At first, when I heard that the team behind Utopia Bagels was opening a pizza parlor, I was like... OK, easy there guys. The legendary Queens outfit was founded in 1981, and routinely appears on every "Best Bagel" list. Like, how many iconic New York food categories do you want to get involved with? What's next, a meat patty place? A pineapple pork bun bakery?
Turns out, though, that pizza-making runs deep in two of the three owners at Long Island City's spanking new Jax Pizza Joint—twin brothers Angelo and Jimmy Tsoulosm are third-generation NYC pizza purveyors. "My grandfather had a pizzeria in Brooklyn for 40 years, Pizza Chef on Fulton Street," Angelo told Hell Gate. "And my father ran about 15 Patsy's Pizzerias at one point, all in Manhattan. He just closed his last one a month or so ago. But he still has Angelo's on 57th Street."
