ADVANCE PHOTO/FRANK JOHNS 
Dongan Hills eatery garners top honors 
By MAURA GRUNLUND ADVANCE STAFF WRITER Good guys do finish' first. Pizza Alla Vodka from Goodfella's Brick Oven Pizza Cafe won a best pizza award for the second time. The Dongan Hills eatery gar-nered top honors and $1,000 in prize money last Wednesday in a contest sponsored by Pizza & Pas-ta magazine at the first Italian-American Foodservice Show in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev. The restaurant's Pizza Alla Vod-ka placed first last year in a con-test sponsored by the same mag-azine at the International Ho-tel/Motel Restaurant Show in Manhattan. Attending the Las Vegas con-vention were Goodfella's owners Marc Cosentino and brother-in-law E. Jay Myers; Vincent Cassa, general manager of the restaurant in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and chef Sergio Basillio.
 People who attended the show were amazed by the mozzarella that Goodfella's made at the con-vention, according to Marc Cosentino. Cosentino recalled: "They'd say, `What is that stuff you're putting on there? Where can I get some of that?'" The latest trends in pizza were there for the tasting at the show. "A competitor had a pizza with potatoes and sausage on it," Cosentino said. "Another competitor had a California pizza with avocados. Pizza is the hottest item there is and everyone is looking for something different." Both the restaurant's Staten Is-land and Bay Ridge outlets will offer free samples of the winning pizza from noon to 5 p.m. Wednes-day through Saturday. The catch is that customers must ask, "May I have a free sample of the best pizza in the country?" 

STATEN ISLAND' AD-VANCE ■ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1993 
Islanders' pizza ranks best in the country 
Vodka recipe by Goodfella's 
Cafe chef Sergio Bassillio pre-pared the vodka sauce; pizza maker Alex O'Neal produced the pizza, and the three owners of Goodfella's Brick Oven Pizza Cafe, Dongan Hills, came out the winners. The pizzeria's Pizza'Alla Vodka {Pizza with Vodka Creme Sauce) was awarded-the title of the No. 1 Pizza Recipe in the United States in a . cook-off Sunday at the Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show in the Jacob K Javits Convention Center, Manhattan. More than 200 spectators, many . of them StatenIslanders, were on hand to watch the competition, according to E.J. layers, who is co-owner with his brothers-in-law Marc and Scot Cosentino. All three accepted the award — $1,000 in cash, a banner to display in the -pizzeria's window and a plaque to hang-on the wall. The first national "Industry's. Best Pizza" contest was sponsored by Pizza & Pasta Magazine. The Island pizza was among five semi-finalists from 5,000 en-tries chosen to compete at the trade show. The contenders in the final round were judged by in-dustry representatives on the basis of taste, originality and cre-ativity. -"When they critiqued the piz-zas,' the judges said they all looked nice and were original, but it's the taste that counts," said Myers.. "One judge told me  pri-
vately that it was no contest -- ours tasted best" He credits the fresh mozzarella., homemade dough and fresh top-pings used with the Goodfella's pie for making it a winner. The contest attracted entries from as far away as Texas and California. The finalists, though, were all from pizzerias in the New. York, Ne'w Jersey and Connecti-cut area. The competition did its part in 
boosting sales this week, accord-' ing to the pizzeria's business manager. "We met a lot of people at the show — a couple from Pennsylvania and the judges —who want to come over and try our pizza," explained Myers. "With the article about the con-test in FOODday and the TV cov-erage, our business is up 20 per-cent since last Wednesday. We're - happy." 

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1993 
 
Pies are baked in a wood-burning brick oven 
By MICHAEL ROSE ADVANCE RESTAURANT CRITIC 
Good pizza is not hard to find on Staten Island. So when Goodfella's Brick Oven Pizza opened its doors at the beginning of the year, it was entering a tough market with the promise of freshly assembled pies with homemade mozzarella cheese cooked in a wood burning brick oven. After a little more than six months in operation at its Dongan Hills location, Goodfella's has shown that, for the most part, it can hold its own with some of the Island's better pizza establishments while offering some nice touches in other categories. We first tried a plain slice of Goodfella's pizza and found it light and nicely seasoned with a crisp crust. In addition to some off-beat toppings like fresh zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, prosciutto and pesto, the menu offers seven specialty pizzas. We had the quattro stagioni, made with tomato sauce, mozzarella, artichoke hearts, black olives, prosciutto and mushrooms. Although everything was obviously fresh, the olives overwhelmed the taste buds a bit. Goodfella's also offers an enticing white pie, with fresh mozzarella
ricotta and prosciutto, and a white clam pie, with extra mozzarella, clams, seasoning and olive oil. While there were only a few selections under the heading of "Lite Bites" on Goodfella's pizza-dominated menu, all the ones we tried showed a good deal of care. A dish of fresh mozzarella, to-matoes and basil was appropriate for a warm afternoon in late July. The mozzarella was smooth and the tomatoes tangy. A generous portion of fried calamari was served with wedges of lemon and a side of onion-based tomato sauce that was lightly sea-soned with fresh basil. The calamari was crisp and light — not sodden with oil — but it needed a dash of salt. The garden salad was a crisp 
and lively mix of different greens. We had a sampling of two dress-ings on the side. The lemon, pars-ley and garlic dressing was interesting but heavy on the lemon. The dressing of oil and balsamic vinegar was a more reliable choice. Desserts include a fluffy and not overly sweet tira misu, which is homemade and fits nicely with a cup of espresso. Dinner for two, with two ap-petizers, a salad and a specialty pizza came to $26.10, with tax and without the tip.