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Taste Of The Town: Eleventh Street Pizza Delights Classic Pizza Lovers Focused On Deliveries

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- With the motto "We all gotta eat" which also bears the hospitality group's name, restaurateur David Foulquier is hard at work at his newest eatery Eleventh Street Pizza in the arts and entertainment district of Downtown Miami.

This was the former location of his popular restaurant Fooqs, which opened in 2015, but sadly did not survive through COVID shutdowns last year.

"Clearly the Fooqs experience was about close tables and bistro style dining with people rubbing up on each other and hearing each other's conversations," Foulquier said. "It's everything you can't do in a pandemic. Everything that COVID has turned into a big no-no."

He soon realized this location, which is near the performing arts center and the sports arena, would be the perfect place for takeout with a few tables outside.

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(CBS4)

There are plans for it to be a real New York style sit down pizza joint when inside dining fully comes back.

"We definitely encourage you to take one of the five or six tables we have outside and enjoy it here if you like it.  If not, there's really nice reheating instructions that we spend some time putting on Instagram for everybody so they can have an easy reheat.

David's partner is his girlfriend Danielle, who helps with everything including social media.

The maestro alongside side him in the kitchen is Italian born Aquiles Bisogni, who was a pie-maker for 29 years at the original Joe's Pizza on Carmine Street in New York's West Village, where David went often.

"For me, pizza was a huge part of my life growing up in New York City. Pies all the time after school were $.99 cent slices. You're spoiled when you grow up in New York City because there's just a good slice on every corner," said Foulquier.

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The Carmine cheese pizza from Eleventh Street Pizza (CBSS)

CBS4's Lisa Petrillo began her tasting with The Carmine cheese pizza inspired by that New York pizza spot.

"It's such a balancing thing when it's all about understanding how much cheese to how much sauce," he explained.

"It is a balance thing," said Petrillo.  If there's too much sauce, it's overwhelming. This is perfect."

"That's what impressed me most with Aquiles when he came here. The guy knows the right balance. You can't teach that," Foulquier said.

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Meatball Puccia from Eleventh Street Pizza (CBS4)

Next, the Meatball Puccia sub, which is sourdough pizza dough that's fermented for 48 hours, turned into a sub.

"It's so amazing the meatball. You can just eat it alone. The bread is so crunchy and delicious and melty cheese," said Petrillo.

"It's fresh mozzarella that we make it in-house," he said.

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Spicy Caesar from Eleventh Street Pizza (CBS4)

Up next, the unique and tasty Spicy Caesar with little gem lettuce.

Finally, a cheese lover's dream; the homemade Stracciatella Pizza Pie.

"So, the Stracciatella is the key to this pizza," said Petrillo.

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Stracciatella Pizza from Eleventh Street Pizza (CBS4)

"I think so. We put it on the side for people so when they take it home and they can dollop it on themselves. But I like to be extra generous.  We add a little olive oil, little lemon zest, and some crumbled pistachios," he explained.

"It's decadence in a pizza and you don't even care, you just want to keep eating it," said Petrillo.

Eleventh Street Pizza is open five days a week, dinner only during the week and all-day lunch and dinner service on the weekends.

Click here for more info and to learn about specials, the additions of new pies and menu items.

If you want to try the Eleventh Street Pizza Meatballs at home, here's the recipe.  (Yields 28)

Ingredients:

  • 1 Lb. Ground Beef
  • 2 Lbs. Ground Pork
  • .5 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 1.5 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
  • 4 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan
  • 1 Large Spanish Onion-Chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons Garlic-Chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Basil-Chopped
  • 2 Tablespoon Parsley-Chopped

Directions:

  1. Caramelize onions and garlic until golden brown, cool.
  2. Once mixture of the onion and garlic is cool, add everything in a large mixing bowl and mix.
  3. Roll into medium size balls and put on a large sheet pan coated with oil or non-stick spray.
  4. Cook in convection oven at 450° for 15 minutes.
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