Geoff Kies recently unveiled the second 5th Street Pub on Monroe Street in Sylvania. Taking the methods from his successful Perrysburg location, 5th Street Pub serves burgers hot off the grill, pasta, fire roasted sandwiches and most importantly, Neapolitan Pizza: cooked in 90 seconds in their wood-burning oven.
Spreading the Gospel of Neapolitan Pizza
Developed 300 years ago in Naples, Italy, pizza has become a staple on dinner tables across the globe. The original formula of pizza was founded as a lunch for fishermen consisting of bread and bait fish. Since, pizza has evolved from its humble beginnings in Naples and has been sent out to the world with cheesy success.
Honest, simple ingredients and a rigid preparation process define Neapolitan pizza. Studying with the President of the APN (Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani) Geoff Kies and Chef Bruce learned the ins-and-outs of Neapolitan Pizza and its history in Naples.
We got a taste of the unique process of making Neapolitan pizza.
TCP: How did you get involved with Neapolitan pizza?
G: All I knew was American pizza, which is fine when you’re hungry. Neapolitan pizza is different…[it’s] for your taste buds, and your sense of smell. The toppings are high-end, fresh ingredients. It’s made so you can taste every item. American pizza is all one big flavor in your mouth; you can’t differentiate a lot. Neapolitan pizza is all about moving the air in the dough, pushing it to the outer edges. As opposed to American-style pizza where you are shoving actual material to make the crust.
The idea behind our business is to preserve what they used to do. It’s all wood… all old ways of doing it.
Once you knew you wanted to make Neapolitan pizza, what was the next step?
We found a guy in New York City who is the President of the APN, which is the Association for Neapolitan Pizza Makers. They were put together in conjunction with the Italian government to spread the gospel of Neapolitan Pizza across the globe. So we get out to New York and we started Neapolitan Pizza Boot camp. We’d get up at 6am and spend the day learning to make pizza. They taught us to make the cheese, make the dough, how to work the ovens. Their whole goal with the APN was to preserve their history, but it also helps their commerce. 75% of the ingredients come from Italy: olive oil from Italy, cheeses, flour, our tomatoes, the oven. There were only three oven makes I could choose from and they were all in Naples.
Were you able to choose the toppings for the pizzas?
That was part of the training. We have to be careful what we do. You want to get experimental with it and do fun stuff, but again, what we are about is maintaining the history. Because of that, most of the pizzas on the menu are pizzas that are served in Italy.
What advice do you have for a first-timer at 5th St. Pub?
Arancini is goat cheese wrapped in risotto, breaded and deep-fried. They’re delicious. But the first thing you should have, for the experience, is the Margherita Pizza.
5th St. Pub, 5577 Monroe St., Sylvania.
419-517-5311 | 5thstreetpub.com
