A cookbook for everyone

For his debut as an author, Hadi wanted to create a project that captured the fabric, essence and grit of North Philly in every chapter. Photography by a photographer from North Philly played a crucial role in bringing the cookbook to life. The book features striking images of everything meaningful, including beauty shots of the pizzas.

Hadi said this book has something for everyone, keeping in mind his versatile readers. Hip-hop fans will appreciate that all pies are named after famous R&B and hip-hop songs by Philadelphia artists. Academics will find value in the historical timeline woven throughout, which traces slavery’s inception in the 1600s to how it evolved into the carceral state we see today.

Down North’s signature dish is tender, crispy-edged, square-cut pies with sauce on top. In We the Pizza, an entire chapter is dedicated to vegetarian pizzas like “No Betta Love,“ made with four cheeses and the arrabbiata-inspired Norf Sauce. While the pizzeria has several top favorites, Hadi said the vegan pizza, the PSK, stands out as one of his favorites due to the effort it took to crack the code and perfect the recipe. Hadi said the level of difficulty of cracking the code requires appreciation.

The book features popular meat and seafood dishes like the “Roc the Mic“ pepperoni pie, berbere brisket “Tale of a Hustler,“ and the “Say Yes“ pizza with jerk turkey sausage and roasted butternut squash. The “Break You Off“ consists of a lemon ricotta base, a four-cheese blend and halal jerk lamb sausage with a honey-garlic drizzle. We the Pizza offers something for everyone, catering to various lifestyles and dietary needs.

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