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# Meet T. J. O’Connor, The Chef Making Everything From Scratch At Pauline & Sharon’s Pizza
- URL: https://bklyner.com/meet-t-j-oconnor-the-chef-making-everything-from-scratch-at-pauline-sharons-pizza-southslope/
- Published: 2014-04-23T17:29:22.000Z
- Updated: 2014-04-23T17:29:22.000Z
- Author: Gregory
- Tags: Pauline & Sharon's Pizza, T.J. O'Connor, #API-Imported

![T.J. O'Connor, chef and owner of Pauline & Sharon's Pizza](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ssn_ps-pizza_tjoconnor-702x483.jpg)

  
They call him the “Pizza Nazi.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that,” T. J. O’Connor, chef and owner of [Pauline & Sharon’s Pizza](http://paulineandsharonsbrooklyn.com/?ref=bklyner.com) on 4th Avenue, says with a smile when asked about his neighborhood nickname. “Doesn’t bother me. It means they like the pizza.”

Seinfeld’s famous [Soup Nazi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FSoup%5FNazi?ref=bklyner.com) made the best soup around, and plenty of customers feel the same about T.J.’s pizza. “I make everything myself,” he says. Everything includes the sauce, the dough, the house-pulled mozzarella, even house-made sausage and pepperoni.

![Pauline & Sharon's Pizza slices](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ssn_ps-pizza_slices-702x493.jpg)

  
And traditional toppings are only the beginning. One specialty pie is topped with brie and onion jam. Another with cured smoked duck breast and a blueberry and rosemary jam.

A South Slope resident, T.J. is a Johnson & Wales-trained chef who’s cooked in elite kitchens. But he knew he didn’t want to be a chef at a big restaurant for the rest of his life. So when a pizzeria came on the market three years ago, he jumped at the chance to run a business in his own backyard.

Pauline and Sharon’s is not fancy — there’s only one table, and as for the decor, there isn’t any. It’s about as under the radar as “House-Made Bacon and Cremificato Pizza” can get. And the hours can be unpredictable too: “When we run out, we close.”

![Pauline & Sharon's Pizza pies](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ssn_ps-pizza_pies-702x466.jpg)

  
T.J. knows he can be a little gruff at times, but only when customers don’t treat him with respect.

“I’m not some shlub working a pizza counter. I don’t like being treated that way.”

So what does he want from his customers?

“I want people to say ‘Holy sh\*t this pizza is pretty f\*cking good!'”

T.J. thinks he’s making some of the best pizza in the city. He may be right.

![Pauline and Sharon's Pizza, 597A 4th Avenue](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ssn_pauline-sharons-pizza-702x807.jpg)

  
*[Pauline & Sharon’s Pizza](http://paulineandsharonsbrooklyn.com/?ref=bklyner.com) is located at 597A 4th Avenue, near 17th Street, 718-788-7333\. They open weekdays at 5pm, and weekends at noon, and they close when they run out.*