Welcome back to Pizza Quest!

Muhammad Abdul-Hadi's and Michael Carter's new book, "We the Pizza," just came out this week. They join us from their restaurant, Down North Pizza, in Philadelphia's Strawberry Hill neighborhood, to tell us all about it. The subtitle of the book, "Slangin' Pies and Saving Lives" is really what makes Down North Pizza unique among the many great pizzerias we feature here. The restaurant represents a larger mission, including the hiring of formerly incarcerated individuals, providing housing subsidies for those in need, and a number of other neighborhood and community projects that we discuss in this conversation with Muhammad and Michael, all designed to elevate the quality of life for the locals and to also serve as a model for, hopefully, otherDown North's across the country. It's a work-in-progress but the launching pad for it all is the amazing and creative square-style pan pizza menu created by head chef Michael Carter and his team of cooks. The creativity on display is beautifully captured in their new book, written by Muhammad, along with co-author David Joachim, as well as beautifully energetic photos by Amurri Lauren. As you will hear here, all of the good works envisioned by Muhammad, who has been a community activist for years in Philadelphia, are made possible by the success of Down North Pizza. Join us as we discuss how to make a vision of community transformation come true, in this week's episode of Pizza Quest.

Welcome back to Pizza Quest!

Joel Kostman supported his family for over 30 years as a New York City locksmith, but that was just his day job. By night, he was (and still is) a serious writer who channeled his locksmithing adventures into a semi-autobiographical fictional cult classic story collection called, "Keys to the City: Tales of a New York City Locksmith." The New York Times even called him "The Doctor of the Deadbolt." As Joel says, "New Yorkers are concerned about keeping people out on a very primal level, whether it's an abusive spouse or a creep on the corner. They like to talk. I like to listen." Joel and I are childhood friends and have gone on a number of pizza quests together when I happened to be visiting in Brooklyn, where he once lived. Join us as we recount those adventures, including his role in helping me win a James Beard National Bread Baking Championship, and his most recent exciting news: the possibility of the book being turned into a major television series.

The Doctor of the Deadbolt is in, here on Pizza Quest.

Welcome back to Pizza Quest!
In this episode, we are joined by Eddie Fischer (no, not the famous singer and husband of Debbie Reynolds and father of Carrie Fisher), but the OTHER Eddie Fischer, a Jersey guy, the founder of How U Doin?, a new boys and girls club about to launch near Dallas, Texas. Yes, he and I share a long, shared history of East Coast pizza questing but, more importantly, his current quest is to provide a safe haven for teens struggling with the allure of drinking, drugs, and alienation. How U Doin is a clubhouse, but it's much more, fueled by a vision to make a difference in the lives of the youngsters involved and, also, in the community at large. Hear how Eddie Fischer discovered and is fulfilling his new mission in life which, by the way, involves pizza making as part of his formula for success.

Welcome back to Pizza Quest 2025, for a new season with lots of new and exciting guests!

We kick off the new season with Chef David Nayfeld, chef and owner of a hot new restaurant in the shadow of San Francisco's dynamic sports complex in an area called Thrift City (the restaurant is located on Warrior Way, lest there be any doubt about Chef Nayfeld's lifelong allegiance to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors). Che Fico Pizzeria (pronounced "kay-fico") is doing crisp, "slightly but intentionally-charred" slices and pies, as well as a very inventive Italian-themed menu of starters, sandwiches, and salads. (You can see the menu by going to cheficopizzeria.com and navigating through the lunch and dinner menus). David is also the author of a new book called, "Dad, What's for Dinner?" with gourmet but accessible dishes you can make at home for and with your family. Chef Nayfeld has an extensive and impressive pedigree, having worked for some of the world's most famous chefs and restaurants, like Eleven Madison Park, Joel Rubuchon, and Aqua, and is now in the early stages of building his own restaurant empire, Back Home Hospitality, in the SF Bay area and beyond. Tune in to meet a chef who has paid his dues, found his own culinary voice, and is on the rise so that, when the awards start rolling in, you can say you heard about him here first. As we often say, "It's more about the quest than it is about the pizza, and the quest never ends." Enjoy!

