pizza, Roman Style Pizza Craftsmen
Dan Tallarico: What is your pizza background?
Black Cat Pizza: I grew up on American Italian cuisine but my focus on making pizza is a recent development. I worked alongside some very talented pizzaiolos at Osteria (in Philly) and I think that’s the moment I realized there was an art to making high quality pizzas. Those pizzas were wood-fired Neapolitan and Roman rounds. Fast forward to the pandemic when a chef I know suggested trying my hand at making Pizza al taglio. I was hooked. I spent the next two years on my dough process. I would change the pans, experiment with hydration, and adjust the temperature of my house. I did comparisons changing out the flour, olive oil, even down to the salt I used. We still experiment on off days.
DT: Why did you gravitate towards Sicilian pizza?
BCP: I think for what you’re doing it makes sense. It’s way sturdier. But wasn’t sure if there was another reason.
DT: Sicilian pizza is having a bit of a moment - I think most “artisan” places offer square pies and it seems to be the preferred style of pizza for many Pittsburghers. How does yours stand out?
BCP: We love seeing square pies get their due! What makes our Roman pizza so special is the air. It’s so light and it’s definitely a different experience than Sicilian. It’s fun to think you can have a different style of pizza every day of the week. We are lucky to have so many options in Pittsburgh!
DT: What sort of impact do you hope to make on the Pittsburgh pizza scene?
BCP: We are very small and we realize having a real impact takes time. If every week we can get our pizza to a few new people that haven’t tried Roman then we are happy.
DT: I presume you’re doing this out of your house…do you have plans to grow or expand in any ways? You look at someone like Pittsburgh Street Pizza popping up at breweries with some basic mobile ovens and they’re selling out most nights. Is that the path you’re on?
BCP: It’s so cool to see people doing something they love and people responding to it! A goal of ours is to do true Pizza al taglio at the markets. We imagine a spread of pizza pans and you can have a sliver of it all. The great thing about Roman dough is that it’s light, crunchy, and easy to digest. It’s the perfect food to grab and go about your day.
DT: Talk to me about your dough process. Is this a three day situation? Super wet? Are you using a starter of your own design?
BCP: You’re spot on! It’s a three day process right now. Super high hydration, very little yeast, and long fermentation. Some people push their Roman to 100+ hours but we aren’t ready for that just yet. We have our limitations but it’s something to look forward to if we ever find ourselves in a bigger spot with ample fridge space. Right now the dough process is all about timers and temperatures. As it gets warmer we have to shift our time schedule. We love this about dough though. Just like us it changes with the seasons.
DT: How has the reception been so far? I’ve noticed you selling out which is awesome. I hope to see you keep growing!
BCP: Reception has been wonderful. I think people pick up on that we are doing this because we love doing it. We are a two person outfit making small batch pizza in a tiny kitchen. You aren’t just an order number to us. We tend to your pizza for three days and then we deliver it to your doorstep. It’s definitely personal!
DT: Anything else you want to add?
BCP: One thing that is really important to us is the quality of ingredients. We take our time picking out what goes on top of our dough and we hope that shows.
Thank you to everyone for giving us a chance!
Follow Black Cat Pizza here for more pizza goodness!
Let’s check in on Pittsburgh Today Live’s Pizza Bracket
As I predicted in a recent article, I said that if Rockaway Pizzeria could beat Mineo’s they’d go all the way. They’re steamrolling their competitors and show no signs of slowing down. Big kudos to Josh at Rockaway for getting his dues. So well deserved, he is cranking out some of the best pizza in the city and deserves to win this tournament.
I think they are tallying votes for the next round on via instagram comments. Should be more info here.
Well everyone, thanks again for reading and please feel free to share! I’m proud to deliver you and your pizza pals the latest Pittsburgh pizza news.
Pizza ya later!
-Dan Tallarico, Pizza Journalist