1653 Pizza Company
An evening of woodfire cooking
Location
1653 Pizza Company
80 Gerard St
Huntington, NY
Attendance
102 Guests
Connect with the restaurant
Event Recap
The best meals are the ones that inspire poetry, and this week’s “Wood-Fired Specialties” event at Huntington’s 1653 Pizza Company certainly stoked the, um, fire in DCS poster child (poster man?) Jared Baum:
Sometimes, a destination isn't a country or a culture; it's a philosophy. So it goes with tonight's display of wood-fired cuisine, made in an oven imported from Modena, Italy by rockstar chefs. Big bonus was a clarified fig sour cocktail (milk washed and decidedly NOT wood-fired, but still very delicious) made by a mixologist whom I can only describe as a mad genius.
This one was special. Normally, in the moment, I meditate on a faraway place where I might be eating the dish in question. Tonight, I got a chance instead to meditate on how the very thing that enabled us to even HAVE civilization in the first place has been elevated to its proper place of honor. Even as seafood, roasted tomatoes, fresh breads, beautifully done meats, pizzas, roasted corn arancini (my soul did a little HELL YEAH), and a roasted apple à la mode came our way, they all carried that unmistakable kiss of real wood fire smoke. You know, the flavor that any apartment dweller dreams of as they take their sad, frozen pizza out of their electric or gas oven, wistful for a good bonfire, as the guy on the street corner continues to scream profanities and try to lick the streetlight.
In all seriousness for a moment, one of the ancillary bonuses of attending these events is perspective. I have become a better, more disciplined, and healthier eater for simply knowing what's good and choosing that to the exclusion of bad and draining foods. It's also taught me that excellence comes from simplicity mixed with quality and skill. Fair to say that Frank, Zach, and staff have all three in abundance. I am full, I am grateful... and I'll be back.
Thanks to all of you who came out this week and brought your usual cheer and charm. A special shout out is in order to Frank Antonetti, Chef Zach Rude, bar master Nick, and the hardworking folks at 1653. To individually plate, wash, and plate again such intricate dishes (and masterful cocktails) is no small feat, and often a part of the “sausage making” that goes unnoticed. But not by us.
We hope you patronize 1653 again soon, and visit Frank’s upscale sports bar The Rust and Gold next door or Zach’s The Hideaway in Ocean Beach before the season is out! And please be sure to check our Instagram for more content to come.
Dishing it with DCS
- Wood Fired Cooking In Italy traces its modern roots to the Roman Empire, where hearths called forni would become the focal point of a village’s culinary and community life. The full complement of a meal would be prepared here: high-heat breads, slow-roasted meat, and dried fruit roasted on a lower-heat setting. The forni became the symbol of hospitality, eventually leading to the creation of pizza and remaining, to this day, a popular and traditional choice for bakers globally.
- Foccacia’s name comes from the Latin for “hearth bread”, its roots stretching back to the Ancient Roman’s penchant for baking bread, enriched with olive oil and herbs, on a heated stone in a communal hearth. Throughout its evolution, focaccia developed regional forms adapted to local flavorings - some savory, some sweet- with the Ligurian variety, adding slightly smoky complexity, being the version we commonly associate focaccia with today. The distinctive dimples on focaccia aren’t just for looks- they help retain olive oil, ensuring bread stays moist.
- Agrodolce is an Italian sauce with a complex history. Literally meaning “sour-sweet”, its modern form owes much to Arab culinary traditions, particularly in Sicily, where they ruled in the 9th-11th centuries and introduced sugarcane, citrus and spices. The balancing of sweet and sour became a hallmark of local cuisine and would eventually spread across European aristocratic cuisine. Today the vinegar-sugar reduction reflects Sicyl’s role as a cultural crossroads- Arab sweetness meets Mediterranean acidity, elevating even the humblest of ingredients into a luxury dish and adding a flavor pop to grilled meats, raw fish and roasted vegetables.
- Blistering refers to the cooking method of exposing the skin of a fruit or vegetable to very high, direct heat so it quickly chars. The goal is to intensify flavor through caramelization, loosen the skin for easy peeling, and create visual appeal. It’s an ancient practice, dating to the time open-fire cooking began, and has evolved into a Mediterranean tradition, especially in creating Italian tomato-sauces and bruschetta. In particular, wood-fired blistering adds not only the heat, but aromatic compounds from the burning wood.
- Arancini traces its origins to Arab Sicily, where rice cultivation along with saffron and the concept of shaping rice around things was introduced in the 9th-11th centuries. During the Medieval period, Sicilian cooks began using breadcrumbs to coat the rice balls before frying them, both to add texture and to preserve them for travel. Arancini translates to “little oranges”- named so for their shape and golden color after frying. Like many such dishes, these are ripe for regional diversification, with several reasons of Sicily and southern Italy claiming their own. Even the shape is up for contention- in Palermo the round versions are the norm; in Catania, a conical shape honors Mt. Etna. You could just hear Italian elders bickering over it.
- Margherita Pizza is the prototypical Neopolitan-style pizza, from which all more creative versions (see "Hot Honey Sausage..") were born. Its orgins can be traced to the turn of the 19th century, but were further cemented in 1849 when Emanuele Rocco mixed basil, tomatoes, and thin slizes of mozzerella in such a manner that stayed true to the present day. It's also said that this mixture of ingredients also begat the modern-day calzone.
- Mostarda is an at-once sweet, sharp and spicy Renaissance-era condiment strongly tied to the city of Cremona, in the northern region of Lombardy. Before refrigeration, fruits were preserved with sugar, honey, vinegar or spices. Combining fruit with sugar and the pungency of mustard became a way to combine these preservation techniques into one- and the result became a tasty sauce that, over time, became an Italian staple, especially during Christmas time in northern Italy.