Neapolitan pizza in the United States is no longer a novelty: in recent years, the growing international popularity of this product, also due to digital and social communication, the Neapolitan style is gaining more and more followers overseas. And in Philadelphia, a city on the East Coast that boasts a great culinary tradition and one of the most significant Italian-American communities in the country, there's a chef who is achieving remarkable success by offering authentic Neapolitan pizza: Joe Cicala, chef and owner of two highly successful restaurants, Cicala at the Divine Lorraine and Sorellina.
Originally from an Italian-American family, Cicala discovered his passion for simple and authentic Italian cuisine thanks to his mother and grandmother. «I grew up in an Italian-American family, where I discovered my love for regional and authentic Italian cuisine through my mother and grandmother, in our home on the outskirts of Washington DC», he tells us. He started very young as an apprentice in Italy, in the kitchen of Al Cenacolo in Salerno, and then gained other important experiences between the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento. Back in the United States, Joe worked alongside famous chefs such as Roberto Donna at Galileo in Washington DC, a James Beard Award winner, and Mark Ladner at Del Posto restaurant in New York.
In 2010, in Philadelphia,
Cicala began his journey as a chef and pizzaiolo: first as Executive Chef of
Le Virtu, earning several recognitions including a nomination for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic at the James Beard Awards, then opening his first restaurant,
Cicala at the Divine Lorraine, a classic address for refined Italian cuisine. But it was with
Sorellina, inaugurated in July 2024, that
Cicala fulfilled his vision of contemporary Neapolitan pizza, also thanks to the perfect cooking guaranteed by
Neapolis, the electric oven made by the Marche-based company
Moretti Forni, designed specifically to interpret this style, whose temperature can reach up to 510° while maintaining precise heat control at all times.
The gastronomic offering of
Sorellina in
Cicala's words is very clear: «It's the "little sister" of
Cicala. We wanted the atmosphere to be more casual, fun, and noisy. Similar to what you would find in Naples. We kept the decor very rustic, with cement floors and tiles from the Amalfi Coast, because we wanted to recreate the atmosphere you breathe on the streets of Naples. We play Italian hip hop or Neapolitan music in the background. The concept is very simple: just appetizers, pizza, and a few desserts. Very typical of a Neapolitan pizzeria». An approach that is very popular with the American public, as the chef tells us: «People like it because it's more fun: the customers are young, single, but also couples and families. An engaging atmosphere, it's the kind of place I like to be».
Until a few years ago, offering a classically Neapolitan pizza would have been a choice against the current compared to the style Americans are used to: «The American market for a long time has rewarded especially the New York style: very thin, crispy, with a low-hydration dough, cooked at lower temperatures. Slowly though, thanks to social media, YouTube, and the fact that more people travel to Italy, people are beginning to understand Neapolitan-style pizza».
Cicala was a pioneer in this regard: «In 2014, I opened the first Neapolitan pizzeria in Philadelphia,
Desa. Customers struggled to understand what I was serving them because they weren't used to it. It confused them that we didn't cut the pizza, that we served it whole. The dough is much lighter and more digestible. It's also very soft and the toppings are, according to them, "wet". They didn't understand, they thought the cooking was wrong». Today, however, things have changed: «Recently we've seen a change in the market. More people know about Neapolitan pizza and are looking for it. We no longer have to explain it, it's something people want to eat».
This is also due to the obsessive care that
Joe puts into his dough, inspired by the latest trends in contemporary pizza made in Naples and the rest of Italy: «As I said, when I opened in 2014, mine was a very rigorous Neapolitan pizza. Recently I started to change my approach to the dough, in fact now we use a pre-ferment, a 100% biga that ferments for 24 hours. Then we put the biga in the spiral mixer, not planetary, and push the hydration to 75-80%. Then we do a cold fermentation for 24 hours and a 6-hour proofing. The result is this very hydrated, light, and digestible dough. There's a very slight acidic note that I like. And the crust stays crispy, which is what Americans are looking for».
A dough that needs perfect cooking to give its best. And this is where
Neapolis by
Moretti Forni comes in, «a fantastic oven», as
Cicala defines it: «Speaking of
Neapolis's performance, what I appreciate most is that the temperature always remains constant, it has no fluctuation, as happens with a wood-fired oven. That's why the cooking quality is fantastic: even the oven floor has a very fast recovery, so the bottom of the pizza cooks very well. The internal temperature has a perfect distribution, so I only have to turn the pizza once. It's really an exceptional oven and I can't believe I waited so long to start using it. And even a pizzaiolo without a long experience can obtain a product of the highest quality, because they don't have to worry about managing the oven during service».
This is due to the ease of use, reliability, and cutting-edge technology of
Neapolis, which also allows overcoming the logistical obstacles of venues like the one that houses
Sorellina: «I needed an oven that would adapt to our place, which is located in a historic building, which imposes various constraints: it was while doing research with these needs in mind that I discovered
Moretti Forni and
Neapolis. Its compactness and versatility won me over immediately».
A perfect combination of technology and Neapolitan tradition that Joe Cicala can't wait to put to use elsewhere: «I would very much like to expand the Sorellina concept to more locations. Maybe open a place in Italy or in some other city in the United States. Always with Moretti Forni by my side, of course». A dream that could soon become reality, for which we wish all the best to a passionate ambassador of Italian pizza in the world.
