Barry Kalt is a New Yorker through and through. The chef and president of Mama Della’s N.Y. City Pizzeria (Map it!) prides himself on two things: fresh ingredients and traditional dishes.
“I’m all about the best there is,” Kalt says. “I make food for people as if I were making it for myself. Anyone who knows me knows how I am about quality. It is the hallmark.”
Those standards came from his father and Kalt’s own desire to succeed by presenting the freshest ingredients from time-tested family recipes.
“My father always said business is built on quality, and that’s what we do,” Kalt says. “I find the best ingredients I can and, hopefully, don’t mess it up.”
At Mama Della’s, you can get a New York-style slice of pizza, with the cheese pulling away from the pie as you bite into it. Kalt makes the dough each day by hand.
The bottom of the pie is crispy, but not burnt. The tomato sauce is made from fresh Italian tomatoes, and it never threatens to overwhelm the slice.
When Kalt first opened a year and a half ago, he had to teach himself how to prepare the pizza all over again as he hadn’t made it in two decades. But, he never cuts corners.
“The biggest challenge was recreating things the way they were from 35 years ago,” he says, mentioning how even though his family didn’t have a lot of money, there was never a bad meal at his house. “My stuff has no additives, no preservatives. It was difficult because when I opened, I noticed products that I once used had changed, companies changed, and they had all this nonsense added … I’m all about the best there is.”
Since Mama Della’s opened, he’s been at the restaurant from open to close every day, with the exception of a short trip to visit his 86-year-old mother, Adele, whose nickname is the inspiration behind the restaurant’s name. So far, he loves what Louisiana has taught him.
“I’ve learned more about cooking since I’ve been in Louisiana,” he says. “Living here has been a great culinary ride for me and continues to be.”
