You
might say that Jerry Arcieri, the owner of Aquila in Little Falls, has
an obsession with pizza. After 25 years in the photo industry, commuting in and
out of NYC every day, Jerry fulfilled his dream of opening a pizzeria. But
Jerry didn’t just wake up one day and say “I’m gonna make pizzas!”
While
working full-time as a photo editor, he attended the Institute
of Culinary Education
on Sundays and two nights each week. He earned a culinary certificate and then
did an externship at Amano Pizza in Ridgewood (one
of a handful of pizzerias in the US certified by the Association of Neapolitan
Pizzaiuoli in Naples). And while his stint at Amano gave him valuable insights learning
from a master pizzaiolo, he really needed daily hands-on practice. So Jerry did
what any pizza-obsessed person might do, he built his own wood-burning pizza
oven in his backyard in Bergen County. He developed his own dough formulation
and then to perfect his craft, he held “pizza parties” every weekend for a few
lucky friends and neighbors.
In
2013, he started thinking about opening a pizzeria, and scouted several
possible locations in the north Jersey area. In addition, he made “pilgrimages”
to several of the most well regarded pizzerias in the tri-state area (among
them, Santillo’s in Elizabeth, Frank
Pepe
in New Haven, and Jim Lahey’s Co in NYC).
Jerry
had visited Bivio in Little Falls, one of the area’s premier pizzerias several
times and had admired the owner’s dedication to the time-honored craft of
authentic Neapolitan pizza. In April 2015, he and Bivio’s owner (Tomasso Colao)
reached an agreement for the sale of Bivio and after a few starts and stops
Jerry took ownership in November.
Bivio
was a much-lauded pizzeria in north Jersey (yours truly had the privilege of writing
the first article about Bivio when
they opened in 2011) so taking over such a venerated establishment took some “coraggio”
on Jerry’s part.
But
Jerry was a man with a mission, and with his wife Sofia’s support, Jerry
launched Aquila in early December. I spent some time recently chatting with him
about the challenges and surprises of running a restaurant.
The
oven that was built in place for Bivio by a Neapolitan master oven builder, has
taken a bit of time for Jerry to learn how to “tame” the 800-degree monster. He
also needed to tweak his dough recipe from his original backyard recipe, using
only the famous Caputo 00 flour, rather than a mixture of regular flour and 00
flour.
Thankfully,
he was able to retain a lot of the Bivio team, so staff management has not been
the challenge it could have been. And
he’s lucky that the staff is excited about contributing ideas to Aquila’s menu.
Whether it is thinking about flavors and combinations for the pizzas, or
suggestions for a new appetizer, they are enthusiastic about their work at Aquila.
Jerry
knows a good thing when he sees it, so he kept the core of the Bivio menu, but
is slowly adding to the appetizer and salad offerings. Right now, the
cheesecake on the dessert menu is made by one of the staff, but they will probably
expand desserts in the future when the timing is right.
During
a visit to Aquila the first week they opened, I sampled the Margherita pizza (a
staple on any Neapolitan pizza list). The flavorful basil scattered across the
crisp crust, topped with San Marzano tomatoes and house made mozzarella made a
simple but delicious dinner.
And
while Aquila’s regular pizza menu is small (5-6 items), Jerry offers 1-2
specials each week. I asked him how he comes up with ideas for the specials. He
said he starts with a base of white or red, then builds from there, always
having a vegetarian and meat option. As I write this, the current specials are
a Swiss chard, roasted garlic, Gruyere and ricotta cheese pie (white/
vegetarian); and San Marzano tomatoes, sausage, roasted fennel, mozzarella and Parmigiano
cheeses (red/meat). You probably couldn’t go wrong with either.
You
may be wondering about the restaurant name (I was). Many years ago, the building
where Aquila is housed was home to the Eagle Hotel. In Italian, Aquila translates to “eagle.” Jerry
named his pizzeria after the hotel, which I think is fitting because it sounds
like Aquila will be flying high for the next few years.
7A
Paterson Avenue
Little
Falls
973-256-0050
Open
Wednesday-Saturday, 5-10pm
BYO
From fellow blogger and Jersey girl, Kate over at Framed Cooks, the cake would be perfect
for weekend brunch (think Easter, coming up soon). The recipe makes a nice
large cake (in a 9x13 pan), it’s chock full of “the good stuff” (raisins,
walnuts, cinnamon – my idea of cooking’s trinity), and your house will
smell fabulous! I made it yesterday, sampled a tiny square last night while
watching episode 11, season four, of House of Cards (deviously better than ever,
if that’s even possible!), and could not stop thinking about that cake all
night! The moist, buttermilk-based cake kept calling to me. I managed to resist
the siren’s song but woke up with a singular thought (must tell my readers
about this!). So here is the link to the recipe
on Kate’s site. If you’re a coffee cake nut like me, you will love it!
No March post would be complete with my favorite Irish Soda Bread
recipe. This recipe comes from someone I worked with years ago and of all the
ISB recipes I’ve sampled, this is still my favorite. It’s not traditional
because there are no caraway seeds, and the top is sprinkled with cinnamon and
sugar, but it’s incredibly delicious. If you’ve got some buttermilk left over
from the aforementioned “Danger Cake,” this is the perfect use for it! I love
this bread for breakfast or in the evening with a cup of tea.
