Taste of the Town: It's all about tradition at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletano in Plantation
MIAMI - It starts like a campfire here at the all-new Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletano in Plantation inside the coal-fired oven.
On the walls, a family tree of pizza makers that goes back 98 years to Frank himself who started it all in New Haven Connecticut.
This newest location is the 15th restaurant for this family-owned restaurant that has a cult-like following.
"He passed that down to his grandchildren, who currently control the company. The most important part of their legacy is the pizza. The pizza made us who we are today," said Kevin Gagliard, Director of Operations.
For decades, the original Frank Pepe Pizzeria has been called the number one pizza destination in the country and that's something they never take for granted.
"We appreciate everybody's accolades and stuff like that but we are only as good as the last pizza," he said.
The secret, he says starts with the water for the dough, that's been altered here to be exaclty like the original New Haven restaurant.
"We start with our filtered water in the back. We took a test of the New Haven water, and we tested it to the Florida water. We changed the PH balance of the water.
Then, it's all the other ingredients like the tomatoes and the Pecorino cheese both imported from Italy, as well as a complete replica of the original New Haven coal-fired oven.
"We wanted to be very careful about expanding into a new market and making sure that it was the exact taste in New Haven that has carried the tradition for 90 years," Gagliard said.
CBS4's Lisa Petrillo joins pizza maker Ben to make Pepe's signature white clam pizza. It has 2 scoops of fresh white clams, oregano, garlic, Pecorino cheese and a little oil around the thin crust.
Then, to the 14 'x14' oven it goes and what comes out is magic.
"It's perfection in a pizza. The Pecorino is salty and fresh and the crust is amazing. It's pizza heaven, right here. Don't miss the clam pizza. Trust me," said Petrillo.
Next, the traditional cheese pizza.
It's whole milk mozzarella, puréed tomatoes, and Pecorino
"Right off the bat, you taste the dough. The difference is in the dough. It's got the perfect chew just the amount of cheese and not too much," said Petrillo.
And finally, meatball ricotta pizza with their homemade tomato sauce, melty cheese, and the perfect char.
"It's seasoned perfectly. It has gusto. The meatballs are still very tender and then the ricotta cheese just gives it a hug," said Petrillo.
And so the Frank Pepe Pizzeria tradition continues.
The restaurant is open 7 days a week starting at 11 am.
For more info, click here.