(angelic singing)
- [Scott] How often do you eat this thing?
- Never, I just lick my finger when I make it.
- My name is Scott.
I live and breathe pizza.
But Mark is a pizza purist.
- This is not pizza. (buzzer)
It's not pizza. (buzzer)
I'm about to kick you out.
- I'm trying to bring him the craziest pizzas I can find.
They all claim to be pizza, together we'll settle,
are they they "Really Dough?"
How often do you get flowers, 'cause this is like,
you don't have seating back here.
- No, I do in the summer time.
- You do?
- That's what I was trying to do.
Get this ready for summer.
- Dude it's not, the weather's disgusting.
- I don't think it's happening today.
- Are you doing any different pies for the summer?
- No, pretty much keep it the same thing.
- Yeah, you ever think about switching up,
do a little tiramisu, cheesecake, like some kind of dessert?
- No dessert.
Pizza and calzone, leave me alone.
(dramatic music)
- I mean every time I eat pizza
I need to follow it up with something sweet.
- Yeah, actually there's a place in the city in Gnocco.
- Yeah, I know Gnocco, in the East Village.
- Yes, it's actually one of the places
I went to right before I opened.
I wanted to check out their ovens.
And I happened to have a chocolate pizza there.
- Like dessert on a pizza thing?
- Yes.
- I've had — so I've had that. To me it's not a pizza
because it's just stuff on a dough, on a crust.
- How 'bout this?
Why don't you just run and grab one?
And we'll figure it out.
- Why not?
By the time I get back you better be hungry.
- Yep.
- The sweets.
(upbeat music)
I'm really excited to test Mark's limits
with a dessert pizza.
So I'm gonna get one of my favorite ones
in the East Village at a place called Gnocco.
Hey, Federico.
- Yo, what's up, Scott?
How are you?
- I'm doing alright.
I came by to grab a dessert pizza.
I wanna like bring one to Mark in Brooklyn
and figure out if it's a pizza or not a pizza.
- Alright, let me finish this
and we good to go, my friend.
Let's go.
- Sounds good.
You just leaving that - Oh man.
- for somebody else?
So I took my seat on the patio
and pondered my pizza predicament.
I know by now that Mark is a stickler.
- A pizza should look better than it tastes.
Sauce, cheese, and dough.
Make it really good, no exceptions.
- But what's not to like about chocolate pizza?
(upbeat music)
- Alright, it's gonna be three, it's gonna be two,
it's gonna one, let's go guys.
So we get the dough, a couple of slaps
and nice round sugar, now we stick it in,
very high flame.
Now we start counting.
Three, two, one.
Here we go, this is what you having.
Two big spoon of chocolate spread.
I put it little bit too much.
Don't tell my boss.
How 'bout some ricotta.
Alright.
It's little bit of strawberries,
blueberries, blackberries, red berries.
Anything you guys have.
More sugar.
Hazelnuts, pignoli nuts.
- Oh boy.
- Yeah, Scott, this is our dessert pizza.
Enjoy my friend.
- I will, well you gotta eat it with me.
- Absolutely not.
- What are you talking about?
- I don't eat desserts.
- Oh, snap.
You did not just say that.
- Yes.
- Alight fair enough.
Alright, I want to eat this.
- OK.
Please let's go it.
- Yeah.
I want to get the right one.
Ah, that one's gonna fall apart.
Use that hand.
I'm looking at it and just staring into its eyes
and just like whoa.
Can I kinda fold it?
Can you fold it?
Is that part of the definition?
Oh just ooze.
(laughing)
Without a doubt we've got a crust.
Instead of a sauce its got this hazelnut chocolate spread
and then we do literally do have cheese on this
with the ricotta cheese directly on top.
And then a counterpoint with some fruit, controversial.
And some nuts, also controversial.
But I feel like controversy tastes delicious so why not?
You gonna join me with this?
- Oh, it's not really my favorite.
- It tastes like garbage.
- Oh, I got the bigger one.
- You got the crunchy one.
You did get the bigger one.
- Oh, man.
Great.
- It's OK.
- Mm.
Oh bro, it's too sweet.
- Wuss. Come on man.
- I'm not dessert person.
