Sal and Mookie's

The Trenton - NYC - Jackson Connection

Dan Blumenthal, Chef and Co-Owner of Sal & Mookie's has family in the Northeast, specifically in Trenton, New Jersey.  Anyone who has eaten at Broad Street Baking Company probably knows the family story - there is Dan's grandfather, with the Challah bread he just baked, smiling down on all of us from the various pictures which adorn the Broad Street walls.

Well, Dan has many family members still up in Trenton, and here is a recent e-mail exchange which is quite enlightening as to where we got the name for our new restaurant:

Danny:    Your mom sent me the PR on Sal and Mookie's.  Weezie and I wish you and your partner the best of luck with the venture.  As a lifelong New York baseball fan I can only assume that the name came from two NY greats---Sal Maglie and Mookie Wilson.  Any other explanation would be unacceptable.

In retrospect it's too bad your parents left Trenton before you were born and had a chance to savor the world's greatest pizza-----Trenton pizza.  It was the staple of our diet as kids until Philly cheesesteaks came along so that we had a culinary choice.   And I can tell you that in Trenton culinary excellence was just that and no more.  But who knew better---we thought we had the best of all worlds. 

-Carl

Dear Carl,

Actually, the name was not quite derived in that way, but maybe it was in a backdoor sort of way.  Being of a different generation, and not a New Yorker, I actually got the name from director Spike Lee's 1989 hit movie, "Do the Right Thing".  I don't know whether you have seen it,  but the movie was set  in a Brooklyn pizzeria owned by an middle-aged Italian-American named Sal (Danny Aiello) whose delivery boy, Mookie, was played by Spike Lee himself. I am not sure if Spike actually lifted his character's names from Sal Maglie and Mookie Wilson, being the avid NY baseball fan that he was.

I will be doing a Philly cheesesteak sandwich on my menu, as well as an ode to the Trenton an "upside down pizza pie. 

In re to the Trenton culinary experience, what counts is that at the time you believed the food was good, even if that may not has actually been the case.

Thanks for the support and maybe you'd be willing to give us a reality check by making another trip to Jackson when we open and trying it out first hand.  My partner and I made a trip to NYC a month ago to check out some of the famous pizzerias there, so I feel like we have done our homework.

DB

Mookie's Herb Garden

Just one of the many, many unique and differentiating features that will make Sal & Mookie's New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint truly special is the fact that we will have our very own HERB GARDEN.

Fresh Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Mint, etc. will be grown, picked and used all on site!

This is a project masterminded by our Chef and Head Pizzaiolo Jon Pixler, who is an incredibly amazing and wonderful guy... even if he is afraid to fly! Much of the success of Sal & Mookie's will be directly attributable to Jon's hard work and dedication to this project.  He and Sal & Mookie's Executive Chef/Co-Owner Dan Blumenthal have an excellent working relationship and a similar eye for quality and detail.  They are creating a menu and overall experience that will be second to none!

Fresh herbs in your Sal & Mookie's pizza sauce... just one of the MANY surprises in store for you when Sal & Mookie's opens up this Spring!

Will Hoppock (behind the latticework), Jon Pixler, Max Barron and Blake Kyle and as they work on the raised bed which will become “Mookie’s Herb Garden".