Real Food Stories
The question of "what to eat" can feel endlessly confusing, especially when we contend with our own deeply ingrained beliefs and stories around food. Blame social media, the headline news, and let's not get started on family influences. Passed down from generations of women and men to their daughters, it's no wonder women are so baffled about how to stay healthy the older we get.
As a nutritionist and healthy eating chef, combined with her own personal and professional experience, Heather Carey has been connected to years of stories related to diets, weight loss, food fads, staying healthy, cooking well, and eating well. Beliefs around food start the day we try our first vegetables as babies and get solidified through our families, cultures, and messages we receive throughout our lifetime.
We have the power to call out our food beliefs so we can finally make peace with what we eat and get on with enjoying the real food and lives we deserve. Listen in to find out how to have your own happy ending to your real food story. Connect with Heather at heather@heathercarey.com or visit her website at www.heathercarey.com or www.greenpalettekitchen.com
Real Food Stories
123. The Pizza That Built a Family: Erica D’Arcangelo’s Real Food Story
What if a humble pizza shop could hold the history of an entire family?
In this heartwarming episode, Erica D’Arcangelo shares the extraordinary legacy of her Italian immigrant grandfather, who began working in Pennsylvania coal mines at just nine years old—and went on to found a beloved pizzeria that became the cornerstone of a three-generation family story.
Erica brings us inside the walls of that 65-year-old institution, where the scent of fresh dough meets decades of resilience, love, and reinvention. From folding pizza boxes as a child to launching viral TikToks to support the business during her father’s heart surgery, Erica’s journey reflects a powerful blend of tradition and transformation.
We explore how her Italian and Polish roots shaped her understanding of food—where one side said “Eat! Eat! Eat!” and the other whispered restraint and discipline. Erica’s honest reflections on family, food, and identity offer a rich, relatable lens into the complexities of eating well while staying connected to our cultural roots.
You’ll meet the pizzeria itself—almost like another family member—complete with grandmother’s rocking chair, “Coach’s Corner,” and produce straight from the garden. And you’ll learn how Erica is keeping the story alive through her book A Story About Pizza, her podcast, and a potential film celebrating her grandfather’s immigrant journey.
This episode is a celebration of legacy, love, and the power of food to hold us together.
Find Erica’s book and more at astoryaboutpizza.com.
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Hello everybody and welcome back to the Real Food Stories podcast. You know I started this podcast because I strongly believe that everybody has their own food story in them that deeply influences and dictates their food choices, preferences, dietary beliefs, conflicts and love for food. How we were raised makes us who we are today. So I'm here today with Erica D'Arcangelo, author of A Story About Pizza. Erika is the granddaughter of an Italian immigrant who came to America and started working in the coal mines and then opened up a pizza place in Pennsylvania. The pizzeria turned into a place where her family grew, where they celebrated Christmas every year, and a place where local people of all ages would come in to eat and be part of the family. In short, pizza got woven into Erica's food story. While recovering from heart surgery, Erica had the chance to spend a lot of time with her father and the opportunity to dig deeper into the history and lore of the family pizza place, her grandfather and the deep bond that the pizzeria linked her family with, and she was so inspired that she wrote a book about it.
Speaker 1:So I'm looking forward to diving into Erica's food story. We're going to discuss what it is like growing up Italian, the culture and, of course, the food, and I want to know how this way like growing up, Italian, the culture and, of course, the food. And I want to know how this way of growing up influenced who Erica is today. So welcome Erica. How are you? I'm great. Thank you for having me. Good Thanks for being here. I love hearing about people's food stories. I have my own food story which maybe I'll share in a little bit, and I think that this just influences who we are as adults. I mean, we can't escape right our cultures, our values, even if it was positive and sometimes there might be some negatives to how we grew up and maybe we'll share that as well, but it is woven into our fabric. So let's just start from the beginning. I want to hear about your grandfather. I always love immigrant stories and how people came over here and got off the ground and, sounds like, created something really amazing for your family.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. You know, my grandfather was from Abruzzo, italy, and he and his family immigrated to the United States around 1910. And they came from nothing. They showed up with the clothes on their back, a suitcase, and my great grandfather got hired at a coal mining company called Berwyn White Coal Company. It was in Wimber, Pennsylvania. So the whole family went there, came in through Ellis Island, you know, did their whole immigration thing that a lot of people did during that time and then started working in the coal mines.
