Food as Connection: Embracing Italian Heritage and Nutrition in Midlife Women’s Wellness

What if the secret ingredient to your health and happiness lies in the stories behind your food? Join host Heather Carey as she dives deep into the rich tapestry of food culture, nutrition and identity with Erica D’Arcangelo, author of ‘A Story About Pizza’. Together, they explore how food shapes our lives, particularly through the lens of Italian heritage and family traditions. Erica’s journey begins with her grandfather, an Italian immigrant who transitioned from coal mines to the heart of Pennsylvania’s pizza scene, illustrating how the love for real food can transcend generations.

This episode of Real Food Stories is a heartfelt exploration of how food intertwines with our identities, especially for women navigating midlife and menopause. Erica shares her personal food journey, reflecting on her childhood experiences in her family’s pizzeria and how these moments have influenced her views on nutrition, health, and wellness. As a culinary nutritionist, Heather brings her expertise to the conversation, offering listeners valuable nutrition advice and healthy eating tips that resonate with the struggles many face today.

Throughout the episode, listeners will discover the importance of food as a connector within families and communities. Erica emphasizes how her family’s values around food have shaped her approach to nutrition and health, highlighting the significance of mindful eating practices and sustainable eating choices. The discussion touches on essential themes such as resilience, love, and the powerful stories that food can tell, making this episode a treasure trove of insights for anyone interested in understanding the emotional and cultural aspects of food.

As they navigate through weight loss stories and the myths surrounding diet culture, Erica and Heather empower women to embrace their personal nutrition journeys. This episode also delves into the Mediterranean diet insights that can enhance heart health and support weight management, especially for women over 40. With a focus on overcoming food confusion and embracing joyful eating, listeners will leave with practical cooking techniques and nutritionist insights that promote a healthy lifestyle.

Join us for this enriching conversation that celebrates family food traditions and the healing power of cooking. Whether you’re seeking to nourish your body, understand the impact of hormonal changes, or simply enjoy a delightful food story, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in to Real Food Stories and discover how the journey of food can lead to a more empowered, nourished, and healthier you.

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Transcript:

Speaker #0
Well, hello, everybody, and welcome back. And if you are just tuning in with me for the very first time, it’s so nice to meet you. And I’m really glad you’re here with me today. I am your host, Heather Carey, nutritionist, chef, mom, and a woman who has been around the block with food. I want to open up about real food in relation to health, weight, and our bodies so you can make peace with what you eat. Hello everybody and welcome back to the Real Food Stories podcast. You know I started this podcast because I strongly believe that everybody has their own food story in them that deeply influences and dictates their food choices, preferences, dietary beliefs, conflicts, and love for food. How we were raised makes us who we are today. So I’m here today with Erica D’Arcangelo, author of A Story About Pizza. Erica is the granddaughter of an Italian immigrant who came to America and started working in the coal mines and then opened up a pizza place in Pennsylvania. The pizzeria turned into a place where her family grew, where they celebrated Christmas every year, and a place where local people of all ages would come in to eat and be part of the family. In short, pizza got woven into Erica’s food story. While recovering from heart surgery, Erica had the chance to spend a lot of time with her father and the opportunity to dig deeper into the history and lore of the family pizza place, her grandfather, and the deep bond that the pizzeria linked her family with. And she was so inspired that she wrote a book about it. So I’m looking forward to diving into Erica’s food story. We’re going to discuss what it is like growing up Italian, the culture, and of course, the food. And… I want to know how this way of growing up influenced who Erica is today. So welcome, Erica. How are you?

Speaker #1
I’m great. Thank you for having me.

Speaker #0
Good. Thanks for being here. I love hearing about people’s food stories. I have my own food story, which maybe I’ll share in a little bit. And I think that this just influences who we are as adults. I mean, we can’t escape, right? Our cultures, our values. Even if it was positive and sometimes… There might be some negatives to how we grew up, and maybe we’ll share that as well. But it is woven into our fabric. So let’s just start from the beginning. I want to hear about your grandfather. I always love immigrant stories and how people came over here and got off the ground. And it sounds like created something really amazing for your family.

