Scene & Be Seen — Fast & Furiously Delicious
If you’re looking to take advantage of America’s favorite food during your lunch break and have little to no time to waste, give the crew at Persona only 90 seconds to create the pizza of your dreams. Or, even if you have time to spare, grab a table and take in the real brick and deep woods which really warm up the room to create a true Italian pizzeria vibe.
If you’re wondering how yet another pizza place will stand out against all the others – especially the seemingly popular, Subway-esque, create your own concept that has evolved over the past four or so years – Persona will withstand the test. While CEO Pizzaiolo Glenn Cybulski might be biased when attesting to this reason, it’s evident in every aspect of the restaurant.
“Where we differentiate ourselves is through our culinary quality of our product” Cybulski said. “We are the only concept [such as this] in the U.S. right now that has a world class Pizzaiolo like myself.”
The dough, which is imported from Italy, is the finest of finest. The vegetables are fresh and chopped in-house each day; all the meats are cooked in-house; the dressings and sauces are made each day in-house, as well. You’re guaranteed the freshest ingredients atop the most excellent dough.
You can trace the birth of Cybulski’s passion for pizza back to 1986 when he first visited Italy. A two-week vacation turned into a full-time stay. Then before he knew it, he began fine-tuning his culinary skills at different restaurants. He was blessed with a great palate, as well as the initiative to reach outside the box and achieve creativity through the different formations of his pizzas.
Even further back than 1986 and his trip to Italy, Cybulski found his passion in food because of his deep roots in where he’s from and how he grew up.
“You’ve been some place and you’ve had something that reminds you of home,” Cybulski said, “and that’s the connection with food that I think people have and sometimes forget.”
So, when you choose Persona wood-fired pizza, you aren’t only choosing the best of the best, you’re choosing to take a trip home. Sure, you might think, “it’s only pizza,” but that’s not the only motive behind it all. When you choose Persona, you’re choosing the best quality and trusting in the culinary strength that is brought forth with every pizza personally crafted for you.
Whether you choose to have all 10 of your favorite pizza toppings thrown atop a supreme-like pizza, or you go the simpler route with the Margherita or pepperoni pizza, or maybe you trust the experts and choose the Chipotle Chicken or Buffalo Bleu from the menu – you won’t be disappointed. That’s the fun thing about it: the endearing, full-flavored ingredients, no matter how simple the creation, are sure to keep you coming back in attempt to try all the different possibilities for a pizza.
Although Persona is culinary inspired, the concept behind it all is to encourage you, the customer, to be the true culinary genius. You’ll begin at one end of the line with a 12-inch blank canvas of the handmade Neapolitan dough (also offered in gluten free). From there, you will choose your sauce or sauces, cheeses, veggies, meats … the opportunities are endless. And the most exciting part – you watch the pizza cook in no more than 90 seconds, within the beautiful, wood-burning oven. Then, your masterpiece is ready to indulge.
Choose between the four bases: Marinara, Margherita, Pesto and Bianca. Then, add your artisanal extras – fresh, locally sourced veggies, San Marzano tomatoes and hand-crafted meats are available to nicely top your bases. There is sausage, pepperoni, meatball, salami, prosciutto, bacon, Canadian bacon, roasted chicken, buffalo chicken and anchovies for all the carnivores, and an array of veggies, nuts and herbs for the herbivores. Plus, four varieties of cheeses for the cheeseivores!
If you’re choosing from the menu and trusting the experts, you might fancy the Ensalata Di Prosciutto, the Carne or the popular BBQ Chicken Bacon and Ranch. Plus, you can’t go wrong with the winner of the World Pizza Competition in Napoli, Italy: The Chipotle Chicken pizza, which consists of chipotle dressing, shredded mozzarella, roasted chicken topped with crema and fresh pico de gallo!
It’s not just the luck of the draw that the quality of every ingredient here is through the roof. The passion behind everything that makes Persona what it is translates into great quality products. In Cybulski’s parting words to me on my visit, he said, “If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, do something else.”
It is no question that with his 25 years in the business, his passion shines through the pizza. You will leave Persona knowing you not only had the tastiest pizza around, but also experienced a passion-driven restaurant to leave you happy, satisfied and yearning to come back for more.