A few weeks ago B. and I spent an afternoon with Billy Manzo, raconteur, master pie maker and owner of Federal Hill Pizza, and his wife Christine at their original location on Chalkstone Avenue in Providence (They have another on Main Street in Warren and a third scheduled to open at T.F. Greene this year. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that their PVD space used to be the Castle Cinema in another life.) and experienced what I’ll call a pizza epiphany.

I mean, we love eating pizza, but when it comes to actually making it, well, that’s a whole other can of tomatoes.

First and foremost, Billy takes his pizza very seriously. He walked us thru his process and we were pretty impressed with his philosophy, attention to detail, and of course, the end result (aka, THE PIZZA we ended up noshing on).

When it comes to the dough, he uses three different flours and more water than most, resulting in a crust with air bubbles (We’re gonna look for those bubbles now whenever we tuck into a pie!) throughout that’s light yet still highly satisfying.

He also stressed how he makes his sauce from the best quality tomatoes without any additives like sugar or a ton of salt (anything beyond a pinch or two would be considered excessive).

And I almost forgot about the cheese! Billy is as passionate about the brand of cheese and the way it’s been cut (He is a spokesperson for his go-to brand of shredded just so mozzarella, Galbani.) as he is about every other part of pizza making.

We were also wow’ed by the space which definitely has a high cool factor. Billy and company pay homage to the past history with some of the decor (the film reels up on the wall in the photo above) and by keeping a projection screen up and hosting occasional screenings now and again. (Almost 100% certain I’ve seen them post on Instagram about this.)

At the end of the day, I feel like the size of the place combinded with the fun and eclectic aesthetic - not to mention the delicious pies - make it a perfect spot for a party or special event or something.

If you haven’t been, you’ll want to plan a pizza party with your friends or fam or both soon. When I posted about our Pizza Friday with Billy and Christine on IG originally, a friend who spends a lot of time in Warren commented (enthusiastically) about the Nutella dessert pizza at their restaurant there, so keep that in mind too.

For more info (I didn’t even get to the ovens, the converted refrigerator that functions as a warmer, or their sandwich menu.), stalk the Federal Hill Pizza page over on Insta. You’ll be soooo glad you did!