Elite Event at Urban Fire

This elite Unilocal event was one of my favorites. Being from jersey and experiencing the love that came out of this event I was a very happy person. All the people running this event did a fabulous job. And all the Unilocalers were very friendly. Made the event even more wonderful.
Urban fire was an awesome place for dining it’s décor was warming, from family photos to a rustic modern theme. The food was excellent we had arugula salad, rice balls, porchetta sliders, and pizza I had the margarita with shrimp and guanchale really good .
The owners of the urban fire reminded me of my family. They welcomed you with open arms told u to sit down and the feels us like we were going to the electric chair. I would like to thank them for having this even there and for their great hospitality.

Remember that time a group of Unilocal’s elite congregated in a family owned pizza spot, only to have our tastebuds and bellies overwhelmed by course after course of delectable Italian casual «street food»? Well I do! My leftovers made me smile the next day, and the memory of this meal is making me itch to return to Urban Fire.
Anthony, his father, and his lovely wife Rose along with the help of the Urban Fire crew were all wonderful hosts and made us feel like part of the family. I love the wall of Anthony’s Italian family memorabilia, helping to ensure he always stays true to his roots. Yes Anthony — it is all about family!
Several long tables allowed for family style seating, and on occasion service. It’s a blast meeting fellow Unilocalers breaking bread and recounting past meals together. We started with a hearty bowl of rocket salad — arugula topped with some shreds of parmigiano reggiano. Simple, but delicious. Lucky for me I had some left when the arancini (rice balls) came out. The two courses mixed together were a perfect blend of cheesy, ricey goodness and fresh greenery.
Next was a porchetta sandwich, from which the quote «it’s basically pork inside of pork inside of pork» was born. That alone explains the goodness, but I’ll elaborate for fun. Pork loin cooked inside of pork belly with crispy cracklings on top. Slice it up, put it on a hearty roll with a bit of arugula and olive oil, and serve. That alone could have been the end of a wonderful meal, but of course not! An Italian roast beef slider sandwich with pesto sauce and a side of au jus followed up. Whoa to me, I was getting so full already that I skipped this course: smacks forehead: I’ll just have to go back to try it another time.
From there we moved to the made to order personal pizzas. There are recommended pizzas or you can choose your own base + sauce + toppings. I tried out the Gardenia pie: pesto, parmigiano reggiano, broccoli rabe, grape tomatoes, peppadews, and garlic herb oil. It sounds delicious, because it is! I have to say the crust was surprisingly amazing. I expected a quickly cooked pizza to have a questionable crust, but it was fluffy and just the right amount of chewy. It’s not a crusty paper thin crusty, but nobody said it would be. I’m a fan as is. To wrap the night, Anthony’s dad came around with bags of piping hot zepoles. No I never eat them, yes I did this time, yes it was worth it, yes I’d do it again.
An amazing event, a fantastic venue, and wonderful people to share the night. Thank you Unilocal team!

I wish I had more stars to give! This event was true highlight due in large part to the warmth and generosity of our hosts, Anthony and his wife Rosa, the owners of Urban Fire. Everything about this place, from the menu to the décor, has been carefully thought out to be welcoming. Anthony’s dad was even there to lend a hand delivering food!
We started with a fresh arugula salad, dressed simply with some lemon, pepper, oil, and shaved parmesan. One of my favorite simple salads to prepare at home and a refreshing way to start the meal. Next were the arancini balls, prepared from a rissotto rather than the traditional method of using fresh rice. This amped up the cheese to rice ratio heavily in the cheese direction and, while I slightly missed the texture of rice I was expecting, my complaints were quickly drowned out in a sea of molten cheese. The sliders were next to grace our palette, both were served on a mini ciabatta with a lemon pesto spread. I was a bigger fan of the porchetta, mainly due to the inclusion of the crispy pork skin on the sandwich. Not to say the roast beef wasn’t good, but crispy pork skin is my not-​so-​secret weakness.
Onto the pizza! Instead of serving a general selection of pies to each table, Anthony opened his entire menu to us and allowed us each to order our own pies. we could choose any pie and any of the myriad of toppings. Despite the restaurant being packed with Unilocalers, the food was delivered quickly and cooked perfectly. I opted for the DOP with the addition of an egg. The egg is a very traditional Italian thing to do, and having it as an option on their menu won big points from me. The pies are small enough for a determined individual (like myself) to finish in one sitting.
Overall, one of the best nights I’ve had with Unilocal.I can’t say enough about not only the high quality of the food, but also the owners and staff, who really went out of their way to show us a good time.