Speaker 2:Now, the interesting thing was is that my grandfather had three brothers, so there were four boys. Now, at the age of nine years old, my grandfather was pulled out of school and he started working in the coal mines, as did his older brother, and he was in the mines for the majority of his life. But he, his dream was to make pizza and he was an amazing Italian cook and he had this life of hardship where he just slaved away in the mines for, I would say, till his early 40s, and then finally the mines closed and he developed Black Lung and he kind of goes on this journey of like opening this pizzeria.
Speaker 1:That's amazing, I mean just even his start where he's in the coal mines at such a young age, and I guess there was that determination back then, especially to just get to the United States. I mean, what was the motivation? Did he come with his family, with his parents?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was he and his parents, and they had four boys.
Speaker 2:They actually had a daughter she was the fifth child, but she passed away as a baby. So they were reeling from this loss and a lot of Italians immigrated around that time for a better life. Like now, you know, people are trying to move to Italy. So back then, you know, many people came over and they wanted to go to America. They wanted a better life, and I wouldn't say that they had a bad life, necessarily, but it was a life of struggle and it was a life of struggle and it was a life of unfair treatment and especially in the mind, there weren't unions at that time, there wasn't child labor, and so the thing that I love most about the story and my grandfather which I found out later was just the resilience of the human spirit and just that persistence to keep going despite these barriers and these things that got in the way yeah, I mean, you hear stories like that a lot back you know, when people were really immigrating to the united states, and it's just it's.
Speaker 1:They're just kind of awe-inspiring that, against all these odds, you know you come, come and you work in these horrific conditions, but then you open up a pizza place and thrive, and then here you are, you know as the granddaughter, and so I want to hear more about just how he got then to open the pizza place and how old was he at that time.
Speaker 2:So he was in his early 40s and what happened was the mines place. And how old was he at that time? So he was in his early 40s and what happened was the mines closed. He ended up developing black lung, but he still needed to support his family. They still had to survive. So he ended up buying a building that was owned by Berwyn White Coal Mines I think the building was built in 1905.
Speaker 2:And he opened a little Italian market and they sold like and he opened a little Italian market and they sold like, you know, pasta, tomato sauce, my grandma made bread, like those types of things, and so one day they decided to start making pizza and they started selling the pizza out of the market and then they started to do takeout orders and it kind of evolved. And now here we are, 65 years later, and it's like a full Italian restaurant and they have a bar and eat in and take out and you know, it's been thriving now for a long time. And he really opened this place so he had something to pass down to his kids because he didn't want his family having to work in the coal mines and repeat the same cycle that he had to go through.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, so this place has been open for a very long time. It's still open now. Yeah, that's amazing. I mean you know most businesses like restaurants especially. You know that you give them like maybe five years, maybe you know, and so that's incredible that the restaurant's been in the family. So tell me what happens next. I mean he opens it. It sounds like he's fairly successful. Your dad, was he working? Were you all working there? You know as that now, then, as his granddaughter, were you working there?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I mean, we started folding boxes when we were like eight or nine years old. He'd pay us 10 cents a box.
