A Conversation With Anthony DeLisi, Owner Of Rocco’s Pizzeria, About What Makes A Great Pie

Rocco’s Pizzeria, the family-owned pizza joint that has been slinging pies out of its store on Brighton Beach Avenue for more than 50 years, was recently featured in The New York Pizza Project. The project, which was funded through Kickstarter and took five years to complete, explores the stores, pizza makers, and pizza lovers who make up New York’s eclectic pizza culture. The five guys behind the project, which was just published as a book, spoke with Rocco’s owner Anthony DeLisi about his oddball use of ingredients.

Here’s what Anthony told him about his PB&J pizza:

“I’ve gotten yelled at for the pizzas I’ve made in this place. You know? Once we made a peanut butter and jelly pizza. And uh, I literally got cursed out. Regular customers that come in everyday and ask, ‘What the hell are you doing now?’ And it’s just funny to me. It’s just bread and peanut butter and jelly. Just try it. It’s something different.”

I spoke with Anthony about what makes a good pizza, how it feels to be featured in The New York Pizza Project, and what drives his creativity in the kitchen.

Sheepshead Bites: What makes a good pizza?

Anthony: The ingredients. It has to have quality ingredients and have the right blend of spice to it. The most important thing is the crust. If it’s a nice crispy crust, you know it’s a real Brooklyn pizza.

What does Brooklyn pizza mean to you?

Something that doesn’t seem manufactured, like Dominoes pizza. Brooklyn pizza is made by hand. It’s something people put a lot of care into.

You told The New York Pizza Project about your PB&J pizza. Have you made any other creative or out-of-the-box pizzas?

We made a lot of different ones over the years. It’s just about whether or not people accept them. We’ve tried nutella pizza with bananas. There’s a fresh mozzarella with tomatoes. We make it a little differently here. We make it without sauce. We just add a little olive oil with fresh mozzarella, tomato, a little garlic, and basil. Then there’s the stuffed pizza. It is a huge hit. It’s stuffed with ground beef, sausage, pepperoni and cheese. I would say the stuffed pizza is the most popular of those. It has stuck around.

The peanut butter and jelly did not go over well. It’s funny, about a week later, my sister calls me and tells me to put on Emeril [Lagasse]. And what is he doing? He’s making peanut butter and jelly pizza. And he’s getting applause. And here, people were cursing me out.

What inspires you to be creative with pizza?

In all honesty, I get tired of seeing the same thing everyday. So somedays I’ll just go into the kitchen and start pulling things off the shelves and throw it on a pizza and see how it goes.

That’s what my parents did. Pizza for us at home was the way to use leftovers. And they would make a little bit of everything.

I was reading that this is a family owned pizza shop. How did you get involved in the pizza business?

I started working for the previous owners in like 1993, I think. And then they were ready to sell and we took over in 2000.

I went to cooking school, I went that whole route and it wasn’t really for me. So I started working here and working at a catering hall at the time. And I think this was a better fit.

Why was this a better fit for you?

I like talking to people all day. In a restaurant, you’re just stuck in the kitchen. So I get to interact with people.

And, I guess as a last question. What does it mean for you to be featured in the New York Pizza Project?

To tell you the honest truth, I didn’t know what it was. I remember those guys came here a while ago. And at the time, I was checking the website and they told me they were updating it. And honestly, after a while it just slipped my mind. I never really checked back with them.

Wait. So you didn’t know you’re featured in it until right now?

Yeah, pretty much.

So I guess now that you know, how do you feel about it?

I’m honored. I’m glad that they enjoyed the food and they liked the pizza. That always makes me happy.

Rocco’s Pizzeria, 123 Brighton Beach Avenue, between Ocean Parkway and Brighton 1st Street, 718-372-9180. Open daily, 12 – 10pm.