Pizza Talk: The Yodi’s and “The Old New York Pizza”

The Yodi’s are back and John Arena has brought along his partner and future Yodi, Chris Decker,  to show us how they make Metro Pizza’s most popular pie, The Old New York. It’s really a pretty simple, noble pie; sauce and cheese and basil — kind of an American-style Margherita — but the reason this episode is so important is that it’s like taking a Master Class in how to stretch and assemble a pizza based on the thoughtful principles that John and Chris embody at Metro Pizza. As you will see, there’s a reason, a rationale, why ingredients go on in a certain order, and why the dough is handled the way they do it — and that’s why they are Yodi’s. Whenever Brian Spangler, John Arena, and now Chris Decker get together it’s like stepping into a transmission of generational knowledge. Chris, in this episode, generously shares his own journey and history and, for me, it’s been a pleasure watching his ascent over the past 20 years, working side by side with John, into pizza stardom (including a recent cover story for Pizza Today Magazine. And that’s how our Yodi panel continues to grow….