Speaker #1
Absolutely. So, you know, my grandfather was from Abruzzo, Italy, and he and his family immigrated to the United States around 1910. And they came from nothing. They showed up with the clothes on their back, a suitcase, and my great grandfather got hired at a coal mining company called Berwyn White Coal Company. It was in Wimber, Pennsylvania. So the whole family went there, came in through Ellis Island, you know, did their whole immigration thing that a lot of people did during that time. And then started working in the coal mines. Now, the interesting thing was, is that my grandfather had three brothers. So there were four boys. Now, at the age of nine years old, my grandfather was pulled out of school. And he started working in the coal mines, as did his older brother. And he was in the mines for the majority of his life. But his dream was to make pizza. And he was an amazing Italian cook. And he had this life of hardship where he just slaved away in the mines for Thank you. I would say to his early 40s. And then finally the mines closed and he developed Black Lung. And he kind of goes on this journey of like opening this pizzeria.

Speaker #0
That’s amazing. I mean, just even his start where he’s in the coal mines at such a young age. And I guess there’s that determination back then, especially to just… get to the United States? I mean, what was the motivation? Did he come with his family, with his parents?

Speaker #1
Yeah, it was he and his parents, and they had four boys. They actually had a daughter. She was the fifth child, but she passed away as a baby. So they were reeling from this loss. And a lot of Italians immigrated around that time for a better life. Like now, you know, people are trying to move to Italy. So back then, you know, many people came over and they wanted to go to America, they wanted a better life. I wouldn’t say that they had a bad life necessarily, but it was a life of struggle and it was a life of unfair treatment. And especially in the mind, there weren’t unions at that time. There wasn’t child labor. And so the thing that I love most about the story and my grandfather, which I found out later, was just the resilience of the human spirit and just that persistence to keep going despite these barriers and these things that got in the way.

Speaker #0
Yeah. I mean, you hear stories like that a lot back, you know, when people were really immigrating to the United States. And it’s just it’s they’re just kind of awe inspiring that against all these odds, you know, you come in and you work in these horrific conditions. But then you open up a pizza place and and thrive. And then here you are, you know, as the granddaughter. And so I want to hear more about just how he got then. to open the pizza place. And how old was he at that time?

Speaker #1
So he was in his early 40s. And what happened was the mines closed. He ended up developing black lung, but he still needed to support his family. They still had to survive. So he ended up buying a building that was owned by Berwyn White Coal Mines. I think the building was built in 1905. And he opened a little Italian market and they sold like, you know, pasta, tomato sauce. my grandma made bread like those types of things. And so one day they decided to start making pizza and they started selling the pizza out of the market. And then they started to do takeout orders and it kind of evolved. And now here we are 65 years later, and it’s like a full Italian restaurant and they have a bar and eat in and take out. And, you know, it’s, it’s been thriving now for a long time. And he really opened this place. So he had something to pass down to. his kids because he didn’t want his family having to work in the coal mines and repeat this same cycle that he had to go through.

Speaker #0
Yeah. Well, so this place has been open for a very long time. It’s still open now.

Speaker #1
Yeah.

Speaker #0
That’s amazing. I mean, you know, most businesses, like restaurants, especially, you know, that you give them like maybe five years, maybe, you know, and so that’s, that’s incredible that the restaurant’s been in the family. So you Tell me what happens next. I mean, he opens it. It sounds like he’s fairly successful. Your dad, was he working? Were you all working there? You know, as that now then as his granddaughter, were you working there?

Speaker #1
Oh, yeah. I mean, we started folding boxes when we were like eight or nine years old. He’d pay us 10 cents a box. Remember, like he would be like 10 cents a box and we’d have our boxes caught up with like I folded 80 and he would hand us some money. And then as we got older, it was like we learned how to bus tables and do dishes and make pizza. And then when you were like 16, 17, 18, you were like allowed to run the ovens and run the cash register and waitress. And that was like kind of when you made it, like you were in charge.

