Table for All with Buki Elegbede

[pleasant Mediterranean music] - Today on "Table for All," we get a taste of Italy from the next generation of artisans.

We head to Morristown to make pasta, tour a winery, and hit the road to find the best pizza in the state.

[pleasant Mediterranean music continues] [pleasant Mediterranean music continues] Who doesn't love pasta?

It's the perfect comfort food.

You can dress it up, dress it down.

It's filling, it's spicy, vegetarian.

It's stuffed, it's topped.

The combinations are endless.

Americans love it so much that the US consumes 6 billion pounds of it every year.

Popularized in the late 19th century by groups of Italian immigrants who relocated to America for a better life.

And although we have to credit China for inventing the noodle, boy, no one does it like Italy.

[gentle music] And in a small shop in Morristown, New Jersey two young chefs are perfecting this Italian tradition and putting love in every bite.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, AJ Sankofa and his wife Kristina Gambarian found themselves like most people, without a job.

And although the world had shut down, they used their knowledge, passion, and love for delicious authentic Italian food and founded ESO Artisanal Pasta.

You guys met at the pasta station, the risotto station, and then just magic and sauce was flying, right?

- Exactly, I mean, we met before the COVID, but I feel like the love happened during the COVID.

Not just love for AJ, but also love for pasta.

- We are doing this episode all on Italy and I feel like the haters are gonna think "Wait a minute, how are you doing a show on Italy and we have a Ukrainian woman and a Black man with Southern roots?"

Where did the love for Italy come from?

- Well, I guess that all started with my time at Jockey Hollow Bar and Kitchen.

It was a primarily Italian restaurant and the executive chef had also trained and studied in Italy, so I wanted to follow in his footsteps, and that's what I did.

- AJ, who had never been to Italy, packed his bags and moved there at just 18 years old and embraced his new culture with open arms and open stomach.

What about Italy made you wanna do it?

- Well, I think the Italian approach to cooking is a lot more simple.

It's a lot more about passion and using good ingredients and that's something that I could relate to, as you've said before, from my southern heritage here in the States.

- [Buki] What I think is incredible is that actual Italians are ordering your pasta from Morristown, New Jersey to eat in Italy.

- One of the biggest cosigns that I feel we've gotten is the real people who live here in this town and the surrounding towns that come.

They tell me that this is the first time that they've had something as close to true authentic Italian food in this town ever.

So, a big thing before I went to Italy that I felt was that I always had to come up with new inventive recipes that no one had heard of before.

But after spending that first seven months in Italy, I realized that what you actually need to do is master the original and holy recipes and then you can work off of those to create your own thing in the future.

- [Buki] AJ and Kristina managed to master those coveted Italian holy recipes, and it started from making tagliatelle and other homemade pastas.

And we can't forget about the sauces.

- [AJ] Classic Italian.

Just keeping it simple.

- We headed into the kitchen so I can learn how to make the perfect pasta.

And as most Italians know, each dish comes with a story.

I heard that you and your friends used to go to some sort of little restaurant every day for lunch?

- That's right.

So right outside of the school, ICIF, the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners which is in Costigliole d'Asti, they had this little kiosk that was right outside the school and it was run by a husband and wife.

Maybe that's where I got the inspiration from.

- Maybe.

- And they had a small menu.

They had some pastas, they had a steak, chicken.

So that's where the big love for tagliatelle bolognese comes from because that's what I would eat every single day after school.

- Speaking of tagliatelle.

Tagliatelle.

So how do we create this popular dish?

Your favorite.

- Very simple.

So we've got our egg yolks right here, got our semolina flour.

I'm gonna grab some 00.

Once I'm done with this, put it on this bowl, mix it up.

Voila.

[upbeat music] - 180 egg yolks.

Now what's the ratio between semolina and 00?

- [AJ] We use 60 egg yolks, 950 grams of semolina, and 50 grams of 00.

- [Buki] A trip to the mixer and we were one step closer to pasta perfection.

[mixer humming] Then we rolled and readied the dough.

- So we'll start by laminating it a little bit with the rolling pin.

- [Buki] What is laminating?

- Just a fancy name for rolling out the dough.

[gentle music] - Now when you guys are making your 150 to 200 pounds of pasta a week, what's going on in the kitchen?

Kristina's, like you guys are talking and communicating.

- [AJ] We like to listen to meditation music.

