Provolone Son of Pittsburgh Pizza Returns
Surprise Pizza Taglio pop up ends a whimsical year in pizza
Hell Pizza Believers!
Happy New Years Eve! What sort of pizza will you be dinging on tonight to ring in the New Year? In my most recent article I mentioned this Sfincione Sicilian pizza which is designed for New Years Eves festivities. The bread crumb topping pairs well with a cup of Prosecco. And yeah, I said cup to refer to the volume of Prosseco and the receptacle I use.
Oh by the way, last week for Christmas I made my soon-to-be-well-known Sicilian Pizzas and let’s just say they basically evaporated. I set them on the table and the crowd pounced, eager to feast on a pizza that is both soft and crunchy. Oil pouring out of every little orifice of the crust with every small motion. It was a sight to see and it smelled great!
As the year comes to and end, we had a bit of a pizza miracle here in the city. Tony Giaramita, owner of the legendary Pizza Taglio, came back to Pittsburgh for a pop-up event.
Tony closed his business back in August 1, 2020 to spend time with his wife which meant moving to France. There was no way to keep the business going so Pizza Taglio was no more.
I was enamored with every aspect of Pizza Taglio. In their brief tenure anchoring East Liberty as a must-eat pizza destination, Tony left a huge impression on the pizza fans of the city. To memorialize the closing I documented every single time I went to Pizza Taglio here.
Pizza Taglio nestled itself into East Liberty at the pinnacle of change. The Shadow Lounge had departed, Conflict Kitchen moved to Schenley Plaza, and a row of shops remained empty. It would eventually become home to a variety of restaurants and bars that would cater to the high rise apartments and tech employees in the area. Pizza Taglio was one of the first tenants and Tony Giaramita, the owner, made his mark on East Liberty. It was an absolute bummer when Tony announced they’d be closing on August 1, 2020.
So what a surprise when the world saw this on Instagram.
Tony was BACK and was gearing up to crank out pizzas. The hype started as a tiny fizzle, but soon erupted into a hurricane of hype that would spread across Western PA. After a year of being gone would it really be possible to get one more Greenpointer?
Well for most people (including me) the answer would be no. Prior to opening a line of dozens of people stretched through the streets. Eager pizza fans wild about Tony. And Tony was wild about serving them pizza.
Tony opened at 3pm and an hour or so later Tony posted that they had “SOLD OUT.”
Could anyone have anticipated that Taglio Withdrawl was a real symptom? Were we looking for any silver lining to a horrid 2021? A year so grey and cloudy that the only color we dreamed of was that hunk of red soppressata plopped perfectly in the middle of a spicy Greenpointer?
Could any other pizza maker leave the city for over a year and pick up right where they left off? I’m not sure there are many that could perform such a feat. Tony has developed a tremendous legacy of pizza in the city, a testament to his commitment to the craft and passion for pizza.
Watch Rare Footage of Tony Making a Sicilian Pizza
I can’t recall how I got into this position to make this video, but it’s perfection across the board.