Speaker #0
Yes, you got more responsibility. Yeah,

Speaker #1
for sure. And funny enough, you know, my grandfather passed away in 1999. And my father and my uncle, they were still running the pizzeria. Now, they both had other careers. So we had family members who always pitched in and helped. But when my father retired, he was a high school superintendent. He had heart surgery. And then he really got back involved a lot more during that time. It was when he was recovering from surgery. It was a few years after he retired. And I mean, I sort of left and had a marketing business. And I lived in Florida. And that was the year I moved back because my dad had the surgery. And we both were like. I was like, hey, why don’t you get out of the house? I’ll come with you. I’ll help you with your marketing. And it was very funny because at the time, my dad was just out of surgery and he was very grumpy. And he was like, I don’t believe in marketing. And I said, OK, well, we’ll just go together and I’ll help you. And it’ll be fun. But it ended up being something that we really bonded over because we would talk on the way there and the way back. And on the way home, he was always excited about who he saw and who he talked to. And I was filming content. And then we ended up getting a viral TikTok page. So the business got really busy. And it just ended up being a really good experience for both of us.

Speaker #0
Oh, that’s amazing. So, yeah, he was very, I’m sure he was probably more old school and didn’t understand TikTok and social media. And I mean, I get that trying to like explain that something like that to my mother would be like, she would have no idea what I was talking about that, you know, you have to like make videos and you have to. So it sounds like your influence then really boomed the business back.

Speaker #1
Oh, yeah, it was fun. I would put him on lives on TikTok. And he would be like, what is this? And I’m like, just talk about the business. It’s like, just don’t worry about it. And yeah, it was really cool. And the coolest part was just you know, talking to him and being like, these people saw it on TikTok and these people traveled from this place to come in and eat. And I think it made him really proud because he was like, you know, he was creating on the business. They restored the building. They have all the pictures of all the ancestors on the walls. And he did a coach’s corner in the back because he was a coach. He was a basketball coach. So they have all the memorabilia of the coaching times and just ended up being a really cool thing.

Speaker #0
I want to talk about the food also, but it also sounds like the space, the pizza place itself is what really had an influence on you. I mean, almost like they could have been selling Chinese food. I mean, it wouldn’t have, right? I mean,

Speaker #1
am I correct in saying that? It when I even now when I walk in there reminds me of my grandparents. My grandmother’s old rocking chair is sitting there. The there’s pictures of all our aunts and uncles. And it’s funny. It still smells the same as when I was a kid. And the pizza still tastes exactly the same. So I think not just for me, but for people in the community. It’s a place that’s just been there where people have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries and reunions. And there’s just something special about it beyond just the food, even though I like the food.

Speaker #0
Yeah. I mean, there’s always like something very warm and comforting about like the local pizza place. So that’s kind of neat that you were actually living that in your family. You were that that that family. And that’s that’s nice. I want to talk about the food a little bit, because, you know, for me and like my food story, my grandparents on my dad’s side who were Jewish taught me what I got from them is that food is love. But his food is love. all the best ways. I mean, they were nurturing and comforting. And I still remember my grandmother’s warm matzo ball soup that she would make on the holidays and the brisket. I mean, those are the memories that I have of her. And I loved her so much. And, you know, on the other hand, I have other family members who were in big conflict with food, you know, like diets, dieting very young. always being conflicted with food, always concerned about weight. Women shouldn’t eat a lot, you know, just very, very fearful around food. So, I mean, this is what I’m talking about with like food stories. You know, you really can get influenced by all the different aspects. So, you know, so you grew up in a very Italian family with, you know, and from what I know, I mean, food is… central right to family gatherings everything like a like a lot of cultures but but especially in in an Italian family so how did the pizza the just growing

