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'Round Pie On A Square Day:' Popular NJ Pizzaiolo Defends His Product To Portnoy
Dave Portnoy walked into Casano’s Pizza Parlor expecting a crisp, New Haven-style pie—instead, he got what he called a “napkin pizza.”
The Barstool boss stopped by the retro-style, Rutherford pizzeria, which doesn’t sell pizza by the slice, for his latest One Bite review. The shop, owned by Dave Ligas, is named after his late grandmother, Marie Rene Casano, a longtime waitress at Mama Lucia’s in Newark.
Portnoy tried a New Haven-style pie and a round pie—but there was one small problem.
It was square pie day.
After Portnoy sampled two pies, Ligas explained that because he had ordered a ro…
NJ Sisters Built Their Pizzeria Around Grandmother's Spinach Pies — Then Dave Portnoy Walked In
Call it fate, call it pizza magic, call it whatever you want—but when Dave Portnoy walked into Spinachio Pizza in North Haledon last week, co-owner Zana Kaloshi couldn’t believe it.
For years, she had been trying to get the Barstool Sports CEO to come in. Then, last Thursday, Feb. 13, she was literally talking about it when it happened.
"I was like, ‘How do I get Dave in here? It’s impossible!’” Kaloshi said. “Fifteen minutes later, he walked in. It was like we manifested him."
Portnoy, whose One Bite pizza reviews can make or break a business, got his hands on Spinachio’s skinny pizza—a r…