Anthony Falco, the 'Pizza Czar,' Opens a Brooklyn Pizzeria

Anthony Falco has spent a long time thinking about dough. The man once known as the “pizza czar” during his years at Roberta’s in Bushwick is finally planting a flag of his own in Brooklyn, and the project sounds exactly as idiosyncratic as his résumé would suggest. Falco’s new pizzeria draws inspiration from two sources you wouldn’t expect to find in the same sentence: the architecture of ancient Rome and a film by surrealist director Alejandro Jodorowsky.

If that pairing makes you tilt your head, good. That’s the point. Falco built his reputation not by playing it safe but by treating pizza as a serious, portable craft — one he carried from Brooklyn to kitchens across dozens of countries as a consultant. Now he’s bringing all of that accumulated knowledge home.

Who Is Anthony Falco and Why Does the ‘Pizza Czar’ Title Matter?

Falco earned his nickname the hard way, running the pizza program at Roberta’s during the years when the Bushwick restaurant transformed from a scrappy neighborhood spot into one of the most influential pizzerias in the country. Roberta’s didn’t just sell wood-fired pies; it helped define a whole aesthetic of Brooklyn dining — unfussy, ingredient-driven, and quietly ambitious.

After leaving, Falco turned himself into something unusual in the restaurant world: a traveling pizza consultant. He has advised restaurants around the globe, teaching kitchens how to build better dough programs, source the right ovens, and dial in fermentation. That international perspective matters here. When someone who has studied pizza across continents decides to open their own place, the menu tends to reflect a deliberate point of view rather than a trend chased for Instagram.

The “czar” label stuck because Falco approached pizza the way a sommelier approaches wine — as a subject with history, technique, and endless room for nuance. He’s part of a generation of chefs who elevated pizza from casual food into something worth obsessing over, and that lineage runs through plenty of Brooklyn’s current dining scene.

What Makes Roman-Style Pizza Different?

The Roman inspiration is the detail that should get pizza lovers excited. Roman pizza splits into a few distinct traditions, and both are worth knowing before you order.

There’s pizza al taglio — pizza “by the cut” — baked in long rectangular trays, sold by weight, and prized for an airy, open crumb with a shatteringly crisp bottom. Then there’s pizza tonda romana, the thin, cracker-crisp round that Romans eat at sit-down pizzerias. Both lean on long fermentation and high-hydration dough, which is where Falco’s technical obsession comes into play.

The magic of Roman-style dough is in the hydration. While a classic Neapolitan dough might hover around 60 percent hydration (the ratio of water to flour), Roman al taglio dough often pushes to 80 percent or higher. That extra water creates the big, irregular air pockets that make the crust feel almost weightless. It’s harder to handle — wet dough is sticky and temperamental — which is exactly why it rewards someone with Falco’s experience.

That high-hydration approach also means the flour matters enormously. Bakers chasing that open, custardy crumb often reach for a high-protein bread flour to build the gluten structure strong enough to trap all that gas. If you’ve ever tried to make focaccia or al taglio at home and ended up with a dense brick, the flour and the fermentation time are usually the culprits.

Roman architecture as design inspiration is a nice touch, too. Think about what the Romans actually built: arches, vaults, structures engineered to hold air and light. There’s a quiet metaphor in a pizzeria that takes its cues from engineering and negative space — the best Roman slices are, in their own way, feats of structural engineering.

Why the Jodorowsky Reference Signals Something Bigger

And then there’s the Alejandro Jodorowsky influence, which is where the project tips from “thoughtful pizzeria” into genuinely unusual territory. Jodorowsky is the cult Chilean-French filmmaker behind surrealist epics like The Holy Mountain and El Topo — dreamlike, symbolic, often bizarre works that prize imagination over convention.

Citing a filmmaker as inspiration for a restaurant is a statement about atmosphere. It suggests Falco isn’t just opening a place to grab a slice; he’s building an environment with a mood, a visual language, maybe even a little theatricality. Brooklyn has seen plenty of restaurants treat their dining rooms as immersive experiences, and the city’s most talked-about openings increasingly lean on strong design — the kind of thinking you’ll find at spots like a two-floor Koreatown barbecue flagship or a glitzy new Chelsea cocktail lounge.

What this signals is confidence. Falco doesn’t need to lean on nostalgia for Roberta’s or a safe formula. He’s betting that diners want a pizzeria with an actual perspective — something to look at and think about while they eat.

How Does This Fit Into Brooklyn’s Pizza Scene Right Now?

Brooklyn is arguably the most competitive pizza market in America. The borough gave us Di Fara, Roberta’s, Lucali, and a steady churn of newcomers all chasing the perfect pie. Opening here is not for the timid.

What gives Falco an edge is the specificity. New York is drowning in Neapolitan and New York–slice spots, but genuine, well-executed Roman al taglio remains relatively rare. A really good rectangular slice with an airy, crackly base stands out precisely because so few places commit to the technique required to pull it off.

There’s also a seasonal angle worth noting. As the weather turns and we head into the heart of fall, few foods feel more right than something baked, hot, and a little decadent. A crisp Roman slice topped with roasted squash, caramelized onions, or late-season mushrooms is exactly the kind of cold-weather comfort food that makes sense in October. Roman al taglio is especially well suited to seasonal vegetables — the sturdy base holds up to generous, roasted toppings in a way a thin Neapolitan pie can’t.

If you’re the type who tracks Brooklyn and Manhattan openings, this is one to add to the list alongside the city’s other most exciting new tables. Falco’s track record alone makes it worth watching, and the Roman specialty gives it a reason to exist beyond hype.

What You Can Learn From This at Home

Even if you can’t make it to Brooklyn, there’s a useful takeaway for home cooks here. The gap between a mediocre homemade pizza and a great one almost always comes down to two things: time and temperature.

Long, cold fermentation — letting your dough rest in the fridge for 24 to 72 hours — develops flavor and makes the dough easier to stretch. And a screaming-hot oven, ideally with a preheated steel or stone, is what gives you that blistered, crisp bottom instead of a pale, soggy one. These are the same principles Falco built a career on, scaled down to your kitchen. If you want to lean into fall, try topping your next homemade pie with thinly sliced delicata squash, a little fontina, and sage — it’s a near-perfect October dinner.

One last detail that captures why Roman pizza is having its moment: pizza al taglio was essentially invented as a cheap, democratic street food in postwar Rome, sold by weight so you paid only for exactly as much as you wanted. The format that now inspires a design-forward Brooklyn pizzeria began as the ultimate no-frills everyman snack — proof that the humblest foods often make the most ambitious comebacks.