This place rocks! Owners Anthony and Rose and their staff treated us like royalty! Gotta admire Anthony’s story for mustering up the courage and following his dream of opening a restaurant after working on Wall Street for 10 years! The NYSE? Fuhgeddaboudit! And I’m glad he did!
The arugula salad to start injected me with some much needed greens. Simple, but to the point.
The arancini was banging and the addition of the cheese was spot on.
As for the pork sliders (porchetta), mad props for putting pork on fresh ciabatta three ways. The crunch on that skin … ridiculous. Reminded of a pork rind.
The beef sandwiches (lampredotto) was so nice and tender.
Their goal of getting pizza from the time the order is placed to the table within 7 – 10 minutes was right on the money. I went with the tartufo, but tried some others around my table. All of them were good, but I’m glad I made the choice I did. I’m such sucker for truffle.
The ONLY thing I didn’t get to try were the zeppoles, in part because everyone else hogged them, but also because I was STUFFED.
Many thanks to the couple for A) opening this place and B) inviting us Unilocalers to sample the menu. Props to the staff too for bringing their A game and for Christina and Jando too for filling Steph’s big (not literally) shoes.

This was a great event. Thanks to Anthony and his staff for hosting the event.
The restaurant has a great feel. Anthony’s, the owner, is proud to Hang pictures of his family in the restaurant. He explained how he started the restaurant.
Dinner started with arancini and salad. Next up were porchetta and lampredotto sandwiches.
After the sandwiches, it was time for the main event, the pizza. Anthony explained the pizza only takes 90 seconds to cook. We were able to customize our own pizza. The pizzas came out quick and were very flavorful.
While eating the pizza, Anthony’s dad came around and let us sample their hot honey. All I can say is wow. If you like sweet and spicy, this is a MUST.
For dessert we were treated to zeppoles.
While the food was great, the atmosphere was great and event was fun I was most impressed with how much Anthony truly cared how about his staff. It is refreshing to know a business owner cares about the people who work him for him.

Another YEE = another 5 stars. This is also one of those PIZZA events that I feel like giving a ‘+’, but I can’t. Oh well! (9^th Elite/​13^th General/​2ND FAVORITE For 2015!)
We walked in, and got greeted by our hosts Christina, and the Queens CM Jando. Following that, we proceeded to grab a seat at a table. I sat with a mix of Unilocalers that I met at previous events, and the ones that I’ve never met before until now (you all know who you are!). Following that, some of us proceeded to grab some wine.
Since I didn’t feel like drinking any of that, I grabbed a cup for the Freestyle machine. All of the Unilocalers here were able to get complimentary soda. I grabbed some Cherry Vanilla Pibb Xtra, Vanilla Sprite, and later on, just water. All of that was perfect to quench the thirsts of Unilocalers who didn’t want to drink any booze that night. Some other Unilocalers grabbed some brewed, complimentary iced tea too.
But we got more than just pizza. After meeting and greeting some Unilocalers, we started off with some arugula salad. It was just lettuce with cheese shavings and a vinaigrette dressing. It was just okay.
Next were the Arancini Risotto Stuffed Rice Balls. It consisted of a hard rice coating with a rice and mozzarella cheese filling inside. They arrived to our table hot and fresh. Even though I thought the coating was a little hard, the filling was really tasty!
Following that were the two sliders. The first one were the Porketta Sliders. This consisted of pork, arugula, and some other seasoning on a ciabatta bun. The bun was chewy, and the pork was tender and juicy. Overall, that was pretty good.
Next were the Lampredotto Sliders. This consisted of roast beef with pesto sauce and some Parmesan cheese within a ciabatta bun. I thought this slider had more flavor and juiciness than the Porketta one. I actually prefer this one over the Porketta.
Well, it wouldn’t be a pizza party… without PIZZA! For this, Unilocalers had to sign their name tag with a group number of their choice. Then when their group number was called, they had to line up to order their pizza with anything that they wanted from the menu. The pizza ordering began after the appetizers were served.
I was with group ‘1’, and we were the first to line up. Not only that, but I was also the 1^st one to place my order. I ordered my customized Margherita pie with pepperoni, ricotta and shaved Parmigiano cheeses, and prosciutto. I really enjoyed watching the employees prepare my pizza and bake it in their unique oven.
After waiting, my pizza was the first to come out and get snapped at. I noticed that they didn’t put prosciutto on, but a more expensive type of salami (yeah, I don’t remember the name of this, but only the brief explanation — lol). But at least they placed it on the end. Everything tasted hot, fresh, and delicious, which made myself feel quite happy. At least now I can say that I had more prosciutto and that other premium topping. I ate most of the pie, and then took the rest home.
I also tried some hot honey too. This was honey with a spicy kick. This was a fine combination of sweet and spiciness. That was definitely worth sampling.
For dessert, we were served with shareable Zeppolis. This consisted of a deep-​fried doughnut covered with powdered sugar. It was pretty good. Everyone else seemed to like it.
All the Unilocalers walked out with Unilocal beer can sleeves, mini pins, and mints. The staff members were attentive and provided excellent service. It was nice to know the history of their business. The fact that this place has free parking for it’s patrons was a HUGE plus. Finally, the participation of photo ops with the professional photographer (thank you!) was a lot of fun.
I left the event with a FULL stomach, which is always a good feeling. Thanks to YoSteph and the great staff members for organizing this awesome event. Also, thanks to Christina and Jando for hosting the event. Folks, as always, it was a pleasure seeing and meeting you all. Stay in touch!

