Mixing Brazilian and Italian flavors and substances collectively, Brasiliana Pizza in Atlanta’s Berkeley Park neighborhood is shining the highlight on Brazil’s distinctive tackle pizza and a standard household meal meant to be loved across the kitchen desk.

To fold, or to not fold? In relation to consuming pizza in Brazil, there’s no query. Brazilian pizza is consumed utilizing a knife and fork, one thing proudly displayed on the takeout packing containers from Brasiliana Pizza. That is “Knife & Fork Pizza,” the slogan on the field reads. It’s not nearly being well mannered or valuable, Brazilian pizzas come loaded with a number of cheese and an abundance of toppings, weighing down the skinny crust and making utensils completely mandatory for consuming.

That is how Brazilians improved upon pizza after Italian immigrants introduced the long-lasting flatbread to the South American nation, says Brasiliana Pizza co-owner Thiago Finardi Machado.

“I actually consider the Brazilian pizza is one thing to discover extra [of] right here within the U.S.,” says Machado, who hails from São Paulo, Brazil, as soon as a metropolis with the second largest variety of pizza eaters on this planet, behind New York. “Pizza for us is basically vital. We’re born and raised consuming pizzas.”

Machado and co-owner Nicollie Conovalow opened Brasiliana Pizza in September 2021 on the Forrest Eatery ghost kitchen in Berkeley Park, a neighborhood simply north of Westside Provisions District on Howell Mill Street.

For Machado and Conovalow, pizza is a part of their private histories — and the historical past of Brazil. Each have Italian ancestors from Rovigo, a metropolis in northeastern Italy. Machado’s great-grandfather moved from Italy to Brazil within the early twentieth century, when the nation noticed an inflow of Italian immigrants.

At this time, Brazil is house to one of many world’s largest Italian populations, outdoors of Italy, with São Paulo serving as a hub for residents with Italian ancestry. The Portuguese phrase “Brasiliana” interprets to “Brazilian” in Italian.

Regardless of his household consuming pizza almost each weekend again house in Brazil, Machado says it wasn’t till he moved to the U.S. in 2016 that he realized to make the pies he grew up loving. Whereas working at Brazilian pizzeria Pie-Fection in Orlando, Machado met Conovalow, who had moved to Florida from São Paulo in 2018. Machado says it was at Pie-Fection the place the companions realized individuals had been discovering Brazilian pizza for the primary time, and falling in love with it.

When the homeowners of the Orlando pizzeria determined to not transfer ahead with opening an Atlanta location of Pie-Fection, Machado and Conovalow selected to open their very own Brazilian pizzeria right here. “I noticed this as an excellent alternative to share with extra cultures,” says Machado.

The menu at Brasiliana Pizza facilities on the most well-liked pies present in Brazil, which come topped with substances like boiled eggs, shredded rooster, slices of calabresa (Brazilian sausage), and requeijão (creamy Brazilian cheese identified generally as Catupiry.) Pizzas are then sprinkled with oregano to complete.

Brasiliana Pizza additionally dedicates a bit of its menu to pizzas doces (candy pizzas) generally present in Brazil, just like the Brigadeiro – a dessert pie with a gooey layer of thick fudge topped with chocolate sprinkles, based mostly on the Brazilian truffle – and churros in pizza type.

Dough for the pizzas is fermented for 72 hours and sauces for the pies are made contemporary every day within the kitchen. In true Brazilian style, the pizzas at Brasiliana come mild on sauce however with twice, generally 3 times, the quantity of cheese and toppings as an ordinary American pizza. Therefore the necessity for a knife and fork.

The mission behind Brasiliana Pizza, Machado says, is to supply pizzas that Brazilians, Italians, and People will all get pleasure from. This consists of serving authentic creations, too, such because the Favorita topped with Alfredo sauce, mozzarella and gorgonzola cheeses, caramelized onions, and arugula, in addition to extra acquainted kinds usually present in America.

Working out of Forrest Eatery allowed Machado and Conovalow to open rapidly once they arrived in Atlanta. They instantly began to construct a loyal buyer base, one thing Machado says has grown considerably since opening final fall, particularly among the many Brazilian neighborhood.

As for the longer term, Machado and Conovalow plan to proceed experimenting with pizzas for one more few months at Forrest Eatery to find out what’s and isn’t engaged on the menu. The aim is to finally transfer out of the ghost kitchen and open Brasiliana Pizza in its personal area, becoming a member of different profitable Brazilian eating places serving to to anchor individuals in Atlanta to their house nation of Brazil.

“After they eat our pizza, they are saying it appears like house,” Conovalow says. “We remind them of the moments that they used to have with their households in Brazil.”

800 Forrest Avenue, Atlanta. brasiliana.us. Open for takeout and supply solely.

Monday – Thursday, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Kris Martins is a Brazilian-American journalist exploring the intersection of the restaurant business and meals tradition. Her work has appeared in Eater Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal-Structure, Atlanta journal, and MyRecipes. When she’s not writing, she’s visiting a farmers market, sharing a enjoyable bottle of wine, or cooking a brand new recipe at house.