Luigi Gallo, originally from Queens and raised in Napoli, brings his passion for authentic cuisine, high-quality ingredients, and sustainability to set a new standard for pizza in New York, redefining the Italian dining experience.
Gallo’s love for Italian cuisine began early and is deeply influenced by his Italian heritage. “Italians are the only people who speak about food when they are eating,” he says. “Italians talk about food 24 hours a day.”
When Gallo moved to Napoli as a child, he discovered the stark difference between what he had known as Italian cuisine and the authentic flavors of Italy. “There are 600 types of bread in Italy, and the difference between one tomato and another is really serious,” he says.
In Italy, Gallo became immersed in the world of traditional Italian cooking at home and through his work in marketing for food companies in Naples. He says, “I fell in love with food and started going deeper and deeper.”
As the director of the renowned Starita Pizza Academy, one of Napoli’s oldest pizzerias (which has expanded to other Italian cities and even to Bangkok), he traveled globally, sharing the secrets of authentic Neapolitan pizza and deepening his understanding and respect for the many high-quality ingredients available. Gallo discovered many small companies that produce the finest ingredients, such as San Marzano tomatoes, and felt passionate about growing, learning, and teaching other nations about the culture of southern Italian food.
Gallo now brings high-quality ingredients to many countries, restaurants, and chefs, and he is a leading supplier of specialty Italian goods in New York City. His commitment to authenticity and quality is evident in every aspect of his work: he only shares the products he personally loves.
By importing the finest ingredients from Napoli, he ensures that people can enjoy the essence of Italian cuisine. His commitment to sustainability is reflected in his choice of local, small-scale producers and environmentally-friendly practices, working with those who share his values.
The dedication to using fresh, top-notch ingredients not only enhances the dining experience but also contributes to better health, aligning with a broader understanding of the benefits of healthy eating, including disease prevention, improved mental health, and healthy weight management.
With over 25 years of global culinary experience, Gallo has come to New York City to blend tradition and innovation at NA Slice, showcasing the high-quality ingredients he’s so passionate about. The name “NA Slice” comes from the word “Napoli” as well as the Neapolitan translation of “una” meaning “one slice.” He describes NA Slice not as a restaurant, but instead as a high-quality fast casual spot. The menu features a variety of pizza and pasta dishes, as well as the newly piloted NA Lasagna, showcasing nine different kinds of lasagna. On the horizon (and pending a wine license), they plan to expand to serve wine with salumi.
Gallo says it's a challenge to educate customers about authentic southern Italian cuisine, which differs significantly from Italian American cuisine. He mentions pineapple pizza, buffalo ranch pizza, and pasta with Alfredo sauce—none of which you will find in southern Italy.
His kindhearted nature lends itself to educating customers and adapting to their preferences. When recently asked for a pineapple pizza, Gallo explained that the high acidity from tomato combined with high acidity from pineapple didn’t work well together, so instead, he created a white pizza with smoked mozzarella and pineapple.
His passion about high-quality ingredients goes beyond having tomato sauce free from additives and highlighting the whole tomato, like authentic San Marzano tomatoes, which are canned whole. He says the climate in southern Italy creates the ideal agricultural environment, allowing crops to grow full of nutrients and flavor. In Italy, tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini all have much more flavor compared to those in the U.S., he says. In contrast, the integrity of ingredients in the U.S. has been compromised, as they are often filled with preservatives and pesticides.
Gallo highlights flour and milk as other examples. The pizzas and pastas at NA Slice all use Italian flour. “You will never find American flour in Europe,” he explains. His lab found that a sample of American flour was comprised of 30% pesticide and other poisons, which are not allowed to be sold, not just in Italy, but throughout Europe.
Gluten intolerance is more common in the U.S. than in Italy, and he believes this is due to the way our flour is modified. Additionally, he explains that the milk and cheese we consume contain antibiotics from the animals. “Our cuisine is balanced,” he says. “You have the flavor of everything that is inside, and you don’t have to cover it.”
Gallo says one of his dreams for NA Slice is to evoke the days when people shopped at little stores for each ingredient–such as salumerias and pasticcerias–to feel more connected to where the food comes from.