There is a lot of energy and vibrancy to Urban Fire. The owner, a transplant from Brooklyn, is on a mission to bring Italian «street food» to Madison, New Jersey.
The inside space has brick walls in places, is brightly lit with an interesting chandelier and also a space with family photos. It’s a very family friendly atmosphere!
The food… we started off with a large bowl of «Rocket Salad», which was arugula, drizzled with a homemade vinaigrette, with chunks of Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese, which offset the bitter taste of the arugula. (Note: this restaurant is big on «make your own» meals and you can customize your own salad with various toppings).
Next we moved on to a risotto ball. It had a crunchy outside and was filled with mozzarella and prosciutto. Very tasty! It was served with fresh tomato sauce.
Onward…two sandwiches were served next. The first was called porchetta and was roasted pork topped with «cracklings» (even more roasted pork). Arugula topped off the small sandwich and there was also salsa verde.
Next I was served the best roast beef sandwich ever! (And I don’t care for roast beef usually). This was Italian beef, slow cooked served with salsa verde on a fresh ciabatta roll.
Well, at this point I was stuffed but there was more to come! Each person got to pick their own pizza which could be individualized to suit your taste. We started with a choice of four different bases which were margherita (crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, pecorino romano), tomato (no cheese added), bianco (white pie) or verde (green pie with fresh mozzarella, basil pesto and pecorino romano). I went with the verde.
Step 2 to the pizza was choosing from various toppings and there was quite an extensive list to choose from. The list included everything from artichoke hearts to truffle cream or even roman bacon or hot honey or broccoli rabe. I can’t even list them all.
You could finish with a drizzle of EVOO, roasted garlic & herb olive oil or hot chili pepper infused olive oil.
Dessert…yes, I was beyond stuffed but the zeppoles were brought out for us. (I took mine home). They were freshly cooked.
All in all… a very nice restaurant, good food set in a family friendly atmosphere. I would like to return.

Thanks to Anthony and Rose this was an awesome event! They were so welcoming and made us feel like family.
The atmosphere is really nice. I liked the open garage door for an outdoor dining experience feel.
The food was terrific! The shaved parmigiano on the salad was great.
I loved the freshly made customized pizzas. Cooked perfectly!

What an amazing event and thank you so much to Anthony along with the whole Urban Fire family for having us!!!
First off, you can definitely feel the love and dedication that Anthony, Rose, and his whole family put into this place. The way he talked so passionately about the restaurant was amazing. They also walked around and talked to everyone, which was amazing.
I loved the décor of the place. It’s so bright and clean in there.
And let me say, the food was amazing. Absolutely out of this world. I’m not even a big pork person and that pork sandwich had me begging for more! There was so much food! The arugula salad was a great start. The rice balls were so cheesy and amazing. Then the two sliders were awesome. On top of all this, we got to make our own pizzas!
Let me say, that hot honey was AWESOME. I really wanted to just pour that down my throat. I had ordered some on my pizza but I went and added even MORE. Also, any place that puts on egg on it is amazing so yes, my pizza definitely had an egg on it.
Then, they ended with zeppoles — wha?! Let me say those were the best zeppoles I’ve ever had. I usually don’t get them because I’m a messy eater. I had powdered sugar all over my face and dress but didn’t even care. So good!
Also, met some amazing Unilocalers, who were awesome. Shout out to my table! Had so much fun meeting all of you!!!
Cannot wait for the next event. Thank you, Urban Pizza and thank you to the Unilocal team!!!