Oh, sweet wine.
Whew!
- [Scott] OK, why is this a pizza?
- [Federico] Because it has the same dough of the pizza.
- I've had your sandwiches here with the pizza dough.
- They're fantastic.
- Yeah, they're not a pizza right?
- No, they sandwich.
- OK, thank you.
- We have cheese like ricotta.
We have a spread like tomato sauce, we use Nutella.
- [Scott] That's your sauce?
- Yes.
- The vast majority of the flavor
is coming from what's on top of the crust.
- Absolutely.
- And not the crust itself.
- [Federico] Absolutely, on this pizza, absolutely.
- You may as well spread that stuff on a napkin
and call it a day.
- It's gonna be fantastic.
- Is that all you need for something to be a pizza?
- This is New York 2018
and we need to just give something different to the people.
I think with pizza going through new situation.
- It doesn't read to my palate as pizza.
Because I'm used to pizza being this warm thing
with ingredients that have been cooked on top of it.
So to me this is straight dessert.
And I love it.
I love eating it.
- Because for me, tomato and cheese on the pizza dough.
- That's your definition of pizza?
- [Federico] Oh yeah. - Tomato and cheese?
- Yes, I mean that's how we were born
and raised in Italy, you know what I mean?
- Sauce, cheese, and dough, no exceptions.
- For you, for Federico, is this a pizza?
- This is just a dessert, you know what I mean?
- Definitely people are gonna look at this
and it's gonna say pizza to them.
To me it's a little bit on the edge.
Sure, oh.
We all know what really matters
and that's what Mark Iacono thinks
so we gotta get one of these and bring it to Brooklyn.
And find out for real.
- The question is that, does he have a good dentist
to eat all this Nutella?
(upbeat music)
- Alright Mark, put the cheese down man.
I got the dessert pizza.
- [Mark] Mm, that's the chocolate pizza.
- Initial impressions though before I slice into it?
- Where's your cutter?
- You're already ready man.
- Yes.
- [Scott] I'm gonna give you the big slice again.
- [Mark] You need to work on your geometry.
- Dude, pick your poison.
- I'm goin' with.
- I see mine already.
I love it.
You and I don't go for the same slice ever.
I love it.
You're thinking you're still hungry.
Oh, you're loving it.
So what do you like about it?
- What's not to like about it?
It's chocolate, it's strawberries, it's nuts.
- But the strawberries make it any less of a pizza?
- Yes.
- Would you put strawberries on a pizza?
- On a dessert pizza.
- Is there an element of this
that's acting like a cheese to you?
Or an element of this that's acting like a sauce?
- [Mark] No.
- So you don't get pizza out of this.
- Mm mn.
- So you're confirmed.
This is not a pizza to you.
- Yes, it's a dessert pizza.
- But you just said this is not a pizza.
- No, it's a dessert pizza.
- OK, so give me definitively, pizza or not pizza.
- It's not a pizza.
(dramatic music)
It's dessert pizza.
- What do we have to do to this to make it a pizza?
- Get rid of the chocolate sauce, the strawberries,
the nuts and put tomato sauce.
- There are recipes from like the 16th century
that use the word pizza to describe desserts.
They describe flattened doughs that are sweetened doughs
and it seems like that predates a savory pizza.
That doesn't sway you at all toward this being pizza.
- Well this is a pizza dessert.
- A dessert pizza or a pizza dessert?
- Dessert pizza, pizza dessert.
- Same thing?
- I'm about to kick you out.
(laughing)
- The decision is in.
The dessert pizza from Gnocco is absolutely delicious,
but it's technically not a pizza.
- It's a dessert pizza.
- It's a dessert pizza, there you go.
You can check this thing out for yourself
at Gnocco in the East Village.
Thanks so much for watching Thrillist,
check us out next time on "Really Dough?"
- Cheers.
- I'm making a mess, but I'm loving it.
- It's really really good.
- Honestly, it is good.
- I like what they did with the strawberries.
- I gotta say, my favorite part of this is the nuts.
- You are a little nutty.
- I'm here for the money.
- Scott, let's finish this.
- Right here, right now.
- Let's settle this bull (bleep) one time.