- [Buki] Is that why you're so zen?

- That's probably why, man.

- Okay, 'cause you're just giving me all the zen vibes.

I was not feeling very zen when it came time to put the pasta through the pasta maker.

First try was far from perfect.

Oh, who am I kidding?

It was a disaster.

Do over!

[whimsical music] Oh!

Look at me making pasta!

Then the tagliatelle was ready to be cut.

[energetic music] - [AJ] Add some more semolina.

[energetic music continues] - [Buki] How's that?

- [AJ] Really good.

- Here we go.

Woo!

Bam!

[Buki laughs] I mastered the art of the tagliatelle, and while AJ was finishing off ESO's famous spicy marinara, Kristina was ready to teach me how to make homemade gnocchi, with a twist.

No potatoes in this recipe.

Gnocchi, where do we start?

- So for our recipe we have fresh ricotta.

We have 00 flour.

Grated parm that we just did, some egg yolk.

Salt.

- That we separated together.

- Yes.

- Bonding moments.

- And breadcrumbs.

- Ooh.

- Sorry.

- All of it, right?

- Yep.

- Look at me being a sous chef.

Don't wanna waste any drop.

- We don't.

- And we can't forget about the salt.

Then we mixed, we wrapped, and we rolled.

Boop, boop, boop.

- Just don't be scared.

You know, boop, boop, boop.

[Buki laughs] Yeah.

[energetic music continues] - A quick toss as only a trained Italian chef can do it and we were ready to eat.

Mm.

Smells like Italy.

- Gotta keep it classic.

Top it off with some nice pecorino romano.

Without further ado.

- Oh my goodness.

I'm so excited.

[energetic music continues] Mm.

Wow.

- You taste the difference.

- I do.

It's so light.

Oh, and I don't even know how you did it because there's no cream in it, but it's very creamy.

And that kick.

The little pecorino romano.

This is excellent.

In Morristown, New Jersey.

- Right.

- Of all places.

- The best pasta I've ever had.

And just when I thought the date couldn't get any more delicious, Kristina surprised me with her famous tiramisu.

- The famous tiramisu, Kristina.

I'm excited.

- Please, dig in.

- Oh my gosh.

[energetic music continues] Ooh.

- How is it?

- This is the best tiramisu I've ever had.

I love it.

Mm!

A sweet treat to cap off an even sweeter day.

This is truly la dolce vita!

[upbeat music] What goes better with lighter than air gnocchi and a spicy marinara sauce?

A great cabernet, of course, or so I've been told.

Y'all know I don't drink.

You wouldn't know it, but New Jersey is home to over 50 wineries that span over a thousand acres of land.

And before you think twice, New Jersey wines have gone neck and neck with some of France's best and wine making runs deep in our blood.

Origins of wine making have been debated but can be traced as far back as 6,000 BC in the Middle East.

Egyptian records dating back to 3000 BC speak of wine making.

Ancient Greeks worshiped Dionysus, the God of wine.

The role of wine in the Christian Church even kept the industry afloat after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Fast forward to 1758 when Great Britain's royal society offered 200 euros, that was a lot back then, to anyone who could produce quality wine.

And two New Jersey men, William Alexander and Edward Antill, both took home the top prize.

[gentle music] I'm in Lambertville to meet Otto and Lily Angelico, a cross-cultural family who's taking wine making into the next generation.

The Angelicos!

- Hi, Buki, how are you?

- Hi.

- Welcome.

- How are you?

- Nice to meet you.

Welcome.

- [Buki] Otto Angelico's love for wine began on his family's 30 acre vineyard back in Sicily.

It was the deep-rooted family tradition of the annual stomping and harvesting of the grapes, a process that began with Otto's great-great-grandfather, Salvatore, that has always held a special place in Otto's heart.

Thus began Angelico Winery.

Otto and Lily welcomed me on this brisk Sunday morning to get a firsthand look and taste at all that Angelico Winery has to offer.

First up, the tasting room.

We started the day with a quick salute.

- Thank you.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

- And Otto's making me become a drinker.

What's going on here?

Lord have mercy.

[gentle music continues] And a lesson on all things wine 101.

Give me sommelier 101.

Like how do I smell it, how do I pour it, what do I do?

- So this is a Cabernet Franc that we grow here.

The experience of wine tasting, usually, it's all about the smell, the color, and then the taste.

We swirl.