Ahh I don’t even know where to begin except to state the obvious. this was a great event! Urban Fire closed down their restaurant to host this Unilocal event and it was packed!
The event started out with some arugula salad and Arancini (crispy rice balls with mozzarella). After some light bites, the owner, Anthony introduced himself and explained the concept of his restaurant, how he got into doing what he loves and the importance of family and treating everyone like family. Anthony, his father, wife and the Urban Fire staff definitely treated us like family last night — everyone was so sweet, attentive and passionate about providing great service and great food.
When Anthony was explaining to us what we would be eating next, my mouth was already watering. The next menu item was the Porchetta sandwich. Oh my lord, this was fantastic — pretty much it’s a pork within a pork in a pork (hand-​carved roasted pork top with pork cracklings). We also had the Lampredotto sandwich which was incredible. The pesto sauce added a great touch to both sandwiches and I LOVED the bread that went with these sandwiches. After that, it was pizza time! We got to customize our own pizza! Since there were so many Unilocalers, there were waves of 4 groups — each pizza takes 90 seconds in the oven and then it’s ready! Adam D. was in the first wave and was so kind to let me try his Tartufo pizza (which was what I was going to order initially but then I figure we should try more items so I went with the Molta Carne). Wade C. got the Del Mare pizza. All I gotta say is wow, everything was so flavorful! At this point, we are so stuffed and carbed up we couldn’t finish our pizza but we were allowed to take it home. Yay! Oh, and I also got some of that spicy honey for my pizza too. Probably the most interesting honey I’ve ever tasted. It had that sweet honey taste in the beginning. and then BAM surprise, it’s spicy! Mmmmm!
Just when I thought I couldn’t stuff anymore food in my mouth, zeppoles came out! I’m thinking to myself. «I really shouldn’t eat anymore» but then who am I kidding? I shouldn’t take this home, this zeppole is going to taste 10000x better when it’s fresh! Haha. They were so good!
Thank you to Anthony, Rose, Anthony’s father, the Urban Fire staff, Christina and Jando for hosting an amazing event. I’m so glad I know about Urban Fire now because I’ll definitely be back!

Ok coming from an Italian background I found Urban Fire a real delight! From the family pictures of several generations of Anthony’s relatives on the wall to the farm style de stressed tables with metal chairs. The trendy garage style doors that open up to get fresh air. Some outdoor seating. This place has a warm yet very clean feel. Even the lighting was very unique. In the corner facing out is a large wood fire burning oven 800 degrees of grandiose cooking!
Anthony, his wife Rose and his dad along with his staff are the real deal as far as doing it from scratch the old fashion way with a twist. They us the freshest and best ingredients. He keeps it simple but authentic! We started with tender and light arugula salad topped with shavings of fresh Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The greens were lightly dressed with a lemon vinaigrette .
Next we ate Arancini– risotto stuffed rice balls with mozzarella. So crispy and oozing with fresh melted mozzarella cheese. I dipped mine in their marinara sauce. Anthony’s dad kept having me taste bf our food came out… Yum !
When I saw Porchetta (, Porchetta is a savoury, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then roasted.) It was so delicious I knew I died and went to Heaven. That crispy crackling crust.
The porchetta was broken up with the cracklings and placed on a ciabatta bun, topped w/​arugula and salsa verde which gives it a lemony fresh taste.
Guanciale (from either the pork Joel or cheek.) They made bacon. I knew I was in for a treat. Nice to see on their menu.
The impredotto– aka Italian beef cooked in it’s own natural au jus was very tender and juicy.
The pizza is Neapolitan style, crispy brick oven pizza, customized ur way from the bottom of the pizza layer to the finishing oils.
I got the Del Mare pizza. Rock shrimp, pesto, sun-​dried tomatoes, garlic, oregano, red chili fiakes, EVOO. The shrimp were cooked perfectly. They didn’t skimp on the pesto or other toppings. What blew me away was this HOT HONEY! It was sweet and a bit hot at the same time. OMG! I couldn’t get enough of it. It really balanced out my pizza. I was totally stuffed by now but once I heard Zeppoli that was it! I had to try one. Deep fried light dough put in a paper bag and dusted with confectionary sugar served warm. Oooo sooo good!
Urban Fire is a BYOB. Liquor store around the corner. Christina brought in white and red wines .plus we helped ourselves to large variety of sodas.
This place is right near Chipotle in a strip mall with free parking.
The owners Anthony and Rose couldn’t have been nicer. They really love what they do and hire very hard working staff from HS and college. They truly bent over backwards to make sure everyone tasted and got what they needed. Hey, he’s a fellow pisano what can I say!
Our host for the evening was Christine P, jondo S, and Nelson our event photographer. They really did a great job with this event! Steph has big shoes to fill!
It was fun catching up with old friends from Unilocal.I enjoyed meeting new people too.
I must say I can’t wait to return to try some other dishes and talk with Rose and Anthony, and his dad…