Speaker 2:I remember like he would be like 10 cents a box and we'd have our boxes caught up with like I folded 80 and you know, he would hand us some money. And then as we got older, it was like we learned how to bus tables and do dishes and make pizza. And then when you were like 16, 17, 18, you were like allowed to run the ovens and run the cash register and waitress and that was like kind of when you made it like you were in charge, so you got more responsibility as you got older.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. And funny enough, you know, my grandfather passed away in 1999. And my father and my uncle they were still running the pizzeria Now. They both had other careers, so we had family members who always pitched in and helped. But when my father retired, he was a high school superintendent. He had heart surgery and then he really got back involved a lot more. During that time it was when he was recovering from surgery.
Speaker 2:It was a few years after he retired and I mean I sort of left and had a marketing business and I lived in Florida and that was the year I moved back because my dad had the surgery and we both were like you know. I was like, hey, why don't you get out of the house, I'll come with you, I'll help you with your marketing. And it was very funny because at the time my dad was, he was just out of surgery and he was very grumpy and he was like I don't believe in marketing. And I said, okay, well, we'll just go together and I'll help you and it'll be fun. But ended up being like something that we really bonded over, because we would talk on the way there and the way back and on the way home. He was always excited about who he saw and who he talked to, and I was filming content and then we ended up getting a viral TikTok page. So the business got really busy and it just ended up being a really good experience for both of us.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's amazing. So yeah, he was very I'm sure he was probably more old school and didn't understand TikTok and social media and I mean I get that trying to like explain that something like that to my mother would be like she would have no idea what I was talking about, that you know you have to like make videos and you have to. So it sounds like your influence then really boomed the business back.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, it was fun. I would put him on lives on TikTok and he would be like what is this? And I'm like, just talk about the business. It's like just don't worry about it. And yeah, it was really cool. And the coolest part was just, you know, talking to him and being like these people saw it on TikTok and these people traveled from this place to come in and eat and I think it made him really proud because he was like, you know, he was creating on the business. They restored the building, they have all the pictures of all the ancestors on the walls and he did a coach's corner in the back because he was a coach. He was a basketball coach, so they have all the memorabilia of the coaching times and just ended up being a really cool thing.
Speaker 1:I want to talk about the food also, but it also sounds like the space, the pizza place itself is what really had an influence on you. I mean almost like they could have been selling Chinese food. I mean it wouldn't have right. I mean, am I correct in saying that?
Speaker 2:Nostalgic. Even now when I walk in there it reminds me of my grandparents. My grandmother's old rocking chair is sitting there, there's pictures of all our aunts and uncles and, it's funny, it still smells the same as when I was a kid and the pizza still tastes exactly the same. So I think not just for me but for people in the community it's a place that's just been there, where people have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries and reunions, and there's just something special about it beyond just the food, even though I like the food.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean there's always like something very warm and comforting about like the local pizza place. So that's kind of neat that you were actually living that in your family. You were that family and that's nice. My grandparents on my dad's side, who were Jewish, taught me. What I got from them is that food is love, but food is love in all the best ways. I mean they were nurturing and comforting and I still remember my grandmother's warm matzo ball soup that she would make on the holidays and the brisket. I mean those are the memories that I have of her and I loved her so much.
Speaker 1:And you know, on the other hand, I have other family members who were in big conflict with food. You know, like diets, dieting very young, always being conflicted with food, always concerned about weight. Women shouldn't eat a lot, you know, just very, very fearful around food. Yeah, so I mean this is so. This is what I'm talking about with like food stories. You know you really can get influenced by all the different aspects. So I, you know, so you grew up in a very Italian family with you know, and from what I know, I mean food is central, right to family gatherings, everything like a lot of cultures, but especially in an Italian family. So how did the pizza the just growing up Italian like that? What was the influence on you?
Speaker 2:You know, I think it's a couple things, of course. Like the way that I grew up, it was like eat, eat, eat. You know, are you hungry, let's get you some food. And as I got older, it was like, you know, it's not that I don't, I love to eat and I love food. But I also had to look at the fact that when food is involved, there's discipline. That's involved. Like I, I'm not going to sit down and eat 12 cupcakes. Would I like 12 cupcakes? Sure, but I like to eat Krispy Kreme every day. Yeah, I love Krispy Kreme, super good.
