|
|
February 11, 2000/5 Adar 1 5760, Vol. 52, No.23
Shhh... Secret of pizza is replicating N.Y. water
CHRIS GARIFO
Staff Writer
The Ziegler brothers - Scott and Gregory - say they are more than Italian enough to make good pizza.
The owners of the two Ziegler's New York Pizza Department pizzerias in Scottsdale are the sons of a Jewish father and a half-Jewish/half-Italian mother. Both bachelors, they were born in Queens and grew up on Long Island where, Scott Ziegler says, New York-style pizza is considered a birthright.
"There's an old expression, 'If you're from Idaho and you're Italian, you're not Italian,' " says Scott Ziegler, 35. "'But, if you're from New York and you're not Italian, you're Italian.' And that also goes for being Jewish."
Scott Ziegler, who handles the business side of the operation, worked as a Wall Street stockbroker and in the mutual fund business after earning a business and marketing degree from the University of South Carolina - where he was the first Jewish member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. Gregory Ziegler, 32, who earned a degree in philosophy from the State University of New York at Geneseo, is the master chef, using recipes handed down to him from a seasoned pizza chef.
"We took his recipes and we created a little magic of our own," says Greg, whose most recent prior job was managing a nightclub in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
At least part of that magic, Scott says, is in the water.
"The secret for us was trying to re-create New York water," he says. "The water was so important because it affects (the dough's) texture, how it reacts with the other ingredients, which affects the taste."
He says that Valley water is very hard and has different minerals and chemicals than New York water, so the brothers hired a water company to set up a filtration system that matches Yonkers water, "which we think is the best water in New York."
Thanks to magic or the water, the brothers, who moved to the Valley in April 1996, have expanded from one store opened at 8800 E. Via Linda in October 1996, to a second store at 10433 N. Scottsdale Road, opened last Dec. 15.
"There was definitely a need for our type of product in this area," Scott Ziegler says. "People who move out here from back East (tend to have) one complaint: no good pizza."
Greg Ziegler says he likes the feeling NYPD is developing as a neighborhood business.
"Back East, you had your favorite pizzeria and you always went to the same place," he says. "We've found locations where we really cater to particular neighborhoods and we see a lot of the same families."
He says that, while pizza is what NYPD is best known for, one of his personal favorites is the baked ziti, "made fresh to order with ricotta cheese, mozzarella and romano and salt and pepper and marinara sauce." He says his calzones are also popular, especially one dubbed "Al Capone."
Both NYPD locations are open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 3:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Sunday.
|