Once again, the operative word for this episode is Quest, as we welcome author, mentor, and game changer, Dr. Marc B. Cooper. Marc's mission and personal quest is to restore a sense of meaning and purpose for those of us who fall into the "senior citizen" bracket (but, really, it's a timeless mission for all of us regardless of age). The title of his new book. "Older to Elder," says it all, so I won't try to recap it for you here but, rather, encourage you to listen to this fascinating conversation that might very well transform your life. Marc is, like me, a Philly boy, so I plan to invite him back to talk pizza in a future episode, but in this episode, you will hear the culmination of a lifelong journey of wisdom-seeking that far surpasses the search for the perfect pizza (except in the metaphorical sense, of course).

For those who want to follow-up and get his book (and this is unsolicited, as I get no kickback from Amazon or anyone for promoting Marc's book), here's a link.

In the meantime, join Dr. Marc Cooper and me as we discuss why becoming an elder is far more important than simply becoming older.....

NOTE: This episode marks the end of our 2024 season, a year full of a number of fabulous conversations with fellow questers on pizza and other important matters. Our tagline, as you may know, is a "Journey of Self-Discovery Through Pizza," and this year's episodes have taken us deeper into the "self-discovery" aspect of that mission. Check out our archives for episodes you may have missed. We plan to return in early 2025 with a whole new season of thought-provoking and, of course, delicious explorations in our never-ending Pizza Quest, both literal and metaphorical. Have a joyous holiday season and we'll see you in the new year!

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As most of you know by now, for us it's as much about the Quest as it is about the Pizza, and this week's guest, author David Amadio, takes us on a deep dive into the quest of his father, Jerry Amadio, a master carpet installer and rug expert, who is just as dedicated to his own craft as any pizzaiolo that I know is to making the perfect pizza. Jerry Amadio is legendary in the carpet community, especially in Philadelphia, where he has been honing and expressing his skills for the past 50 years. David, as his (sometimes) dutiful son, worked alongside his father for a number of years, learning much (but not all) of what his father knew. But, then, he realized his own path was to be a writer and teacher, not a "rug man," so he instead wrote a book about what he learned from his dad, and called it "Rug Man." It is, technically, a work of fiction, a novel with fictional characters, but it is based on real occurrences in his father's life, dealing with high maintenance customers, arrogant foremen, slacker/stoner co-workers, and undocumented immigrants who are just as dedicated as he is to respecting this noble craft. The story unfolds while the "rug man" practices his fading art of proper carpet installation and antique rug restoration, all while racing the clock against a looming back injury that might lay him out at any moment.

I, like David Amadio, grew up in my family's carpet business, and both of my brothers earned their livelihood in it. My brother, Harry, actually still works for the same company as Jerry Amadio. It was Harry who told me about the book and connected me with David. His book is so well-written that one needs to have no knowledge of, or even interest in, carpet and rugs to fully enjoy the read, as it skillfully captures the universal and fathomless sense of quest that any dedicated artisan feels for his or her craft. It's no surprise that the book is so much fun to read, since David's day job is as a Professor of Creative Writing at Lincoln University, just outside of Philadelphia. He brings the same dedication to story-telling as his dad does to his beloved carpet work.

Learn all about the connection between between the art of creative writing and how closely it parallels the world of the "rug man." Please join us for this stimulating conversation, right here on Pizza Quest.

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Marco Pacelli is doing something wonderful in Redondo Beach, California at his pasta shop, Fatto a Mano. After a lifetime of working for Michelin-level fine dining restaurants, he and his wife Arlene decided to open a small pasta and Roman-style pizza shop showcasing the foods inspired by Marco's Aunt Concettina. She was the woman who shaped his culinary passion during the summers he spent with her as a youth on the Amalfi coast. The rest is history, as customers discovered that they could establish their own vivid taste memories through the amazing homemade pastas, sauces, and pizzas at Fatto a Mano.

Hear in this lively conversation with Peter how Marco shares his culinary vision by connecting his own passion to everyone who comes into his pasta shop by recreating the authentic flavors of his youth and his beloved Aunt Concettina.

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Chef Tandy Wilson is an important player in the Nashville culinary renaissance. Hear how this classically trained chef paid his dues and then returned to his roots to create a signature style all his own (while winning a James Beard Award in the process), in this latest episode of Pizza Quest.

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