Wow, just wow! This one was definitely a treat worth driving all the way to Madison for! First, let me just say I had so much fun meeting fellow Unilocal Elites of NJ who came last night. What an amazing crowd. Secondly, thank you so much to Anthony&Rose who really really generously fed us and for the Unilocal team who organized this event.
I came here 30 minutes early because I kinda just wanted to order some small bites on my own before the event as a ‘normal’ customer. But Rose just kinda knew I was with the Unilocal Elite event and suggested that I shouldn’t because they were going to feed us a lot. And by a lot, it turns out that she really meant A LOT LOT.
Started off with wine and salad, then the arancini rice balls that are so cheesy-​yummy. I kinda thought we were here to just sample appetizers at first, but there came the pork inside a pork inside a pork sandwich as well as the beef sandwich+juicy dip. The porchetta (I’d call it porkception) sandwich was so crispy yet still so juicy, which is perfect.
Just when I thought we were done with food, the next part of the dinner was build your own pizza. I chose to go light with the veg which was one of their specialty pies. I thought there was no way for me to finish it because the pie was pretty big for a personal pie. But it was just so good that after my first bite, I managed to go through a quarter of the pie: D
Again, I thought we were done done with food. But then a magical white paper bag came to our table. As it was opened, powdered sugar started to «steamed» up to the air. Zepolles! The typical Zepolles I’ve had so far are pretty greasy, but not the ones they made! Very crusty on the outside yet light and soft inside.
On a side notes, their hot honey is amazebots. I can put it on anything. Sweet beginning with a hot ending. And today I brought my leftover pie for lunch to work and bragged about «this amazing pizza place down in Madison that I went to with Unilocal Elites» to all my coworkers: D

Urban Fire was another awesome event with a really great owner in Anthony giving an awesome speech about the idea of his spot, and where he’s come from to get here.
Nice location and seating was great, since you get to chat with fellow Unilocalers and meet new people. Anthony and the crew did a great job with everything they prepared.
–Home made rice risotto balls: Had about four of these; couldn’t stop. They were delicious paired with the marinara sauce. There was also nice mozzerella inside, which had a great texture.
–Porketta sliders: fantastic. Pork wrapped in pork belly with a delicious, crispy taste.
–Roast beef sliders with pesto sauce and parmesan: another hit. By the time the pizza was ready to order, we were stuffed!
–Molta Carne specialty, personal pie: Had two slices, and had to take the rest home. The pizza was great, and, paired with the hot honey sauce that people loved, this was a home run.

Anthony and his crew were amazing! Big ups to Christina and the Unilocal family for another HIT!
Love to concept. I loved Anthony’s explanation of his concept too. People don’t want fast food but they want food pretty fast. Comparison to Chipotle’s style of restaurant was spot on.
The arugula salad was dressed to perfection. The Porchetta was UNBELIEVABLE. The rice balls with risotto twist were awesome and I had at least 4. The pork and roast beef sandwiches with the pesto were by far my favorites.
I ordered the D.O.P. and added mushrooms. I was only able to eat two slices, but packaged up the rest to eat at home tonight! The hot honey sauce that they were sending around to dress the pizza with was a unique and exciting complement. I loved that!
Missed the zeppoles but I will definitely be back! Thanks for the wine Unilocal

The event was spectacular. The food was absolutely amazing. I could not believe that Urban Fire was able to make a pizza per individual at the event in such a timely fashion AND how DELICIOUS it was. The owner Anthony was hilarious and truly inspirational. His wife was a sweet heart and his father. I’ll be making to drive to dine here in the near future for sure.
Thanks to the entire staff at Unilocal and Urban Fire for having this event. It was to die for.
ANYONE WHO IS CRAVING PIZZA… I beg of you to try this joint; you will NOT leave disappointed.

