Park Slope Italian Eatery Introduces Brooklyn to Centuries-Old Family Recipes

For close to 200 years, Peter Rizzi's family has created treasured Italian foods for Sunday dinners and family gatherings. At Sweet Basil Pizzeria, which opened in Brooklyn last month, anyone can try these beloved recipes marked by slightly-sweet sauce and pleasant basil notes.

"We wanted to bring old-world recipes back to Park Slope," said Rizzi, co-owner of Sweet Basil Pizzeria. "We want all of Brooklyn to enjoy these priceless family recipes."

The eatery offers pizzas, pastas, sandwiches and other Italian fare to patrons in Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Sunset Park and other areas throughout Brooklyn. Baked in a brick oven, Sweet Basil Pizzeria offers specialty grandma and margherita pies, along with "right side up" and "upside-down" Sicilian pizzas.

"Upside-down Sicilian pies have cheese on bottom and sauce on top, while right-side up are standard, with sauce on bottom and cheese on top," said Matthew Goldberg, co-owner of Sweet Basil Pizzeria. "We wanted to offer something special to pizza lovers who prefer more sauce or more cheese."

Rizzi's parents brought the recipes with them to the United States when they migrated from Mola di Bari, Italy, in the 1930s. Rizzi first used these recipes in 10 of his New York City restaurants during the 1980s and '90s. With the recent opening of Sweet Basil Pizzeria, the famous family recipes are making their triumphant return to the Brooklyn culinary scene.

According to Goldberg, the name "Sweet Basil Pizzeria" evokes warm feelings of comforting Italian food made with fresh ingredients: none of their ingredients used in their restaurant arrive frozen, nor are they extracted from a can.

"If you want to serve perfect, you must start with perfect," Goldberg said. "If you're going to use inexpensive or imitation cheese or inferior ingredients, your customers will taste the difference."

Sweet Basil Pizzeria chefs make their own pizza dough and let it rise for 24 hours before baking it into thin or thick-crust brick-oven pizza.

"Everything is hand-made; we don't buy sauce out of a can, we don't buy frozen mozzarella cheese," Rizzi said. "These elements ensure that we craft the best Italian food."

In addition to their pizzas, the restaurant also offers chicken parmigiana rolls and Philly cheesesteaks, which Goldberg said he and Rizzi spent months studying in order to replicate the true Philadelphia cheesesteak experience from 100 miles away.

"We made many trips to Pat's and Geno's in Philly to sample their classic cheesesteaks," Goldberg said. "We spoke to their customers so we could learn their likes and dislikes. We came up with the perfect Philly cheesesteak that can be customized to your liking."

Sweet Basil Pizzeria's daily deals include $10 large 16" pizzas for carry-out orders and 10 percent off orders made on www.sbpbrooklyn.com. Catering is available for parties, events and more. The restaurant is open late nights on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and offers free delivery throughout Brooklyn.

Sweet Basil Pizzeria is open from 10:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and from 10:30 a.m. until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Easily accessible from the R, F and G trains, Sweet Basil Pizzeria is located at 450 5th Ave. between 9th and 10th streets. For more visit www.sbpbrooklyn.com.

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