The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island... The Empire State Building... Ice skating at Rockefeller Center... and, even a Broadway musical are all part of the City's persona. None the less, the City's real character is hidden in hot dogs from a corner vendor, a genuine New York bagel and, of course a hand-tossed, stone-baked, thin & crispy crust pizza with slices big enough to fold in half. It was with my first bite that Fat Joe's Pizzeria's journey began...
Growing up many of my fondest memories take me back to when I visited by Grandparents on Long Island. Every trip meant a visit to the City, where I could enjoy the "real character". My Grandpa would always tell the clerk at the local Jewish deli, "Extra cream cheese for my Grandson" as he ordered a delicious, poppy-seed bagel. Toss in an icy-cold grape soda and a memory is made. Some trips my family would create memories three or four times a week by devouring a fabulous pizza pie. Each trip back to the City would equal more pizzas and memories... the excitement of riding the subway or honking of horns as the taxi driver cuts off yet another car. These memories would surface whenever I tasted a slice of pizza that had the slightest resemblances to those in the city… Unfortunately, all the pizzas failed to excite the senses as much as those in New York did. I decided that, "If I wanted it done right, I had to do it myself!"
Starting from memory I made my first pizza over 20 years ago. It wasn't even close! So, back to the cutting board I went. I experimented with a variety of flours, different amounts of water and yeast, and even dough rising times. Bricks went in my oven, bricks came out. Garden stones went in, garden stones came out. Oils and spices all changed over the years; yet my passion to recreate that long lost taste never wavered. Tomatoes were crushed, cans opened, cheese grated… Friends made as they tried piece after piece, pie after pie until perfection! Friends became closer, the fun times we had became memories, and Fat Joe's Pizzeria started to become a reality.
Now, many career moves and several years later, with a loving wife, two beautiful daughters, a mortgage and less hair, I'm taking the great leap, hoping to teach myself and my children a few of life's valuable lesson… that it is never too late to follow a dream and when you are doing something you love & have fun with - it's not like working at all! I now invite you and your own family to make memories right here in Central Wisconsin while devouring your own delicious, mouth-watering New York style pizza pie from Fat Joe's Pizzeria.