Speaker #1
up Italian like that what was the influence on you you know I think it’s a couple things of course like the way that I grew up it was like eat eat eat you know are you hungry let’s get you some food you And as I got older, it was like, you know, it’s not that I don’t, I love to eat and I love food, but I also had to look at the fact that when food is involved, there’s discipline that’s involved. Like I, I’m not going to sit down and eat 12 cupcakes. Would I like 12 cupcakes? Sure. But I like to eat Krispy Kreme every day. Yeah. I love Krispy Kreme. Super good. But it’s one of those things where, and I think everyone has their own. kind of level of this of like, you have your own integrity when it comes to food of like, you know, being able to control being able to be healthy. And like, for example, like now, you know, I know that I can’t just eat pizza, pasta, sugar, because I don’t feel well when I eat that kind of stuff all the time. So I have to have balance. Like if I go home, it’s it’s, you know, it’s a piece pizza, pasta, cookie extravaganza. Well, I know that I need to get up and I need to have protein, I need to have eggs, and I need to have a shake, and I need to maybe grab, you know, a salad or a green juice, because I know I’m going to have pizza and pasta for dinner. So I think it was one of those things that I had to learn myself of like, okay, this stuff is all available, and it’s all delicious. But I really, for me, it’s important to be healthy and to be balanced and to keep that relationship with food healthy, even though you have access to unlimited amounts of you quote-unquote junk food.

Speaker #0
Right, yeah, I mean, I guess, right, anywhere we go we have, like, access to this limitless amount of whatever food we want. And so it’s, so it Tell me about the women in your life, your grandma, your mom. I mean, how did they influence you in this Italian pizza environment?

Speaker #1
Sure. So, you know, it was very interesting because there were a mix of people. So my grandmother, she was very Italian and she was, you know, eat, And my mom, my grandmom, even my grandma on my other side, like my mom’s mom, they were all gifted and fabulous cooks and bakers, like incredible. Now, my grandma on my mom’s side, she had modeled in New York. She was a wife in the 50s, and she definitely had this idea of limiting the food. And she was Polish, and she came from a family of, I think, 13.

Speaker #0
This is your grandma on your mom’s side?

Speaker #1
On my mom’s side, and they didn’t have food growing up. So it was definitely a different viewpoint. And one of the things that my mom said, which was interesting, I actually I have a pizza podcast, and I interviewed my parents. And my mom said that, you know, she her family was like very conservative. And it was definitely like, you know, things were controlled, and it was more limited. And then when she came into my dad’s family, she started working at the pizzeria when She was 14. My grandparents were like, here, eat, eat, eat, you know, unlimited amounts of food. Or did you eat? Are you hungry? And it’s just so interesting. I think with the way that you’re brought up, you may have one or the other, one where it might be limited. And then on the other side, you might have like a, hey, eat more, eat as much as you want. Almost like you’re being like, I don’t want to say forced to eat, but just, you know, encouraged, strongly encouraged to eat.

Speaker #0
I mean, that’s similar to my… I think my food story is that I had on my dad’s side, eat like food, food was love, not in a, not in a gluttonous way, you know, but just like, that’s how love was expressed. And,

Speaker #1
yeah.

Speaker #0
And it gave me a lot. I mean, I was trying a lot of different things, even as a very, at a very young age. And I think it just expanded my palate and, and it gave me the. the courage, I guess, to just try new things rather than simply growing up like, oh, don’t, you know, maybe you shouldn’t or, you know, which I think turns people into picky eaters. And so I’m always, you know, I’m just very open to trying all sorts of foods and everything. But so it sounds like, yeah, you had similar, one side of your family was a little more like measure. Yeah. And one is like food is love. Yeah. Yeah. Which is, yeah. Which I get, you know, it’s, do you feel like from your mom’s side then that you learned something or did you, you know, what’s the takeaway from that?

Speaker #1
I think a lot of it is just having that discipline and like, you know, can I eat 12 pieces of pizza? Sure. I probably could, but you know, I’m going to be mindful and I’m going to have. two slices of pizza or three slices of pizza and i’m not saying like you know don’t eat or starve or something like that but just the difference between the control and then being gluttonous which i think can sometimes lead to just having an unhealthy habit yes

Speaker #0
absolutely yeah for me my my mom’s side of the family was more there was some around women enjoying food That was my takeaway from growing up is like the men got to eat whatever they needed to get big and strong. But women always had to watch their weight. And there was, you know, I mean, I had some a lot of like cooks in my family, but there was always in just sort of lying in the background, you know, this like feeling of you better watch what you’re eating. From the time I was very young and like 11 years old, I was like, you know, I was like. suggested I maybe go on a diet. So it’s, you know, so it’s, yeah. And it, and then that takes some time to like untangle that, you know, and like make peace with food and be okay with eating. And, but, but luckily I had the balance of like my other side of the family, which was, you know, which was good. How do you feel about that? I mean, do you feel like that’s, what was there in your family? Any? Shame around food, any,