Speaker 2:But it's one of those things where and I think everyone has their own kind of level of this, of like you have your own integrity when it comes to food, of, like you know, being able to control, being able to be healthy and like, for example, like now, you know, I know that I can't just eat pizza, pasta, sugar, because I don't feel well when I eat that kind of stuff all the time.
Speaker 2:So I have to have balance, Like, if I go home, it's it's, you know, it's a piece pizza, pasta, cookie, extravaganza. Well, I know that I need to get up and I need to have protein, I need to have eggs and I need to have a shake and I need to maybe grab, you know, a salad or a green juice, because I know I'm going to have pizza and pasta for dinner. So I think it was one of those things that I had to learn myself of like, okay, this stuff is all available and it's all delicious, but I really for me, it's important to be healthy and to be balanced and to keep that relationship with food healthy, even though you have access to unlimited amounts of quote unquote junk food.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, I mean. I mean, how did they influence you in this Italian pizza environment?
Speaker 2:Sure. So you know, it was very interesting because there were a mix of people. So my grandmother, she was very Italian and she was, you know, eat, eat, eat. And my mom, my grandmom, even my grandma on my other side, like my mom's mom, they were all gifted and fabulous cooks and bakers, like incredible. Now, my grandma on my mom's side, she had modeled in New York, she was a wife in the fifties and she definitely had this idea of limiting the food and and she was Polish and she came from a family of, I think, 13.
Speaker 2:this is your grandma on your mom's side, on my mom's side, and they didn't have a lot of food growing up. So it was definitely a different viewpoint and one of the things that my mom said, which was interesting. I actually I have a pizza podcast and I interviewed my parents and my mom said that, which was interesting. I actually I have a pizza podcast and I interviewed my parents and my mom said that you know, she, her family, was like, very conservative and it was definitely, like you know, things were controlled and it was more limited. And then when she came into my dad's family, she started working at the pizzeria when she was 14.
Speaker 2:My grandparents were like here, eat, eat, eat. You know, unlimited amounts of food, or did you eat? Are you hungry? And it's just so interesting. I think, with the way that you're brought up, you may have one or the other one where it might be limited, and then on the other side, you might have like a hey, eat more, eat as much as you want, almost like you're being like I don't want to say forced to eat, but just, you know, encouraged, strongly encouraged to eat.
Speaker 1:Yes, I mean that's. That's similar to my. I think my food story is that I had, on my dad's side, eat like food. Food was love, not in a, not in a gluttonous way, you know, but just like. That's how love was expressed and and it gave me a lot. I mean, I was trying a lot of different things, even as a very, at a very young age, and I think it just expanded my palate and and it gave me the, the courage, I guess, to just try new things, rather than simply growing up like, oh, don't, you know, maybe you shouldn't, or you know, which, I think, turns people into picky eaters. And so I'm I'm always, you know, I'm just very open to trying all sorts of foods and everything, but I, so I, it sounds like, yeah, you, you had similar.
Speaker 1:One side of your family was a little more like measured yeah, and one is like food is love, yeah, yeah, which is yeah, which I get you know it's. Do you feel like from your mom's side then, that you've learned something, or did you? You know what's the takeaway from that?
Speaker 2:I think a lot of it is just having that discipline and, like you know, can I think a lot of it is just having that discipline. And, like you know, can I eat 12 pieces of pizza? Sure, I probably could, but you know, I'm going to be mindful and I'm going to have two slices of pizza, or three slices of pizza, and I'm not saying, like you know, don't eat or starve or something like that, but just the difference between the control and then being gluttonous, which I think can sometimes lead to just having an unhealthy habit.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely yeah. For me, my, my mom's side of the family was more. There was some around women enjoying food. That was my takeaway from growing up. It's like the men got to eat whatever they needed to get big and strong, but women always had to watch their weight. And there was, you know, I mean I had a lot of like cooks in my family, but there was always in just kind of lying in the background, you know, this like feeling of you better watch what you're eating. From the time I was probably very young and like like 11 years old, I was like, you know, it was like suggested I maybe go on a diet, so it's, you know, so it's yeah, and it. And then that takes some time to like untangle. That you know, and like make peace with food and be okay with eating and but but luckily I had the balance of, like my other side of the family, which was, you know, which was good. How do you feel about that? I mean, do you feel like that's was there in your family? Any shame around food any?
