New-York style F&F Pizzeria opens in former Bado's space in Mt. Lebanon
A couple of guys from New York named Frank met a James Beard Award-winning chef through a connection with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. The rest is Mt. Lebanon history.
The meeting ultimately led them to open F&F Pizzeria in the old Bado’s Pizza Grill & Ale House on Beverly Road in Mt. Lebanon, which closed in November 2023.
Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli own an Italian restaurant called Frankies in Brooklyn. They wanted to get into the pizza business.
Kimmel, who they’ve known for years, connected them to Pizzeria Bianco owner Chris Bianco, who you might recognize from Netflix’s “Chef’s Table.” He helped with the fundamentals of pizza making and Chad Robertson, a breadmaster at Bar Tartine and Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, taught the two Franks the fundamentals of dough fermentation.
They opened F&F slice shop, and then a larger F&F Pizzeria next door.
“Chris Bianco is really our mentor,” Castronovo said, inside the new F&F Pizzeria in Mt. Lebanon on Thursday. “Jimmy said, ‘You guys don’t know Chris Bianco? You gotta know Chris.’ ”
Falcinelli and Castronovo grew up in nearby Queens, N.Y.
“We found a location in Brooklyn and the next thing you know, we opened Frankies Italian restaurant,” Falcinelli said. “Years later, the building between us opened up and was a perfect place to do pizza. We’ve always wanted to do pizza. We’ve been eating pizza — like sport eating pizza — our whole lives.”
The Mt. Lebanon location is the first establishment outside of New York and has both a dining area and a slice shop.
Diners can watch pies being made and removed from the electric pizza ovens now that the space has been renovated and opened up.
“We walked in and we said, ‘This is the spot,’ ” Falcinelli said. “Mt. Lebanon is the perfect neighborhood.”
Falcinelli said it reminds him of the generations of diners they’ve served in New York.
“We go through the whole cycle of life with them and we provide them with sustenance, a place to meet, a place to celebrate, a place to mourn,” Falcinelli said. “We take care of the people that work for us and we take care of the people that come in our restaurant because we are a part of the community.”
Castronovo and Falcinelli connected to Pittsburgh through operating partners Rob Mullin, who owns Pittsburgh Winery in the Strip District, and Anthony Simasek. Look for an F&F slice shop to open in the winery, Castronovo said. Mullin and Simasek are partners with all of the locations.
Castronovo and Falcinelli will return to New York but plan to occasionally come back to Pittsburgh.
Their New York-style pizza is made with fermented dough, fresh cheese, organic tomatoes and their own olive oil. The menu has pizzas including the classic cheese, tomato, wild mushroom and clam. A small classic cheese pie is $16. A slice is $3.50.
”We put a lot into the engineering of pizza,” Castronovo said. “Our goal was to do an artisan slice because slices in New York are big. People walk in a grab a slice.”
Jackson Taufkirch, a ninth grader at Mt. Lebanon High School, tried a slice of the classic cheese.
“It’s good,” he said. “I love the crispy crust.”
They also serve vodka rigatoni Al Forno, shrimp with polenta and a Persian cucumber salad. Small plates include arancini and the duo’s Castelvetrano Nocellara Olives.
Classic cocktails include the Rust Belt Revival, which is made with bourbon, maple, egg white and red wine, and the Bianco Negroni, made with 15 Gin. The Olio Martini has gin or vodka and olive-washed vermouth. A variety of wine, beer, and non-alcoholic options are available.
“The reception has been tremendous,” Castronovo said. “When people ask us, ‘Why Pittsburgh?’ We say, Why not Pittsburgh? Pittsburgh is a great city. We believe our pizza is unique and it stands out in New York and we feel like it will stand out in Pittsburgh.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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