Via Cuma

Welcome to the inaugural post in my new food series! This is an attempt to catalog some of the unique eateries I find myself in every now and then.

I live in New York, which is home to one of the most culturally diverse areas in the world. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island are all places that I'm lucky enough to call home, and I've never truly explored what makes my home special. I hope to document and share my adventures and share with the world why New York is the greatest place on earth.

The reason I wanted to start this little project stems from wanting to show some friends around town. While I know a lot of neat little places in Manhattan, it's a big city. It's a living and breathing place that shifts and changes every day. A shop that could be a staple of 20+ years can be gone in a day, so it helps to keep track of places that you enjoy.

I wanted to find some places to share that would make this trip for them worth it. I started scouring the internet for some of the best places in the city and noted them all down. I've found some recommendations from all over the place, and there are 3 people that I would like to thank for suggesting some amazing spots through their work.

First would be Rob Martinez, a creator who spotlights the stories and foods of places all across the world (mostly NY). Next would be the "Culinary King of Queens", Joe Distefano. DiStefano has spent the last 20+ years of his life sharing the stories of every eatery in Queens. And finally, Erica Marcus. She's been with Newsday since 1998 and has been highlighting the culinary treasures of Long Island and sharing everything she can.

This first little write-up is thanks to her.

In August of 2024, a pizzeria opened up that is off a street I pass by pretty often. My mom drives by it every workday and yet I only just heard of it.

Via Cuma is home to is the home of Luca Schiano Di Cola, an Italian transplant, now finding himself in NY.

What makes Via Cuma special is that they use sourdough for their pizza dough. With pizza, the dough is the most important part. Most people think it's either the sauce or the cheese, and while that's important, a pizza is only as good as its crust.

One of the benefits of using sourdough is that you get some insane leopard spotting. People love to see this and for good reason, it's a sign of an amazing dough and a well-cooked pizza. You can see the love, care, and effort put into making this pizza great.

I ended up ordering two different pies. I got a personal-size Diavola and a large Margherita. The Margherita uses the house San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella imported from Italy, Parmigiano Reggiano, olive oil, and basil. The Diavola is the same, except it's topped with soppressata.

A friend had some Diavola pizza the other day so they suggested it to me. I've never had it but man was it good. I also got the Margherita as it's as close as I'm gonna get to a cheese pie, and because it's vegetarian.

The one gripe I had with the pizza was that it was very floppy and had no structure.

Now while I've had all kinds of pizza throughout my years, this is definitely in the top 10 of floppy slices. With that said, it's Neapolitan pizza and not NY-style. It didn't have the best conditions. There were about 40 minutes between the time it was cooked, to landing on my plate so it probably was a bit less floppy. I tossed a slice in the toaster oven to crisp up, and that did wonders.

Overall, a very solid pizza pie, and a great way to kick off this adventure. Definitely some of the best Neapolitan I've had and I'm excited to order from here more often. I can't wait to taste some more amazing food soon.

Via Cuma, 415 Rockaway Ave., Valley Stream, 11580. Website

As always, I will leave you with a few words.

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