Speaker 2:shame around food any? No, shame around food, um. But one thing that was really important is that we all exercise and we all played sports. But for me that's more of a mental health thing than a physical health thing. Like I go to the gym every day mentally, like that's it helps me mentally. I don't even know that it is a physical thing. It's's like I feel like because you know, I have a lot of stuff, a lot of jobs and books and podcasts and this and that, and I need a stress relief and some people may eat, some people drink. I like to exercise because that's what really gets me into a good mindset, I think.
Speaker 1:Yes, I totally agree with that. I think that exercise, first and foremost for your mental health, is great. So that's where, yeah, so, and that's a good lesson to take away from your family, so that I mean, if they were always emphasizing physical activity, that's a yeah, that sort of weaves into, you know, like the food story, I sometimes think, I, I, I sometimes think like food and exercise, sort of one in the same you know you can't have one really without the other.
Speaker 2:You bring it on when you eat and then you work it off. And you know my dad was a coach. So we were really like. You know, we had five kids in my family and it was crazy growing up. Like it was like pandemonium, people were just like wrestling. It was when, like WWF was big and like there, and people were just like wrestling. It was when, like WWF was big and like there was just like noise, people were fighting, and so my mom was just like please take some of these kids to basketball practice. So my dad was like here's some basketballs. Like well, we'll see you when I'm done in an hour or two.
Speaker 1:That's, that's very funny. That's yeah, yeah, Well, that's good. I mean, everyone has to get their energy out. Yeah, what's the? You know what's the one thing that you loved about just growing up with the, you know, with the pizza place and the, or a couple of things. I mean, what did you love about it and what and what do you feel like you learned? Like, what are your takeaways from your experience? I mean, it was impactful enough for you to write a whole book about it and I want to talk about the book in a second. But what were your you know your loves and your lessons. I think that you learned from just growing up in a you know a pizza culture.
Speaker 2:I guess, if you will Sure sure I mean, growing up, I feel like I didn't appreciate it as much.
Speaker 2:I thought it was noisy and there were just people everywhere and I was just like, oh, like.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I was like this is so much, but now, when I look back at it, I really appreciate it, because you only have those times once with the people that you love. And so the fact that, like you know, my mom, my sister, my grandma, my best friend, my mom's best friend we all worked together at the pizza shop on Fridays and we made bread and they made homemade jam and we laughed and we talked and it was like it was really special to to have that, and I feel, like you know, as an adult, it's given me a lot of stability because I have this foundation of this family and we're still really close, we're still all in a group text like every day, and I have to silence it because we're, like you know, all day long and we're talking about our favorite pizzas. And my parents they're in Italy this year because my dad's getting a citizenship and it's just, it's very nice to have that foundation and that support and that love of your family support and that love of your family.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, it sounds like the right that the pizzeria was really like the center of your family, like almost like the rock, any fear that it ever might close. Or it sounds like it's busy, as busy as it can be right now. It's so busy.
Speaker 2:I mean, I think we for sure always want to keep it in the family and I'm hoping it. You know, nothing lasts forever, I guess, but I'm hoping it will and it will just continue to be passed down. And you know, I'm hoping that you know all my brothers and sisters. They just started having kids. So I'm like everyone just needs to have like a lot of kids. So somebody just ends up deciding to take it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Do you still? Do you live local to the pizza place still?