Speaker #1
any around food. But one thing that was really important is that we all exercise and we all played sports. But for me, that’s more of a mental health thing than a physical health thing. Like I go to the gym every day, mentally, like that’s it helps me mentally. I don’t even know that it is a physical thing. It’s like, I feel like because, you know, I have a lot of stuff, a lot of jobs and books and podcasts and this and that, and I need a stress relief. And some people may eat, some people drink. I like to exercise because that’s what really gets me into a good mindset, I think.

Speaker #0
Yes, I totally agree with that. I think that exercise first and foremost for your mental health is great. So that’s where, yeah. So, and that’s a good… lesson to take away from your family so that I mean if they were always emphasizing physical activity that’s a yeah that sort of weaves into you know like the food story although I sometimes think like food and exercise sort of one in the same you

Speaker #1
know you can’t have one really without the other or you bring it on when you eat and then you work it off and you know my dad was a coach so we were really like you know we had five kids in my family and it was crazy growing up. Like it was like. pandemonium. People were just like wrestling. It was when like WWF was big and like there was just like noise, people were fighting. And so my mom was just like, please take some of these kids to basketball practice. So my dad was like, here’s some basketballs. Like, we’ll see you when I’m done in an hour or two.

Speaker #0
That’s, that’s very funny. That’s yeah. Yeah. Well, that’s good. I mean, everyone has to get their energy out.

Speaker #1
Yeah.

Speaker #0
What’s the, you know, what’s the one thing that you loved about just growing up. with the pizza place or a couple of things. I mean, what did you love about it? And what do you feel like you learned? Like, what are your takeaways from your experience? I mean, it was impactful enough for you to write a whole book about it. And I want to talk about the book in a second, but what were your loves and your lessons, I think, that you learned from just growing up in a pizza culture, I guess, if you will?

Speaker #1
Sure, sure. I mean, growing up, I feel like I didn’t appreciate it as much. I thought it was noisy and there were just people everywhere. And I was just like, oh, like sometimes I was like, this is so much. But now when I look back at it, I really appreciate it because you only have those times once with the people that you love. And so the fact that like, you know, my mom, my sister, my grandma, my best friend, my mom’s best friend, we all work together at the pizza shop on Fridays and we. made bread and they made homemade jam and we laughed and we talked and it was like, it was really special to have that. And I feel like, you know, as an adult, it’s given me a lot of stability because I have this foundation of this family. And we’re still really close. We’re still all in a group text like every day. And I have to silence it because we’re like, all day long. And we’re talking about our favorite pizzas. My parents, they’re in Italy this year because my dad’s getting his citizenship. And it’s just, it’s very nice to have that foundation and that support and that love of your family.

Speaker #0
Yeah. No, it sounds like the, right, the pizzeria was really like the center of your family, like almost like the rock. Any… fear that it ever might close or it sounds like it’s busy as busy as it can be right now.

Speaker #1
It’s so busy. I mean, I think we for sure always want to keep it in the family and I’m hoping it, you know, nothing lasts forever, I guess, but I’m hoping it will and it will just continue to be passed down. And, you know, I’m hoping that, you know, all my brothers and sisters, they just started having kids. So I’m like, everyone just needs to have like a lot of kids. So somebody just ends up deciding to take it.

Speaker #0
Yeah. Do you still, do you live local to the pizza place still?

Speaker #1
I live part of the time in Florida and I live part of the time local to the pizza place.

Speaker #0
Okay.

Speaker #1
Where my parents are. And I still do all the marketing for the pizzeria. So I travel up there and do videos and film content. And my mom owns a jam company. So I help her. And during the summer, it’s, you know, jam season, it’s picking season. So that’s a, that’s a prime time to be up there. and In the winter though, I definitely prefer Florida.

