Restaurants to talk about: Lucali

What if I told you that one of the world's best pizzerias in Brooklyn is started by a man who has no prior culinary experience or knowledge, who knows how to make only two dishes, which he learned from his grandmother and many celebrities like Jay Z, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Hugh Jackman, Paul Mccartney, Alice Waters, etc. queued for hours and dined at his restaurant. His pizza is also so beloved by all that celebrity chef, David Chang, voted for it as one of the 5o best restaurants in the world......Twice! Today, I want to talk about a one-of-a-kind restaurant and Pizzaiolo, Mark Iacono.

Lucali Pizzeria | Image Credit: Munchies

Mark Iacono was born and brought up in Brooklyn, New York City, which is home to one of the best styles of pizza in the world. Mark grew up in Carroll Gardens, and often talks about his experience in living there as very "adventurous", he says he felt like Tom Sawyer growing up. Mark used to frequent a candy shop in his childhood which was his favorite, but later after the owner passed away, his wife put up the place for sale. He couldn't see the place getting made into another random store and decided to purchase it in the spur of the moment. He decided to open up a pizzeria and worked on it by himself for two and a half years. In fact, Mark named the place "Lucali" by combining the names of the late owner of the candy shop, Louie, and the name of his own daughter, Kalista.

Pizza at Lucali

Mark Iacono on Chat Chow TV

As I said, Mark Iacono had no prior culinary experience nor was he a home cook. He says that his grandmother was an excellent cook and inspired him to make pizza. Lucali was founded in 2006 in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Lucali has two branches currently: one in Brooklyn and one in Miami. The one in Brooklyn is a 30-seater restaurant. It has a no-reservations policy, which means everyone who wants to come and eat there has to wait in line and put their name down. People usually start giving names at 5:00 P.M. and they finish by 5:45 P.M. Even celebrities get the same treatment, Ed Sheeran, a famous singer-songwriter, went on a first date with his girlfriend (now wife) to Lucali, and Mark told in an interview with Interview magazine, that he saw Ed Sheeran while he was making pizza, sitting on the stoop outside the restaurant and drinking wine with his date. Ed Sheeran even wrote a song about it called "First Times" in his album "=". One of the lyrics was him talking about this specific moment.

Lucali's outlet in Brooklyn serves only two items: Pizza and Calzone. When asked why only two items, Mark replied, "That's all I know how to make!" in an interview with First We Feast. Lucali makes a 20-inch classic New york style Margherita, with toppings to choose from the menu. The dough which Mark addresses as something that he "ended up with" or "it's what I made", is rolled out first with a wine bottle (funny story) and then gets rolled out with hands. He then tops it off with a ladle of his grandmother's tomato sauce (which is a secret recipe of course) and sprinkles on 3 different types of cheeses: Low moisture mozzarella, Buffalo milk mozzarella, and Parmigiano Reggiano. He also puts basil on top......like a lot.

In an interview with First We Feast, Mark says that sometimes he wishes he could just take toppings off the menu. He confesses that he is a pizza purist and a perfectionist. He also says that he learns something by just jumping into it and figuring out as he goes along, something called "Baptism by Fire", a phrase which he landed upon in an interview with Interview magazine.

I first saw Mark Iacono on the first episode of Ugly Delicious, "Pizza" where he talks about "What is actually pizza?" with celebrity chef David Chang and food writer, Peter Meehan. Mark Iacono seems like a really down-to-earth guy who just wants to add something of value to his neighborhood. Some might feel that he is displaying arrogance or elitism by making celebrities and famous chefs who eat at his restaurant stand in line. But, I see a guy who is trying not to complicate life. Someone who wants to turn the focus towards the pizza and let it be the star of the show. He even says in a couple of interviews that he still wonders whether his pizza is still THAT good.

Mark says that he didn't know the whole process of how to make a pizza when he started, but since childhood, he would always eat at his favorite pizzerias and try to think about what would make the pie much better. His perfectionist attitude is so evident in his sentences, like how he thinks he still hasn't perfected his pizza dough or the sign outside his restaurant which says "Grand opening coming soon" even after this many years. Peter Meehan even comments, "I think part of his shtick is that they are still not open yet", which is kind of inspiring in some ways because Mark is always trying to improve on his craft and take it to the next level.

There is no arguing that Lucali is a one-of-a-kind restaurant, and the formula to get where it is now is so simple and so transparent that it makes it hard to believe........but it's true. Mark Iacono stuck to what he knew and decided to improve on it constantly. He realized his roots were in Carroll Gardens and knew that he belonged there. It still kinda annoys me a little bit that a guy with no prior culinary experience made one of the best pizzas in America and arguably.......in the world.

But, I am glad that Mark Iacono is a living example of the quote from Ratatouille, "Not everyone can become a great artist but a great artist can come from anywhere."

That's it for this week. See you in another!