Speaker 2:I live part of the time in Florida and I live part of the time local to the pizza place where my parents are and I still do all the marketing for the pizzeria. So I travel up there and do videos and film content. And my mom owns a jam company so I help her, and during the summer it's, you know, jam season, it's picking season, so that's a that's a prime time to be up there, and in the winter, though, I definitely prefer Florida.
Speaker 1:I'm sure you do Get a Western PA. I'm in Connecticut. Sounds like your mom does a lot of growing then.
Speaker 2:She makes her own jams and.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, my mom's a master gardener and one of the things with the shop that we really like do is it's locally sourced ingredients. We do the the unbrominated, unbleached flour. It's a healthier flour and we really we grate the cheese, we make the dough fresh, so these are all really fresh ingredients. My mom grows San Marzano tomatoes so we can roast tomatoes. She grows peppers and zucchini and like I mean berries and like you name it. She has, like, if you go there in August, you you could. The harvest there is incredible.
Speaker 1:So that's one thing one thing yeah, I'm curious how you know I I could see how it might be easy in a piece of places like, oh, don't use the locals. I mean that that must be pricier and more labor intensive to make things you know, like if I can just open a can and know who will know, but your family is not not, and that's fantastic, and I'm just curious how that came about. Where did your mom get the influence to become a master gardener? And I mean, I have a special place in my heart for gardeners and gardening, because I think it's just the most important thing you can do towards healthier eating for yourself. Yeah, and so that's that's fantastic, that that they do that. Where did that influence come from?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it was really from her mom and dad. They really had a green thumb. Like I remember going to my grandparents and them having like the most beautiful yard and all the flowers that they grew, and like I remember laying in the grass and it was the most beautiful grass that I'd ever been, you know, able to be around. And I think my mom just really, you know, when we had home, she planted a lot of flowers and did a lot of landscaping and then that kind of turned into growing food and so that's just been. It's just so nice. It's an added bonus and especially, like you know, I guess, as a creator, as a marketer, it's nice because I get to film that process and then show the food, which is like a really cool part of the restaurant that you don't always get to show because sometimes it is canned stuff and it's kind of like that's not really it's fun to, you know, show is, like you know, this beautiful picture of this, all the stuff that came from the garden.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Is that something that's that's influenced you? Do you garden? Do you have a garden? Do you grow anything?
Speaker 2:I want to. That is my goal and there are times you know we'll do like you know basil outside or we'll do like herbs and stuff like that for cooking. But what it's been lately I mean I really had to make a change. It was like 15 years, three marketing agencies just working, and then finally decided I need a break and I went home for the year to help my family, started to film the content and really got so inspired and wrote the book and wrote the children's series now writing the next novel and almost became inspired to do marketing again after really feeling like I hate to say the word but just burnout, just not wanting to do it anymore. So that kind of revived my purpose to do that and also to live a more, I think, organic, thoughtful life.
Speaker 1:Great. Well, yeah, I'm sure you know. I think all those influences, even if you know you're not directly gardening right now, but maybe that's just influencing you in other, secondary ways.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, the writing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So let's talk about the book. It sounds like you were having conversations with your dad and you started talking more about your grandfather and how you know his history and everything. Tell me how you got just the. I mean, writing a book is no small feat, so what really like pushed you over to, I think, say like this would be a great idea to write a book to say like this would be a great idea to write a book.
Speaker 2:So, you know, it was interesting because we had one of our companies was a movie production company or a film production company and my one of my friends he was the director he had made a film and it was about a life and culture in Mexico and about a father, about a son who lost his grandfather and the grandfather raised him, and it was a very beautiful story and we were talking about our next movie project and I was thinking, like you know, this would be a really cool movie project. And so he said, well, yeah, but usually you first need a book. And I was like, okay, well, like I can probably write a book, like I've, I'm so inspired by the story and like I kind of wanted to put it down on paper anyway. And so we initially were like you know, maybe this would be a really cool movie to capture. And so then I wrote the book and they were both like it was my husband and our partner, and they were both like shocked. They were like, oh, you wrote the book. I was like, well, yeah, because this might be a really, you know, beautiful movie.