Speaker #0
I’m sure you do.

Speaker #1
You get a Western PA. I’m in Connecticut.

Speaker #0
Sounds like your mom does a lot of growing then.

Speaker #1
Yeah.

Speaker #0
She makes her own jams.

Speaker #1
Oh yeah, my mom’s a master gardener. And one of the things with the shop that we really like do is it’s locally sourced ingredients. We do the unbrominated, unbleached flour. It’s a healthier flour. And we really, we grate the cheese. We make the dough fresh. So these are all really fresh ingredients. My mom grows San Marzano tomatoes so we can roast tomatoes. She grows peppers and zucchini and like, I mean, berries and like, you name it. She has like, if you go there in August. You can, the harvest there is incredible. So that’s another thing.

Speaker #0
Yeah, I’m curious how, you know, I could see how it might be easy in a piece of places like, oh, don’t use the locals. I mean, that must be pricier and more labor intensive to make things, you know, like if I can just open a can and who will know. But your family is not. And that’s fantastic. And I’m just curious how that… came about where did your mom get the influence to become a master gardener and I mean I think I’m I have a special place in my heart for gardeners and gardening because I think it’s just the most important thing you can do towards healthier eating for yourself yeah and so that’s that’s fantastic that that they do that where did that influence come from you know I think it was really from her mom and dad.

Speaker #1
They really had a green thumb. Like I remember going to my grandparents and them having like the most beautiful yard and all the flowers that they grew. And like, I remember laying in the grass and it was the most beautiful grass that I’d ever been, you know, able to be around. And I think my mom just really, you know, when we had home, she planted a lot of flowers and did a lot of landscaping. And then that kind of turned into growing food. And so that’s just been, it’s just so nice. It’s an added bonus. And especially like, you know, I guess as a creator, as a marketer, it’s nice because I get to film that process and then show the food, which is like a really cool part of the restaurant that you don’t always get to show because sometimes it is canned stuff. And it’s kind of like, that’s not really, it’s fun to, you know, film a show is like, you know, this beautiful picture of this, all the stuff that came from the garden.

Speaker #0
Yeah. Is that something that’s, that’s influenced you? Do you garden? Do you have a?

Speaker #1
Do you grow anything? I want to. That is my goal. And there are times, you know, we’ll do like, you know, basil outside or we’ll do like herbs and stuff like that for cooking. But what it’s been lately, I mean, I really had to make a change. It was like 15 years, three marketing agencies just working and then finally decided I need a break. And I went home for the year to help my family. started to film the content and really got so inspired and wrote the book and wrote the children’s series, now writing the next novel and almost became inspired to do marketing again after really feeling like, I hate to say the word, but just burnout, just not wanting to do it anymore. So that kind of revived my purpose to do that and also to live a more, I think, organic, thoughtful life.

Speaker #0
Great. Well, yeah, I’m sure, you know, I think all those influences even if, you know, you’re not directly gardening right now, but maybe that’s just influencing you in other secondary ways.

Speaker #1
Yeah. Yes. Writing.

Speaker #0
Yeah.

Speaker #1
Yeah.

Speaker #0
So let’s talk about the book. So I obviously you got inspired to write the book because of sounds like you had were having conversations with your dad and you started talking more about your grandfather and and how, you know, his history and everything. Tell me how you got just the, I mean, writing a book is no small feat. So what, what, what really like pushed you over to things say like, this would be a great idea to write a book.

Speaker #1
So, you know, it was interesting because we had one of our companies was a movie production company or a film production company. And my, one of my friends, he was the director, he had made a film and it was about life and culture in Mexico and about a father about a son who lost his grandfather and the grandfather raised him and it was a very beautiful story and we were talking about our next movie project and I was thinking like you know this would be a really cool movie project and so he said well yeah but usually you first need a book and I was like okay well like I can probably write a book like I’ve I’m so inspired by the story and like I kind of wanted to put it down on paper anyway. And so we initially were like, you know, maybe this would be a really cool movie to capture. And so then I wrote the book and they were both like it was it was my husband and our partner. And they were both like shocked. They were like, oh, you wrote the book. I was like, yeah, because this might be a really beautiful movie. And so then after I wrote the book, I didn’t know what to do with it because I’d never written a book. So I just let it sit for like four months.