This is called swirling.

If it's still a kind of garnet red, it tells you it is a young wine.

- Okay, I see garnet red.

- Garnet red, right.

So it's, yeah, 2021.

- [Buki] Okay.

- And the second experience of wine tasting is the nose.

The nose is capable to capture usually about three to 4,000 type of smells.

And usually they tend to, red wine tend to smell like cherry, strawberry with a little pinkish or blackberry.

And finally the hearing.

- The hearing.

- This is how we do the hearing.

[glasses clink] Cheers.

- Cheers.

- So now we can drink it.

- Okay.

[classy music] - Fruity.

Now, I mean I don't drink so I feel like I'm already tipsy.

But speaking of, you know, bridging cultures together I mean, you're Chinese, you're Italian.

How does it work in a Chinese Italian home?

- I guess food really brought us together.

Well, we alternate in our kitchen.

We would have a few days of pasta or an Italian dish and then a couple days with rice and Chinese dishes.

- I love to bond with my kids in the kitchen, or the wine making in the basement.

I used to make a lot of wine in the basement in the house.

So the kids would be always there with us.

- Just like when you were growing up, you were making wine in your house, right?

- Yes.

- Thank you.

- Cheers.

After a few more sips, we headed out to meet Lily and Otto's sons, Antonio and Giulio, who are now six generation winemakers for the Angelico family, to give me a tour of this incredible 10 acre vineyard.

[gentle acoustic music] Not even old enough to drink, Antonio is already following in his father's footsteps as manager of the vineyard.

And he had a few tips for me when it came to getting around on this beautiful property.

[tractor rumbling] - Here we go.

This goes up, it goes down.

So, you willing to give it a try?

- Yeah, like that.

- Oh my gosh.

Lord have mercy.

- Perfect, yep.

Like that.

- We're going that way.

Okay.

Oh, there's the acceleration!

[Buki laughs] You didn't think I'd be back on another farm and not get on a tractor, did you?

And the vineyard!

[gentle acoustic music continues] There is a lot to learn when it comes to wine making.

Who knew the process was so scientific?

From cultivating the grapes to analyzing the acidity and perfecting the tasting method.

Each member of this family plays a vital role in combining the Italian spirit and culture the Angelico family pours in every glass.

But all of this was a lot of work.

Which begged the question, is it worth it?

- I would say for me it's fun.

To be honest, I would rather stay here.

I'm a person that loves the land.

[lively Mediterranean music] - New Jersey has over 2,000 pizzerias.

That's a whole lot of mouth watering cheesy deliciousness.

You might be surprised to know this Friday night staple was considered peasant food back in the day.

Pizza was born in Naples, Italy in the 1700s.

The poor used to put tomatoes and various toppings on flatbread and sell them on the street.

It wasn't until after World War II and the immigration of Italians to America did pizza take off.

Now everyone from Milan to the Big Apple are in a heated debate.

Just who makes the best pizza?

Well, I knew just the guy to call.

Pete Genovese, superstar food writer for "The Star-Ledger" who's eaten his way across the great state of New Jersey and great pizza just so happens to be his specialty.

We met up to hit the road and head across the state for a table for all pizza party road trip.

Three towns, three different pizzerias, all in search of some of the best pizza New Jersey has to offer.

- Buki!

- Hey Genovese, are you ready?

- I was born ready.

- Are you ready for this pizza party road trip?

- Asking Pete Genovese if he's ready for pizza is not a serious question.

- It's gonna be a ride, so.

Are you New Jersey's version of Oprah's Favorite Things food edition?

- Yeah, I mean, no one comes...

I'll say this and I'm not being immodest.

No one covers the state, the entire state, food-wise like I do.

I mean, no one comes close.

- You have eaten so much food.

How's your health?

How's the ticker?

How's the gut health?

- I get this all the time.

How come you don't weigh 400 pounds?

And I tell them my secret.

- What's the secret?

- Here's my secret.

- Tell me, tell me, tell me.

- Ready?

- Yes.

- Don't finish everything on your plate.

It's that simple.

- You know, you are the pizza connoisseur.

So of course we have to get you on here.

So the first place we are going is Massa.

And why did you choose Massa for us to kick off this pizza road trip?

- So all three places that we're going to are all kind of different.

You know, different owners, different ages, different atmospheres, and different pizzas.

So Massa, he does what is called Roman style pizza which is not a thing.

