Antonio's Real New York Pizza

About

Just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park you will find Real New York Pizza made by New Yorkers!

Story

It all started in 1892 with the birth of my Great Grandfather Francesco Scerbo. At age 15, he was put on a boat which arrived at Ellis Island some 6 months later causing his pants to be too short.. By the '20's, he had moved to the Bronx then eventually settled in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn buying a brownstone that my great Aunt resides in to this day- in her 90's!

Growing up in New York with access to the real food of Brooklyn- specifically real Italian food and pizza, I did not realize how lucky we were until moving to Colorado. You want pizza in NY? There are 7 good to excellent pizzerias within a square mile. Long story short, while growing up, every Friday night was pizza night and that pizza came from Mama's in Copiague, NY. For 30 years, we've enjoyed Tommy's food. Eight years ago, I started making pizza out of necessity. We had driven from Wyoming to near Pueblo in search of something that reminded us of home. It didn't exist.

New York style is NOT Real New York. There are a few notable pizzerias like Boriello Brothers in Colorado Springs and Sully's Pizza on Colfax in downtown Denver, but beyond that, nothing was what my mind expected after nearly 40 years of NY pizza. I cannot tell you how many pizzerias our family visited only to walk out hungry because the food was less than sub-par. I won't name names. What happened next was the purchase of a pizza stone and many iterations as I searched for the holy grail. Remember, pizza is very personal. What I like, someone from Kansas may not. After hundreds of attempts, I had honed in on what satisfied my mind's taste so I shared it with others. When a neighbor - also from NY - screamed from her front door "I LOVE YOU", I knew that it was close. This is a normally very quiet person who says very little....

Onward and upward! With a huge audience at Summitview Coffee on the other side of town, we began with a modest (small) oven. When I say we, I mean Anthony Francher and I. Having two Anthonys in the same place- both from NY - is a blessing. We cranked out many a pizza while introducing locals and people from all over the world to NY sauce(remember, this was a coffee shop, not a pizzeria). The sauce is key to the pizza's authenticity. You can buy dough and ready made cheese. Sauce out of a can tastes like sauce out of a can. Childhood friend and mentor Chef Chris Gonzalez taught me the basics of proper sauce, then said "fly". 10 years later, it has taken on a life of its own.

Our current location was built by a woman whose vision was incredible- Angie Huffman. She envisioned wood fired pizza and picnics in the park. The oven in the building was her idea. We are thankful for that vision for it allows us a distinct advantage over the rest of the town- Wood fired everything!

Our house specialty is the Godfather. An Italian culinary delight featuring prosciutto di parma, capicola, genoa salami, provolone, fresh garlic, pepperoncini and roasted red peppers! It can he had as an 18" round or Sicilian. Backing up the Godfather is our Sicilian Pie. It's a rectangular pizza with thicker dough and sauce that has a kick. We also have a 26" Mega-Don pie and if that's not enough, an 11-lb behemoth called the Hell's Kitchen!

Authentic Neapolitan, thin crust pizza with fresh mozzarella, basil and virgin olive oil only comes out of our brick oven. A plethora of ovens allows us to produce taste profiles you won't find anywhere.

On the deli side, we have prosciutto di parma, capicola, Genoa salami, pepperoni, black forest ham and bacon. Supporting cheeses include provolone and fresh hand-made, homemade mozzarella.