Speaker #0
And then I thought, okay, well, I went to school for marketing. I’ve been doing marketing for 20 years here. So like, I just, let me just use what I know here and then put the book out. And then it almost like the book inspired the children’s series and inspired the podcast and inspired the next novel, which I’m writing now. So it was like the book was the center of it all, which was the pizza place.

Speaker #1
That’s great. Yeah, that’s, that’s, that’s great. It definitely gets the word out. Like I said, I mean, I think I love any stories about your, you know, grandparents or great-grandparents emigrating over and like and how you then came to be, you know, here and today. So that’s wonderful. So I wanted to ask you two questions. Number one, do you, how often do you actually eat pizza now?

Speaker #0
Oh, more than I should. It’s so funny because. Now I have my pizza story podcast and I do probably like I film maybe two or three a week every week, maybe four. And every day my husband be like, what do you want to eat? And I’m like, oh, for dinner. And I’m like, OK, well, let’s have like, you know, chicken, steak, whatever healthy. And then I get off the phone from doing the podcast and I’m looking at their pizza on Instagram. And he’s like, you want what do you want for dinner? And I’m like pizza. So, you know, now it’s been like probably three, four nights a week of pizza, which we were trying to limit it to one. I could eat it every day. I’m not going to lie.

Speaker #1
Yeah, I think I might be able to eat pizza every single day too, as long as it’s really great. Do you find that you’re like kind of in pizza competition? You know, like you, do you feel like your pizza from your family’s place is, is the best pizza?

Speaker #0
And it will always be the number one favorite. I have a top 10 list and I have it on my blog and I just, I love that pizza. It’s amazing. But there’s also… Some really good pizzerias down in Florida, like there’s one called Cristino’s. They’re from Italy, have been in business forever. I think we’ve been going there 15, 20 years. One called Varola’s, the guy’s from New York. It’s like a very traditional New York slice. And so we definitely go and we find pizzerias and we try them. And, you know, there’s one in Tampa called Forbici. It’s amazing. It’s my husband’s favorite pizza. So we’re always out and about looking for, you know, the next great pizza, I guess.

Speaker #1
Yeah, well, I live not too far from New Haven, which is sort of like the,

Speaker #0
that’s supposed to be the,

Speaker #1
yeah, the pizza capital of the world or the country. I don’t know. But yeah, so I’ve gone there a couple times and sat and waited in lines for half an hour to get into the pizza place. And that’s kind of fun. So where can people find you find your book? And, and how do they get to know more about you?

Speaker #0
Well, if you just search a story about pizza. or you go to astoryaboutpizza.com, you can find everything about me in the book. You can search, you can Google me online and you’ll see a bunch of, you know, author stuff on there. But that’s probably the easiest way is just Astory About Pizza and Google.

Speaker #1
Okay, great. And it sounds like there might be a movie in the works. Is that what’s happening?

Speaker #0
I mean, I hope. I don’t know. I mean, right now, so we did the book and we did a trailer for a series about family-owned pizzerias. And we did this on my family’s pizza place. It’s on my YouTube channel. And we’re going to do a full episode. But what I’d love to do is some of the podcasts I’ve done with some really cool people in the pizza industries. I’d love to go do a full episode of like going to see them and filming and stuff like that. But right now we’re doing the podcast and I guess we’ll see how it goes. But I mean, goal would be a movie would be the best. Like that’d be the end goal, I think.

Speaker #1
Yeah, that would be great. All right. Well, we’ll… be watching and waiting for the movie. It sounds great. Erica, thank you so much. I appreciate you sharing your real food story. And I love it. I love your grandfather’s story and how they came over and sounds like they obviously really influenced you. And here you are writing a book about it.

Speaker #0
Yeah, thank you so much for having me on.

Speaker #1
And as always, if you loved this podcast, please consider gifting me with a five-star review. It is so helpful for me to get the word out on real eating, our real bodies, and real food stories. Thank you so much and have a great week. Bye for now.