There's only, I can count on one hand I think, the number of pizzeria's in New Jersey that do Roman style pizza.

- Pete's first pick, Massa Roman Square Pizza in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

Word on the street is that Massa, established in 2018, has truly perfected the Italian experience when it comes to the perfect pizza.

And for Massa, perfection is in the dough.

I was ready to eat when we pulled up to Massa and Pete introduced me to Marco Massaro.

Massa!

- Hey.

- Hi, guys.

- Marco meet Buki.

- Hi, Marco.

- How are you?

- A pleasure to meet you.

- [Marco] Nice to meet you.

- So this man just raves about you and this pizza.

- Thank you.

- You are the first stop on the "Table For All" pizza party tour.

How are we feeling about it?

- I feel very excited.

- Okay.

- Very excited.

- With over 25 different pies to choose from, I could not wait to get my first bite.

But before I could mangia, mangia, I needed to know what brought this former computer programmer from Milan, Italy all the way to New Jersey?

What takes you from computer programmer to pizza?

- When you change the country and you are 33, 34, it's very difficult to start again.

So my English was bad, so I can't work in the office.

- I hear what brought you here was for love, right?

- Yeah, yeah, sure.

It was, I came here for my wife.

- There's Jen.

- Hey, Jen.

- I'm here.

Hi.

- So you are what brought the pizza master to New Jersey?

- I am, yes.

I'm Jane.

I unlocked the pizza master.

- [Buki] Ooh.

[all laughing] It was in there the whole time.

I just sort of brought it up.

- So was it love at first slice?

- It was, it was.

It was.

- We were friend for 10 years.

- We were friendly for a long time.

- [Marco] For 10 years, yes.

- We reconnected and then we got together very quickly at that point.

It was like, okay, [laughs], okay.

- Ready to move.

[Jane laughs] - Well, I mean, I will say this, for all the single gals out there, I mean, for someone to drop everything, move across country, not speak the language.

You can't find that on the apps.

- No.

- No, no, no.

We had a coffee.

You have to just actually meet people and talk to people.

There's no app for that.

- And there's no app for becoming a pizzaiolo, a chef who specializes in Italian style pizza.

And with the best teacher in town.

All right, Marco.

How do we do this?

- Okay, we put a little bit of the new flour on top just now because it's so wet.

So we put the flour 'cause it's sticky.

Put on top.

- Now you put it.

- Now you're able to- - I'm gonna get this.

I'm gonna be a Roman soon enough.

Don't you worry.

Sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes, fresh local cheese, and into the oven.

How easy was that?

Now we taste.

- Finally.

- Wow.

[upbeat music] - Permission to eat?

- Oh, cheers.

- Oh, the crunch.

Love the crunch.

- Wowee.

I will say, this is one of the best pizzas I've ever had.

- [Marco] Thank you.

- It's crisp, light.

- Light is the word.

- I mean, and I will need a whole box to go.

This is incredible.

- [Marco] Thank you, guys.

- I didn't wanna leave, but it was time to hit the road.

[upbeat music] Location number two.

Nancy's Townehouse in Rahway.

This iconic establishment is celebrating 80 years in the pizza biz.

And they are the talk of the town for one specific reason.

How you doing?

- We finally meet.

- Oh, yes, yes.

Come in.

- Nancy, I feel like I've stepped into another time.

The nostalgia hit me the moment I walked through the door.

Vintage.

That's what we like to call it.

Vintage.

But I hear so much about this extreme, he was telling me in the car, is extremely thin crust pizza, right?

- It is, it is.

We're excited for you to try it.

- All right, well, I mean I can't just try it.

I gotta gotta try and make it.

So Pete, have a seat.

- Thanks!

- Nancy, lead me to the back.

Let's make this pizza.

- [Nancy] Follow me.

- Townehouse was originally owned by the Paolini brothers who came from Italy and brought with them the secret recipe that is still used today.

[bright acoustic music] Nancy paid top dollar for that recipe when she bought the restaurant seven years ago.

She led me to the kitchen to meet her son's, Richie and Jordan, to learn how to make this lighter than air paper thin crust everyone's raving about.

- Take the dough.

Right, just like knead it with my hands.

- All right.

- And like a circular motion and spin it at the same time.

But I put less pressure on one end of my hands.

- Okay.

The secret to the thin crust was all about using the original dough press.

