Islanders' pizza ranks best in the country

Goodfella's Hylan Staten Island in the Advance 1993

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."