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Many New Yorkers will tell you that the best pizza in the world can be found in the five boroughs. But Staten Island cousins and pizza restaurateurs Sal Basille and Francis Garcia are demonstrating there are other regions worth considering as Season 2 of their Cooking Channel series "Pizza Masters" gets going Wednesday, Sept. 23. "I always was under the same impression," Garcia admits of his own pro-New York pizza bias. "Like, you go to Los Angeles, the pizza is awful. You know, a lot of places in Florida, the pizza is awful. I mean, these are places that we'd frequent. We always went to Florida, our grandparents had a house there and you could never get good pizza – until Sal's uncles moved out there and they opened up a bunch of pizzerias and made a fortune. ... But you can find great pizza anywhere." Wednesday's episode takes the cousins and co-owners of the New York pizzerias Artichoke Basille's to Miami, where they sampled the artichoke pizza – their specialty – at Thea's Pizzeria. "Of course, we had to go there to try the artichoke pizza and it was really good," Garcia says. "It was totally different from ours and it was really a fun time." But they didn't try only the pie while in Florida's largest city. "We did Cuban sandwiches at this place called David's Cafecito," Garcia says. "And he had this Cuban coffee that was like rocket fuel – like you needed a Tylenol PM to go to bed at night. It was this insanely strong coffee and they serve it to you in little thimble-sized cups, that's how strong it is. The stuff should be like illegal." Later in the season, the cousins venture to Providence, R.I., where they try the grilled pizza. "It might be one of the best pizzas we've ever done on the show, really amazing," Garcia says. "... He grills the dough on an Argentinian grill. ... They didn't have pizza ovens and he wanted to put pizza on the menu so he claims to have invented grilled pizza." "I mean, it has a totally different flavor profile because you're getting that direct flame and it's just really good," he says. "... You eat it with a fork and knife. They don't cut it. They just throw it on a dish and you cut it at the table." What book are you currently reading? "It's called 'Many Lives and Many Masters.' My mom turned me on to it. It's fascinating. ..." What did you have for dinner last night? "I made crab legs. I love Alaskan king crab legs. I made grilled chicken on the barbecue. I grilled tomatoes. I grilled red onions. I grilled red peppers. Made it on my deck." What is your next project? "We just recently opened up a pizzeria on Park Slope (Brooklyn). ... It's right by the Barclay Center on 5th Ave. between St. Mark's and Bergen, so I've had my hands full with that. We're looking at other spaces. That's what keeps us busy, is trying to expand Artichoke." When was the last vacation you took, where and why? "It was in the Dominican Republic. We went to Las Terrenas. ... There's like 100 miles of untouched beachfront there, and this one little town that's settled, they have boulangeries and pizzerias and German food. It's all European. ... I felt like I was in the twilight zone. I was like, 'Where the hell am I?' " BY GEORGE DICKIE Sal Basile (left) and Francis Garcia Page 8 September 21 - 27, 2015 Look to Monday's Food Section for all your grocery shopping needs. Nobody Covers Your Hometown Better! • Carpet • Vinyl • Ceramic Mon.-Fri. 8-5 • Sat. 9-1 65669 US 33 East • Goshen 642-4770 TOLL FREE 1-877-642-4770 Area's Largest Selection of Remnants Large Inventory of Carpet, Laminate, Vinyl, and Luxury Vinyl Tiles! On or Off-Site Catering All Occasions Dine under the glow of gas lanterns Breakfast and Lunch Meals also available Open Tuesday through Saturday OEC Super Buffet 4024 Elkhart Rd Goshen IN 46526 Tel: 574-875-1298 Elk Lunch Monday-Friday 11am-3pm Adult $7.25 Children 2 years old $1.99 3-6 years old $3.50 7-10 years old $5.00 *Saturday Lunch $7.75 Dinner Monday-Friday 3pm-9:30 pm Adult $10.75 Children 2 years old $2.99 3-6 years old $4.50 7-10 years old $6.00 *Sunday Dinner Price ALL DAY $10.75 SENIOR DISCOUNT 10% PRICE Sports Fans Athlon Sports, the college basketball bible with a 3-month subscription to Goshen News. Get yours today FREE 114 S. Main, Goshen, IN 46527 574-533-2151 goshennews.com

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