Now how many, how many of these are you guys chucking out per hour?

- Per hour on a busy day we do like a hundred probably.

- Wow.

- Let's put it in the back corner.

- Right there?

- Yeah.

And like- - And take it, hold it.

- Yeah.

- Shimmy it off.

Yeah, real fast.

Real fast.

There you go.

- [Buki] It's all in the shimmy.

- [Jordan] Perfect.

[bright acoustic music continues] - We got hot pizza, hot pizza.

Pete had been patiently waiting.

Pete.

When the moon hits your eyes Like a big pizza pie That's amore Nancy, Nancy, Nancy.

- Now that's true Jersey thin crust right there.

- And there's a lot in Jersey that say they're thin.

- Oh my goodness.

- I know you want that.

- I need a little spice.

- I know you want that.

[easygoing music] - Mm.

It's like not even there.

- Light and airy and you can eat more of it too because of that.

- [Buki] Yeah, you sure can.

- If only.

- Now Pete always says the key to doing this is to not eat it from start to finish.

Like you have to like not finish your food.

- Oh.

- But I don't know.

I don't know.

I don't know, Nancy.

I think I might have to finish this.

Before we headed it off, I needed to know the scoop on just how far people have gone to try and get this top secret recipe.

This pizza's like revered.

I'm hearing people are in the garbage looking for the recipe.

They're trying to steal.

- The sauces and the cheese.

- What's going on?

- That's true.

- There's a pizza caper going on.

[Nancy laughs] - We have had that happen, yes.

People have asked for, you know, ingredients and what we use and so we have to be very careful what we throw in the garbage.

[Nancy laughs] - And what makes this place so special?

- My boys work in the kitchen.

My daughter, Melissa, does the front end with me.

Our customers are wonderful.

Like I said, we've been here 80 years.

So they bring their kids, their kids bring their kids.

And I've seen a lot of them grow up and we've shared their life in years and that's special.

- Even though she didn't share the secret recipe with me, don't think I didn't try.

I still think Nancy and her kids are one special family.

The third and final location, Pete's final pick, Santillo's Brick Oven in Elizabeth.

Two down, the last one to go.

- Yeah, you'll enjoy Al.

Al's just, he's in his own category.

- [Buki] Tell me more about Mr. Al Santillo.

- Now, of course, he's been his, you know, it was started by his grandfather.

So it goes back what, 60, 70 years?

Whatever.

He'll probably say it at some point today.

No one makes a pizza like this in the country.

In the country.

- In the country.

- In the country.

- And I hear it's all about the brick oven.

The brick oven in Santillo's is over 60 years old and still turning out, not only some of the best pizza, but some of the best bread New Jersey has to offer.

- Al!

- Pete!

Buki!

- Buki!

- I've been expecting you guys.

Come on in.

Good to see you.

- You're open, but you're closed or you're closed but you're open.

- They call that a soft opening.

- A soft opening, yes.

Pete was right.

Al was quite the character.

What makes your pizza so darn good?

- I do it the way they did it before the 1960s.

'Cause I make the dough in the morning and then I let it rise so long and then I shape it into these and then I let it rise again.

That gives it a long slow rise over the course of the day.

It doesn't get sour, it doesn't go bad, but it ages.

- [Buki] You could feel the history radiating from that original brick oven.

So this is the Pete Genovese?

- Yeah.

- [Buki] Can I get a table for all pizza?

Like I don't, why does Pete get one?

- [Al] You gotta push a little harder.

That's a Santillo pizza.

You gotta put your time in.

[Al laughs] There you go.

- This is delicious.

- Oh yeah.

- We actually just- - It's named after me.

Of course it is.

- Oh my goodness gracious.

- Now we go over here with the other guy.

- We're not gonna name something after me on a mediocre product.

- Okay, okay.

[gentle music] The Pete Genovese was rock 'em, sock 'em good.

We came, we saw, we conquered the pizza world one pie at a time.

[gentle music continues] AJ and Kristina, the Angelicos, Pete Genovese, and our pizzaiolos prove whether you hail straight from the Italian coast or just have a flare for the delicioso, you don't have to be Italian to celebrate and add to this incredible culture.

Che bello.

How beautiful [pleasant Mediterranean music] Oh, this is...

I didn't know it was gonna get this slippery.

[Buki laughs] [pleasant Mediterranean music continues] Making wine.