I can’t say enough good things about this place! This is the best restaurant in Madison!
No joke, when I’m too tired to cook my husband runs to Urban Fire with no complain. Thanks Anthony for feeding my man lol…
To be invited to an event at a place that we already love eating at was such a treat. Love the thin crust pizza and unlimited options of toppings, talk about fresh greens, and the most deilcious sauces. I like to add loads of fresh arugula to my pizza and always make a taco out of it so I can get it all in with one bite. One pie per Unilocaler, custom made, awesome!
The small things mean so much to me like all the delicious caffeine free options. I stop driking caffeine 3 months ago and the soda machine here is such a treat. For dessert we got zeppoles, I was so stuffed, but you know I made room.
YoSteph we missed u! Thanks fro setting this up. Jando it was awesome to see again!

I’m gonna bump up against the character limit because I just have so many good things to say about this! Anthony was one of the best hosts ever and it leaves such a favorable impression. He keeps the place clean, he loves his staff and only hires the best people, he’s always got a smile or a joke. The rest of his family is the same way — his dad even helped out all night! True team effort and that alone makes me want to come back here and recommend it. He bills the place as «authentic Italian street food» and I have to say, that really comes across. It’s simple but delicious, and everything is SO FRESH.
The event itself? About as flawless as one could ask. Maybe the place was a bit crowded, but they did well to get as many Unilocalers as possible in a small space! They had a great idea to divide us into 4 groups so we didn’t overcrowd the pizza ordering line. I hope more places try that in the future.
I’m saving most of the words for the food. It was so good, at time I didn’t even have words for it. The meal opened with the rocket salad, arugula with shaved parmiagiano. The leaves and cheese were both crisp and snappy — truly tasted fresh and a great start for such a simple dish. Next came arancini, which are lightly fried mozzerella-​stuffed risotto balls. These would not work deep-​fried, but the breading gave a perfect crunch against the stringy cheese and creamy rice. They came with «gravy» (sauce), unfortunately maybe not quite enough per arancina, but there were bits of cheese (I think — or maybe garlic?) in the sauce. It was so good that when seconds were offered, I didn’t hesitate. (I was already regretting letting the spare arancina get away down the table!) One thing — they’re not really shaped well to eat with utensils. People tried to cut them with a fork and knife — just grab one in your hand and chomp away!
I’ll throw in a shout-​out to everyone who brought wine, including communal bottles and personal bottles shared with tables. I didn’t partake, so I didn’t bring any, but it was a classy and generous gesture from all of you!
Now to the main courses. We got two sandwiches in mini format, the porchetta and lampredotto. For the English speakers, porchetta is pork loin inside pork belly topped with cracklins. I had to take a photo because that really made the sandwich extraordinary. The porchetta was crunchy, creamy, and salty with the combination of layers. Anthony’s father came around with spare cracklins so I had some extra «dessert» with the course. I’d say this sandwich would be even more rad hot than cold. Next, the lampredotto is roast beef with salsa verde, and it was served with bowls of jus for dipping (or in my case, pouring/​drenching). With the jus moistening and seasoning the meat, everything really came together on that dish. It all makes me wonder how many thousands of rolls (mini and full size) they must bake!
Finally, (after ALL THAT FOOD STILL) we got to make our own pizzas, the highlight of the evening. I came up with a tomato pie (since it has the sauce with the fresh garlic) and then added my own cheeses, gorgonzola and ricotta, along with guanciale («Roman bacon») and grilled onions, topped with a drizzle of hot chili olive oil. Anthony’s father brought around the hot honey, and I have to say it REALLY worked with my pie perfectly, so I went nuts with it. The crust is out-​of-​this-​world impeccable. It’s light and airy, but doughy and charred. Perfection, especially when serving this many people! Amazing job. Top it all off with zeppole for dessert. Covered in powdered sugar, it tasted just like a beignet, and that’s a high compliment.
In the spirit of Anthony giving shout outs to his family, his staff, and us his guests, I want to give a shout out to our great hosts for filling in for Steph Y. (we miss you!) and making this event come off without a hitch. It was great to meet Jando and the rest and I look forward to seeing you at the next event!

