Pizza Fest brings savory slices from several SoFlo spots to Fort Lauderdale competition
Let us now celebrate a beloved food. In its most basic form, it consists of dough, sauce, cheese and spices.
Yes, it’s pizza we’re celebrating. And soon, you’ll be able to do the same at a Broward County bash.
Things are heating up for “Pizza Fest at the Park”.
Larry Mele: “Pizza Fest is the first pizza festival in Fort Lauderdale.”
Pizza pros from all over will be pulling pies out of their ovens.
Larry Mele: “Pizza Fest is bringing together 16 of the best pizza places in South Florida going from Naples, Florida all the way down to Homestead.”
The two-day family-friendly event goes down in Esplanade Park on Feb. 7 and 8.
Larry Mele: “We have eight pizzerias on Saturday and eight pizzerias on Sunday.”
Each day, the eight pizza makers will compete against one another.
Larry Mele: “So the winner of each day will do a final competition Sunday afternoon right before the Super Bowl.”
There’s one crucial difference between the big game and this competition. At Pizza Fest, you decide who wins.
Larry Mele: “The guests that are coming to the Pizza Fest they’ll have a coin, so they can drop it to their favorite slice, so it’s the public that’s gonna decide the winner.”
One potential champ is Plantation’s “Frank Pepe Pizzeria”. They turn out their product New Haven style.
Ryan Marrero: “It’s a thin, crispy, chewy, char.”
That “char” shows up on the crust of the pie.
Ryan Marrero: “It’ll be nice and dark but you’ll get a really nice flavor from the char and it’ll be well done.”
Well done, indeed. The process starts with the foundation of any pie.
Ryan Marrero: “It’s a bread-style dough so that’s how you get that rise, you get that chewiness and that’s another thing that defines us, right? You see that rise in the pockets of the dough, and you’ll have a nice little airy chewiness.”
The peeps at Frank Pepe hope the Fest will turn people on to what they do best.
Ryan Marrero: “Florida’s not known for pizza, but you know we are known for pizza, so for us to be in there, and grow that, and to grow the pizza scene in Florida and then grow the business of Frank Pepe’s as well.”
Miami and Italy will be well-represented by ‘O Munaciello Pizzeria.
Niccolo Chiaroni: “We brought like a little Napoli, real Italy, a real taste of Italy.”
This really is old-style zah from the old country.
Niccolo Chiaroni: “All our products to make the pizza to make the dough is from Italy come from Italy, and we make the same way we does in Italy that make our pizza really original.”
‘O Munaciello wants to make sure everyone’s happy at “Pizza Fest in the Park”.
Niccolo Chiaroni: “It is for us an opportunity to, I mean, meet new family, pizza is for family.”
Niccolo Chiaroni: “For us it’s a celebration. A celebration of what we do, what we like, what we love.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Pizza Fest at the Park
Esplanade Park
400 SW 2nd St
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
February 7th & 8th 11 a.m.– 7 p.m.
Website
‘O Munacielo
6425 Biscayne Blvd
Miami Shores, FL 33138
Website
Frank Pepe Pizzeria
341 N. University Drive
Plantation, FL 33324
Website