Speaker 2:And so then, after I wrote the book. I didn't know what to do with it because I'd never written a book, so I just let it sit for like four months and then I thought, okay, well, I went to school for marketing, I've been doing marketing for 20 years here, so like I just let me just use what I know here and then put the book out. And then it almost like the book inspired the children's series and inspired the podcast and inspired the next novel which I'm writing now. So it was like the book was the center of it all, which was the pizza place.
Speaker 1:That's great. Yeah no, that's. That's. That's great. It definitely gets the word out and I, like I said, I mean I think I love any stories about your you know grandparents or great grandparents emigrating over and like, and how how you then came to be you know here and today. So that that's wonderful. So I wanted to ask you two questions. Number one how often do you actually eat pizza now? Oh, more than.
Speaker 2:I should. It's so funny because now I have my pizza story podcast and I do probably, like I film maybe two or three a week, every week maybe four, and every day my husband be like what do you want to eat? And I'm like, oh, for dinner. And I'm like, ok, well, let's have, like you know, chicken steak, whatever healthy. And then I get off the phone from doing the podcast and I'm looking at their pizza on Instagram and he's like what do you want for dinner? And I'm like pizza. So, like you know, now it's been like probably three, four nights a week of pizza, which we were trying to limit it to one, but I could eat it every day. I'm not going to lie.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think I might be able to eat pizza every single day too, as long as it's really great. Do you find that you're like kind of in pizza competition? You know, like you do, you feel like your pizza from your family's place is is the best pizza, and oh it's always.
Speaker 2:It will always be the number one favorite. I have a top 10 list and I have it on my blog and I just I love that pizza. It's amazing. But there's also some really good pizzerias down in Florida, like there's one called Cristino's they're from Italy. I've been in business forever. I think we've been going there 15, 20 years. One called Verola's the guys from New York, it's like a very traditional new york slice and so we definitely go and we find pizzerias and and we try them. And you know there's one in tampa called forbici. It's amazing, it's my husband's favorite pizza, so we're always out and about looking for, you know, the next great pizza.
Speaker 1:I guess yeah, well, I live not too far from new haven, which is sort of like the that's supposed to be the yeah, the pizza capital of the world, or the country I don't know, yeah, so I've gone there a couple of times and sat and waited in lines for half an hour to get into the pizza place. That's kind of fun. So where can people find you, find your book, and how do they get to know more about you?
Speaker 2:well, if you just search a story about pizza or you go to a story about pizzacom, you can find everything about me in the book. You can search, you can google me online and you'll see a bunch of you know author stuff on there. But that's probably the easiest way. It's just a story about pizza and Google.
Speaker 1:Okay, great, and it sounds like there might be a movie in the works. Is that what's happening?
Speaker 2:I mean I hope I don't know, I mean right now. So we did the book and we did a trailer for a series about family-owned pizzerias and we did this on my Family's Pizza Place. It's on my YouTube channel and we're going to do a full episode. But what I'd love to do is some of the podcasts I've done with some really cool people in the pizza industries. I'd love to go do a full episode of like going to see them and filming and stuff like that. But right now we're doing the podcast and I guess we'll see how it goes. But I mean goal would be a movie would be the best. Like that'd be the end goal.
Speaker 1:I think I mean goal would be a movie would be the best, like that'd be the end goal, I think, yeah, that would be great, all right, well, we'll be, you know, watching and waiting for the movie. It sounds great, erica. Thank you so much. I appreciate you sharing your real food story and I love it. I love your grandfather's story and how they came over. I love your grandfather's story and how they came over and sounds like they obviously really influenced you, and here you are writing a book about it no-transcript.