Big thanks to Anthony S. who is the man! And his dad, too! Thanks to Christina P, Jando and Stephanie Y (who set this up)! And don’t forget Anthony’s sweatheart, Rose! And last but not least, the awesome staff of Urban Fire!
Fan of personal customized thin crust pizzas with fresh ingredients? Come right here! Ok I stole this line from my own review of Urban Fire. Here’s another line stolen from none other than Anthony S… «Anyone who doesn’t LOVE this place is a communist!!!»
So the place was packed, Anthony opened up the entire restaurant to just us Unilocalers and we all sat at tables family style. That is my favorite Unilocal event setup as it allows us to get good conversation in with our fellow Unilocalers and meet new people. We started with the Arugula Salad and got to sample both awesome fried cheese balls, the Arancini and the Pellini in delicious soak-​it-​all-​up marinara sauce. Then we got to sample slider versions of the Italian sandwiches, the Porchetta and the Lampredotto which were awesome!
Then came THE SPEECH. This was the Mother of all Unilocal-​Event-​Owner-​Speeches. Anthony went on to explain how his restaurant caters to today’s trend of eaters who want food fast but not fast food. All ingredients used are super fresh and authentic Italian. Then came the highlight. He explained how Urban Fire and its customers are like family. I live right down the block and come here quite often and I can attest to that statement. It truly is like a family every time you walk in here.
On to the pizza! We went up in groups of 10 so it was well organized and not chaotic. We gave our custom order of personal pizza to lovely Rose and a few minutes later, out came Anthony’s dad yelling your name and handing you your pizza. I got the Quattro Formaggi (4 cheese) with sausage and truffle cream. It was amazing as always.(and is excellent reheated as well) The combination of the 4 cheeses, some funkier than others, made it a party in the mouth, so smooth and creamy, too.
It was great catching up with old Unilocal friends and I enjoyed meeting new people at our table. It was really an excellent group of Unilocalers this night and it was all made possible by the staff of Urban Fire who we are all so thankful for the great job they did.

Hot honey! Hot honey! Hot honey!
No, I’m not catcalling the numerous beautiful Unilocal ladies. I’m simply talking about one of the best discoveries of this event. Habanero type heat mixed with honey sweetness. I’m gonna start using this for everything from tea to chicken and waffles to dessert.
Great job by Christina and special guest Jando. It was also fun sitting family style with a good group of Unilocal Elite.
However, major kudos to Anthony and his family for making us feeling like royalty. Anthony’s father with his limitless energy bringing us all of our pizzas. That itself was service way beyond what we could ask for.
The food was amazing. A generous amount of arugula and parmigiano to start. Arancini and mozzarella/​ricotta balls. Pork belly and Italian dipped roast beef sliders. All the stuff to this point was good enough to be considered a meal. But of course they had to throw in pizza.
Your choice of any combination of pizza toppings available. I went with rock shrimp and guanciale with broccoli rabe and roasted garlic. The crust was thin and had a nice char to it. It was surprisingly was foldable — almost like a pita or even naan. The flavor was delicious. Well charred and seasoned.
And if that wasn’t enough, fresh homemade zeppoles.
Overall, a great Unilocal event and a pretty good indication of what you can expect from the restaurant on a regular night.

The real deal! This smooth operation highlighted Anthony’s hardworking staff and family including his awesome wife, Rose and super dad. It was such a treat to finally meet the great Jando S. and Christina P. Thanks, yo, and thanks YoSteph!
An amazing evening began with a Rocket salad of arugula and parm with a vinaigrette dressing, Arancini (rice/​risotto cheese balls), Polpetti (meatballs) (See my old review for descriptions. Quality was consistent:
), Porchetta (roast pork, cracklings, and arugula in a ciabatta roll– YES!), and Lampredotto (juicy beef with salsa verde also in ciabatta roll). I was already full but had my very own personal custom Verde Pizza with pesto sauce, an egg, anchovies, and shrimp. Super fresh. F-​ing delicious! They provided custom pies to EVERYONE but I never felt rushed.
Excellent food. Excellent service. A true New Jersey treasure.