A Q&A with Mario LaPosta, da LaPosta, Newton, Massachusetts
Concept:
da LaPosta is an authentic wood-fired pizzeria and restaurant with Italian roots and New England flair. da LaPosta honors chef Mario LaPosta’s dedication to tradition and innovation, with a menu that showcases the best ingredients that regional purveyors have to offer. Naturally leavened, artisanal pizza is at the center of the seasonal menu, along with street food inspired starters, and handmade pasta. The wine list boasts the best of Campania and Southern Italy. Specialty crafted cocktails emphasize seasonality and Italian Spirits along with a Negroni and Spritz menu.
Pizza Style & Dough:
We’re an artisan pizzeria serving Neapolitan inspired pizza cooked in a 900-degree wood fired oven. Our pizza is naturally leavened, made with proprietary whole wheat flour from central milling, so our dough is very unique. It’s crisp, soft, light and airy all at the same time. Not as soft as Neapolitan and not as crisp as Roman, somewhere in between. The starter for our sourdough is almost 8 years old. I spent a year developing the flour blend, Farina da LaPosta, so no one else in the world is using it. Our dough method is very old school, with the sourdough, high hydration and a low salt content, it then rises in wooden dough trays at an ambient temperature. It’s similar to what a lot of great bread bakers do. Lots of structure, very flavorful very easy to digest. You don’t feel heavy after eating the pizza.
With a rich background in pizza making, what went into getting Da LaPosta off the ground?
Well let’s just say I feel like my entire life has been geared towards getting da LaPosta off the ground. I’ve always been overly passionate about food and pizza. Growing up in a very Italian household, food, family and big dinners were always important. My mom made the best pizza, and I always said mom, I’m going to have a Pizzeria one day. Professionally I worked as hard as I could, learned as much as I could, and worked my way up the ladder to become a chef. I was lucky enough to work with some amazing chefs along the way that not only taught how to cook, but how be a leader and run a restaurant. Once I put roots down in Boston, I spent 2 years developing the da LaPosta concept, and sought out business partners who believed in me and my vision. It was an incredible amount of hard work to get where I am today and took a lot of support from a lot of people, especially my wife.
You have a talent for interesting ingredient pairing. Tell us about your process of coming up with those combinations.
I like to take inspiration from lots of different things. Childhood memories, great meals I’ve had whether it be street food, a great restaurant, or one family or friends cooked. I love specifically Roman style pizza al taglio, the toppings are usually unique and abundant because the sturdier pan pizza can hold it. So, I think about different creations I’ve had and how that can translate to my pizza. In the summer and fall every ingredient we buy is local, so I let the bounty of local farms do the speaking, I’m just lucky enough to get to use the beautiful produce. I’m inspired by great chefs I’ve worked for like Andy Nusser, Corey Cannon, and Chefs like Marc Vetri & Chris Bianco, you know you take what they’ve done and try to give it a spin of your own. But the overall approach is simple, simplicity is the key, don’t overdo it. Doesn’t have to be Italian either. For example, my wife lived in Baltimore for 5 years, so I came to love Maryland style crab cakes, I bought some local Maine crab, made a homemade old bay seasoning, a light aioli, a little arugula, and put that on top of a pizza Bianca with some really good olive oil, woah.
What is a perfect pizza to you?
That’s a loaded question, haha. There’s so many different variations of pizza and I truly love all of them. My perfect pizza is a dough that’s definitely naturally leavened, a sourdough, that is crisp, light and airy. Lots of structure! That is balanced, not overly saturated with ingredients, and lets the ingredients shine. That would either be a Margherita or a perfectly balanced Formaggi, with Gorgonzola Piccante, Mozzarella, Smoked Mozzarella, & Parmigiano.
What’s next for you and Da LaPosta?
What’s next for us is we want to continue making da LaPosta in Newton better and better, where we are now food and service wise, we only need to continue to raise the standard and I think we’ll do that. We have an incredible team in place, I’m so lucky to have the team I do. And we’re looking forward to growing as a company, opening more da LaPosta’s and showcasing different styles of pizza such as a Roman pan pizza or a really elevated NY style slice.
