Latest news with #MikeTanzini
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pizza Week 2025: Vestal Bakery
VESTAL, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Our Special Pizza Correspondent, and Endicott-native Mike Tanzini, takes us across the river into Vestal to show us how one local family has been serving up slices to its hungry Golden Bears. 'Sheet pizza comin' out! We've got a little browning of the cheese, and that crust that's nice and golden on the bottom. Beautiful!' If you've graduated from Vestal within the last 45 years, this probably helped fuel you through the school day. Vestal Bakery has been in operation since 1979. Originally a part of the Hi-Way Fruit Market, Vestal Bakery would eventually settle into its current location on the Vestal Parkway in 1985. Owner Justin Fargnoli, who purchased the business from his parents nine years ago, says he's getting a lot more done now than he did when he was growing up at the bakery. 'I was here a lot, causing mischief. I'd occasionally make boxes, but I would mostly cause mischief and climbing on the flour bags and making a mess of stuff,' said Fargnoli. He's gone from jumping on bags of flour to stretching out an average of 80 to 200 pounds of dough each day, which is then placed in the cooler overnight to enhance its flavor profile. However, there are two major factors that set Vestal Bakery apart from the rest. Vestal Bakery utilizes a special rotating oven that not only crisps up the pizza but also cooks the sauce perfectly. 'Our oven is something like nobody else has. It's a rotating oven and a lot of people use conveyor ovens where it goes in one side and comes out the other. That's not us. We actually have to pay attention to it,' said Fargnoli. The other major component – the Vestal Bakery sauce. It's not just the ingredients that make it special – it's also the amount that makes or breaks the pizza. 'We use a lot more sauce than a lot of places do. Sauce is flavor. You can have a dry pizza that looks pretty, but you won't get the acidity, the sweetness, and all of the flavors that are packed into the sauce. Our oven makes a nice, crispy sheet pizza,' said Fargnoli. The sauce is a protected family secret. 'Only three people here know what it is,' said Fargnoli. So naturally I try to cleverly zero in to see if they'll share it. 'What does it take to become one of the three people who know the recipe? What's the threshold of being able to be trusted with the process?' 'Well, mostly being a part of the family. The only other person that knows the recipe has been here with us since he was 1,7 and he's been with us for over 30 years, so he knows it too,' said Fargnoli. No dice on the sauce recipe, but I am hired part-time to pound out a round pie. Maybe I'm starting to get this whole pizza thing down because before we know it, we've got the dough stretched and ready to go. We ladle on the sauce, and Justin teaches me the Vestal Bakery way when it comes to spreading it around. 'You don't want to push down or else you'll get lines, and these will cook and dry out. Nice and gentle. It's all in the shoulder,' said Fargnoli. Now, we add a special blend of mozzarella and provolone cheese for this round pie, and it's off to that rotating oven! We take our pizzas out of the oven and cut them up for our hungry customers – whether they're current Vestal students looking for a slice, or someone looking to bring a slice of Vestal back home. 'We have people all the time who order four sheets of pizza and say they're going back to North Carolina or Michigan. We even get people who message us on Facebook and ask if we can ship a pizza, but unfortunately, we can't,' said Fargnoli. Vestal Bakery has been serving Vestal students and families since the mid-1980s. The pizza's so good, it even got this U-E Tiger to cross the river to grab a slice to go. While Vestal Bakery pumps out a lot of pizza, Fargnoli says they also sell quite a bit of subs, including a weekly sub special. Next, Mike visits a pizza maker that's been part of the resurgence of a local landmark. You can watch Pizza Week episodes and vote in our favorite pizza poll here. Binghamton Firefighters say 'farewell' to another brother Local eateries face off in Chef Show Down at Kilmer Mansion Pizza Week 2025: Vestal Bakery Law Enforcement Torch Run raises money for Special Olympics SRO Productions presents 'A New Brain' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
News 34 Pizza Week returns
(WIVT/WBGH) – News 34 is resurrecting a beloved promotion from the past. Pizza Week is back. Special Correspondent Mike Tanzini, a 34 alum, is visiting a different set of local pizzerias this week as the pizza makers teach him how to make their signature pies. Mike will once again learn the ropes of stretching dough, ladling sauce, and spreading cheese to make the hand-held delicacy we all know and love. Meanwhile, we are currently running a poll to try to determine our viewers' favorite pizza. To vote, click here. Archived Pizza Week episodes from the past are also available at our website. And tune in on Tuesday for the first segment in the Return of Pizza Week. News 34 Pizza Week returns 72-year-old biker travels U.S. to raise money for American Cancer Society Security Mutual Week begins in Binghamton Meldrim's Paint hosts grand opening celebration Business of the Week: Fahs Construction Group Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
