We the Pizza is not just another cookbook. It’s the story of Abdul-Hadi’s decision to blend pizza with improving his struggling community in Philadelphia. In the midst of the pandemic, Adbul-Hadi opened his first Down North Pizza in November 2020. The sub-title of his book, Slangin’ Pies and Savin’ Lives, applies to the work Abdul-Hadi has been doing with his pizza business since its start. He decided he would use his pizza business to tackle one of the daunting problems in his community: recidivism.
“I didn’t just want to open up a restaurant to sell pizza and not have something that could benefit the community at-large,” Abdul-Hadi said. “So I chose to focus on one of the various issues that plague this particular part of Philadelphia, which is recidivism. [We focus] on hiring individuals who’ve been formerly incarcerated so that we can provide kind of like a cornerstone for the neighborhood,” he explained. “The neighborhood will understand that we’re coming in to service the neighborhood and also bring some positivity into a neighborhood that has been surrounded by a lot of negative things.”
We the Pizza includes recipes for Abdul-Hadi’s award-winning pizza, the pizza dough, the “Norf” sauce, wings, fries, lemonade and the buffalo cauliflower. I really liked the chapter of recipes for vegetarians and the art of making world-class vegan pizza.
Not only do you get wonderful recipes in We the Pizza but you also get the inspiring stories of the ex-cons Abdul-Hadi’s business have saved. What’s your favorite pizza? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
FOREWORD — 6
Preface — 9
Playlist — 16
The Down North Commissary — 20
- Doughs, sauces + such — 31
- Vegetable + vegan pizza — 65
- Meat + seafood pizza — 94
- Pizza collabs — 144
- Wings + fries — 170
- Lemonades + milkshakes — 190
We like almost all types of pizza – just not fish or seafood!
My wife’s specialty is Pizza Hawaii which sometimes leds to a discussion …
Totally OT – one of my favourite memories:
Back in communist Yugoslavia in the 1980s we often went on holiday there, even ha a “summer residence”, an old caravan standing on a nudist!!! campsite used also by family and friends.
There was a really good pizzeria nearby (Northern ugoslaia had been occupied by Venetians for a long time …) and a friend always aasked for tuna, but no way, there was none.
Sone evening we went there, the usaual procedure and then he took a large plastic bag – Here we go!
The bag was filled with tuna cans …
The pizzeria guy was so happy.
Wolf, you have lived a colorful, eventful Life! Love your story of pizza!
Sounds like an inspiring story. We need a lot more prople like Abdul-Hadi in the world. It’s so ridiculously easy to make great and healthier pizza at home and you don’t need a special oven or even a pizza stone. I make a batch of dough every month and keep individually wrapped balls in the freezer so I have homemade pizza every weekend through the summer.
My current favorite:
https://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2011/03/caramelized-fennel-and-onion-pizza.html
It’s shockingly good.
Byron, same here. Diane keeps dough in the freezer and we defrost it and add pizza sauce and toppings. Great pizza with the hassle. Prices of pizza here are going up. During the Pandemic, we would order an occasional pizza–to support local businesses–and a large pizza cost $30. Today, it’s $52. Making our own pizza at home is a fraction of that price.
Yikes! $52? Wow. They are charging up to $6 a slice but Jackie paid $32 the last time for the large pie.
Jeff, the price of pizza in Western NY has been steadily climbing since the Pandemic.
I’m sure that this is very tasty!
My wife makes fennel soup when fennel bulbs are available and I add someting special for me:
One or too spoons of Ouzo, the Greek xpirit …
I’ll tell her about your recipe, she’ll surely try it.
Nice. You can’t go wrong with most pizza (other than Mrs. Wolf’s favorite with pineapple), but give me sausage and/or mushrooms and I’m happy.
At our favorite local place, we order a large margarita with half mushrooms for me and half roasted peppers for Jackie.
In Florida we go to Grimaldi’s, where I like their Brooklyn Bridge pie, with creamy ricotta, roasted peppers and sausage.
Then there is L&B Pizza/ Spumoni Gardens in Bensonhurst (we went there last week), which has been open since 1939. They are known for their square (Sicilian) pie, with the cheese under the sauce.
Jeff, as you point out, there are so many wonderful variations of pizza. Patrick likes both Pineapple Pizza and Detroit Style Pizza. Katie likes Chicago Style Pizza. Diane prefers Spinach Pizza. I’m a fan of thick crust pizza with lots of mozzarella, onions, and hot peppers. But, I’m flexible will eat just about any pizza in a pinch.
Jackie says if Costco ever opens in Western New York, you can still get a whole pizza for $10! And it’s big too. They have plain cheese and pepperoni.
Jackie likes Chicago style too, but her favorite is plain.
Jeff, tell Jackie that a Costco is being built in Amherst, NY–about 15 miles from here–and will open in 2026. Costco is my sister in Arizona’s favorite store!
Wow. I’ve never paid as much as $30 for a pizza…we do eat a fair amount of the better frozen pizza (veg for me, everything or simply pepperoni for Alice)…Wegman’s store-brands are decent. But I’m now curious about Abdul-Hadi’s apparently impressive vegan pizza.
Todd, I think you would love Abdul-Hadi’s vegan pizza!
Just won a bet with myself …
I knew that someone would comment on the Pizza Hawaii with pineapple ..
As it happens, Wolf, I lived in Hawaii for five years (1979-84) without ever having pineapple on pizza…nor since.
And I love both pizza and pineapple.
Todd, Patrick loves Hawaiian Pizza, too! It’s odd that Hawaiians don’t have Hawaiian Pizza!
I don’t recall it being called “Hawaiian” pizza over there, but they presumably had it as soon as anyone did. For my part, I didn’t like pineapple on ham nor various variations on “sweet and sour” meat dishes then, either, nor in years before when I did eat meat–I went lacto/ovo or “lazy” vegetarian in the latter ’90s. As close as I’ve come is some sweetish BBQ sauces.
Do vegans eat cheese?! I thought they didn’t! Without cheese, how can there be a pizza?! We usually get a Papa Murphy’s pie, but they aren’t that great! Linda like Hawaiian and I take ground beef and onion! I’d like to have pepperoni, but my diet forbids processed meats! Good pizza is hard to find on the West Coast!
Bob, I have a lot of friends who can’t eat processed meats anymore. If they cheat…they pay for it!
Vegans can eat vegan “cheese”s of varying sorts. And there are “red” pizzas sans cheese for omnivores with lactose problems…