Click here for Greater Long Island newsletters. Click here to download the iPhone app.
Anna has recently opened at 141 Woodbury Road in Woodbury, with the idea in mind to change the way Long Islanders think about pizza.
But first, a little background.
Danny and Angela Aggelatos dreamed up Anna — named after their 1-year-old daughter — and after more than a year of planning, DIY renovations and lots of menu tinkering they opened their doors to fanfare.
Danny knows his way around the kitchen and honed his craft at slice shops and restaurants in New York City, New Jersey and Nashville.
After their daughter was born, the couple decided to move to Long Island to be closer to Angela’s family.
Then they started dreaming, and planning, about opening their own place.
“I knew there was a lot of pizza already on Long Island, but I knew we could bring something new to the table,” Angela said.
Danny brings his all-Greek heritage and taste knowledge, and his tremendous love of his wife and her Italian upbringing, to the kitchen. And the Greek and the Italian influences subtly play off each other.
You’ll find in the food a pinch of Italian, a smattering of Greek, a sprinkle of Eastern Mediterranean and a whole lot of love.
It’s Neapolitan and Sicilian and Amalfi and Adriatic.
It’s complementary cooking, a melding of flavors and beautiful ingredients.
Start with some red and green olives, a plate of mortadella or the ribbon-like prosciutto.
To drink, you’ll find the entirety of the Mediterranean represented on the wine list, as well Long Island wine selections and craft beers handpicked from up and down the East Coast.
The burrata, like just about everything on the menu, is made in house and and drizzled with fragrant and grassy Greek olive oil and served with flatbread that’s sprinkled with Maldon sea salt.
The Caesar salad is light and refreshing, not heavy and overladen with dressing, and has a subtle citrus influence and a welcome, heavy-handed dusting of freshly grated fluffy parmigiano.
Broccolini, that often maligned vegetable, sings here with chili oil, a kiss of fresh lemon juice and zest and grana padano. The meatballs, made of pork and beef, are meaty but light and tender on the fork and come in a pool of fresh tomato sauce.
Head on jumbo prawns are the other big protein offering, with chili, parsley, extra virgin olive oil and more citrus.
The pizza
The couple knew that the pizza market was saturated, so they set about to sort of reinvent the concept.
There’s no mimicking of anything here. Each pie started out as an novel idea for Danny, and then he painstakingly set about refining them.
But first, he had to master his dough and crust.
He fell in love with bread baking in Nashville and wanted to explore the concept and how it translated to pizza dough and a wood burning oven.
From there, he set out to nail it all before opening day.
“It’s all in the details,” said Danny. “In food and life, it’s all in the details.”
The clam pie uses Danny’s refined crust as a base for clam sauce that has been double reduced for extra richness and has been fortified with cream.
A smattering of roasted clams goes on top, with freshly torn parsley, a spritz of lemon and a bit of chili oil for heat.
This is clam pizza for people who don’t necessarily like clams, but end up being converts.
Fennel and paprika sausage may be the headline act of the sausage pie, but the shaved red onion (a very Greek influence added for an extra layer of flavor), slivers of pickled and spicy long hots, pressed garlic, and handmade mozzarella are the backup singers that make this pizza noteworthy as well.
The margarita is delicate and subtle in its simplicity, but it’s the quality and integrity of the ingredients that set it apart. Each pie is about 10 inches in diameter and perfect for one, but we suggest ordering a few for the table.
Follow their journey:
About Dana Lostritto, food writer
Dana is a writer and editor with a master’s from the Columbia University School of Journalism and a bachelor’s in nutrition and food studies from NYU, along with a Cordon Bleu certificate. As a former editor of a London food magazine, she is passionate about sharing her insights on food, travel, lifestyle, and culture.
