This pizza–served one weekend a year only–is regarded by many as the city’s best; Here’s where to find it
Early October means a number of things in central Ohio: The beginning of Halloween season, when the Buckeyes began conference play and plenty of pumpkin spice throughout the city’s bars and restaurants.
If you’re a local pizza fanatic, it also means the Columbus Italian Festival and the annual emergence of its hugely-popular signature pizza.
Eschewing the tradition of thin and crispy and Columbus-style pies, Vince Militello–the Italian festival’s director of food vendors– has been overseeing the creation of the event’s thick, square, Sicilian-style pies now since 2001. The pies have enjoyed a seeming uptick in popularity throughout the years, but last year set records. With 1,200 total pizzas sold, Militello and company ran out of the festival’s signature pizza, and he vowed to make sure it doesn’t happen again this year.
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“I want to first apologize to everyone for running out last year. It was a record year for us. I remember we ran out and there must have been 40 more people waiting in line when it happened,” Militello–who is a member of the Carfagna family on his mother’s side and is often referred to the “Pizza God” in Italian Fest circles–said. “Nothing’s guaranteed, but we ordered a whole lot more this year to make sure we don’t run out. They even asked if we were sure we wanted to order that much.”
What exactly makes this pie so special, you might be asking?
While it’s possible the once-a-year exclusivity may be a factor, and its embrace of the Sicilian style could also set it apart from other popular Columbus-style pizzas, if you ask Militello, the answer is a whole lot more simple: It comes down to quality.
When the square pizza was first offered nearly 25 years ago (originally the Festival had only a thin-crust, circular pizza option), he worked tirelessly with a local baker to perfect the crust. The sauce, using California tomatoes (which he says lend themselves to a sweeter finished product with less acidity) is cooked in-house, and each batch takes approximately two hours to complete.
“I truly believe it’s about using good products and being consistent. We have a quality provolone and mozzarella blend and we load on the toppings,” he said, adding “I bet you can count on two hands the number of pizza places in Columbus that cook their own sauce today.”
According to Italian Festival Marketing Director Landa Masdea Brunetto, “The thick crust pizza is always a hit, but it is not at all a heavy crust. The texture is so light, it feels like angel food cake against your tongue,” she said. “The festival rallying cry is: Come for the pizza, stay for the festival.”
The Columbus Italian Festival will be held Oct. 11-13. The event also has a thin-crust option, but Militello’s thick-crust pies can be purchased for $5 a slice, or $50 for an entire pizza, which includes 12 total slices.
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