Pizza Expo 2018 - Tom Tallarico Explores Buffets and Meets Pittsburghers on the Show Floor

Hi folks! This is Dan Tallarico, Editor at Pizza Walk With Me, with another recap from our columnist, Tom Tallarico. After this article I now have about 12 photos of buffets saved to my desktop! If you'd like to start at the beginning you can read his prequel/first day recap of Pizza Expo here.

With Day 2 of the EXPO comes the opening of the Exhibit Hall including Food
Suppliers, Equipment Manufacturers and to the crowd’s delight, samples that
their products produce, i.e. pizza, charcuterie, macaroni, olives and food, food, and
more food. Yesterday, as we were checking the progress of the Exhibit Hall set-
up, the security guard suggested, “Don’t bring your lunch”. A new attendee asked
“Why?” This is why:

Even Jersey Mike made it this year. Where’s Jimmy John’s? Next year?

The first Demo I attended showed the relatively new, popular Pizza al Taglio or
Roman-style pizza; a classic type from Italy. Conducted by Christopher Anitnucci
and Giulia Colmignoli, a couple which grew up in Rome. They relocated to San
Diego and operate Napizza, specializing in the Roman-style.

The key ingredient is a unique flour which is rich in protein, made in small batches & cold stoned milled such that the germs survive. This flour type is very difficult to find domestically.
The result is an airy, light, crunchy crust which is easy to digest. Dough ferments
for 72 hours; massaged lightly to retain and redistribute CO2 bubbles and bakes
before final toppings are added, then re-baked. For toppings, they suggested “the
Sky’s the Limit”. Great Advice!

The result at different stages:

Truly excellent taste & texture!

Earlier in the day, I could tell Dan was quite impressed with the scope of the
EXPO. I remarked that perhaps sometime in the future, he might be a panel
speaker. Well guess what? Later that afternoon:

Dan was invited at the end of the session, “Make Yourself a (Social) Media
Magnet conducted by Scott Anthony. Dan was asked to speak to the impact of
on-line advertising in various forms. Generated quite a bit of interest from the
audience trying to find ways to promote the business.

In addition, a very nice outcome of the session was being approached by Pizza
makers that were originally from Pittsburgh and now reside in Charleston, SC.

Still involved in multiple Pizza shops, Steven Carb of SERG Restaurant Group, the
gentleman on the right grew up in Squirrel Hill and started working at Mineo’s in
High School. Having some background at Mineo’s myself, we both had a great kick
from reminiscing about the owners and especially THE MAN there at the time, Joe
Aiello, a top Pizziola in the city for years. I got to know Joe very well, way back when and Steve remarked that Joe got him off the ground with his first shop in
California years ago.

A very nice touch to end the day. Tonight, we’re having
dinner at Pizza Rock, Tony G’s place in downtown Vegas. Very much looking
forward to that.

Pizza Expo 2018: Tom Tallarico Arrives in Las Vegas

The following is a column written by our new columnist, Tom Tallarico (previously associate editor). Tom Tallarico has a lust for pizza and Las Vegas that can hardly be contained in single post. Enjoy his writing and please help me understand why he refers to me as a "webmaster." 

Prequel/Arrival: Hello, everyone; I’m baacckk. As the Expo was approaching this year, I was with Webmaster Dan for a visit to see Tony at Pizza Taglio in January. We were reminiscing about last year’s Expo as Tony had also attended. On the way home, I said to Dan, “Heck, I’m going back; this event is too good to miss for so many reasons.” The Big News this year is Webmaster Dan is also attending for the 1st time as you’ve probably already noted. As Dan has reported, over the last 12 months, the Pizza growth in Pittsburgh has been amazing. “Tony Taglio” won a local best Pizza award, Caliente, a perennial winner at the EXPO opened a 4th shop (in my neighborhood, Aspinwall; MMmmmm) & Driftwood Oven has moved into a permanent location in Lawrenceville. Dan has most recently reported a renaissance in Pittsburgh with Detroit style; more on that later.

For me (and others), part of the charm of the Expo is the Las Vegas setting. No surprise as this town is the US Convention mecca. On Monday, we took an early 6:20 flight to arrive at 8:00 AM. Greeted at the airport by a new & old “Welcome” 

signs:

Then headed to the hotel, dropped bags at off to the convention center where valet Mark noted Dan’s hat & assumed he was a Gonzaga fan. This was the first reminder of everything else going on in the city, NCAA Sweet 16 Madness,

 AND OF COURSE, the BUFFETS. 

But enough of that for now. The first mission upon entering the Convention Hall is getting the Badge. The last 2 years, as Dan was not coming I was using his badge. But this year:

My own badge. Perhaps, the last 2 years never really happened?? At any rate, with nothing happening yet, we proceeded over to the café for much needed coffee as NAPTIME thoughts were already dancing in our heads. Curiously enough, we spotted someone in a Penquins shirt. I approached him to chat wondering who this might be. None other than Pete Tolman, owner of the increasingly popular Iron Borne, a big part of the Detroit Pizza movement in Pittsburgh. Interesting background in that he was a classically trained chef with a background in fine dining whose credits include time at Nemacolin. Anyone heard of Latreauc?  He had no background in Pizza but decided to go with it & the Detroit style after enjoying it at a shop in Colorado(??) called Brown Dog.   

After a nice chat, we headed to a seminar conducted by John Gutekanst, owner of Avalanche Pizza in the college town of Athens, Ohio. Titled Finding Your Niche; Using Creativity, Absurdity & Street Smarts. The title speaks for itself & the content lived up to it. The underlying theme was to Try anything once to market your shop even if it scares people. Core values are Passion, Love, Creativity & Knowledge. 

That brought the first day to an end at the Expo except for checking on the progress of the Exhibit set-up. 

Editor's Note: This is not the Pizza Expo exhibit hall.

So far, so good. We all recall what goes on at the Exhibits???  More on that next time.