Old Town Pizza is driving brick oven taste around Cullman
T.J. Hagan, Old Town Pizza
T.J. Hagan, owner of Old Town Pizza, and operator of the wood-fired brick oven you see here, offers weekly specials and made-to-order pizzas, ready in minutes from the time your order is placed. “If you call ahead and tell us what you are driving, we’ll even bring it to your car so you won’t have to get out in the cold,” said Hagan, who is bundled up for the weather at the outdoor site on Highway 31 near From The Heart Monogramming. With this portable prep kitchen and pizza oven on wheels, Old Town Pizza is seen at various locations around town.
T.J. Hagan, Old Town Pizza
Old Town Pizza
Pelham Morris prepares fresh dough each day, tweaking it for North Alabama’s ever-changing weather. Knowing how dough reacts to humidity and elevation is crucial to this kitchen on wheels.
Posted: Sunday, December 7, 2014 4:32 pm
cullmantimes.com
Following an obsession with authentic rustic Italian foods, T.J. and Tiffiny Hagan traveled through Italy on their honeymoon, sampling local artesian foods and falling even more in love, with each other and the earthy flavors they encountered.
That inspired them to grow their own organic vegetables, fruits and herbs. And that, in turn, led them to something new and different for Cullman — a pizza truck with a brick, wood-burning, pizza oven.
The truck and trailer can be seen around town at various venues, private parties and corporate events. When the sides are lifted, the rounded brick oven and prep kitchen appear, with T.J. manning the fire and pizzaiolo extraordinaire, Pelham Morris, doing all of the prep work in the kitchen. Pizzaiolo (Italian for pizza maker) Morris tweaked the original dough recipe to adapt to North Alabama’s ever-changing weather. Even the elevation is taken into consideration when adjusting the dough ingredients. “You have to know how to work with dough and how it reacts to humidity or cold weather,” Hagan explained. “Pelham has perfected the recipe we started out with so that it is just the right size, thickness and texture for the way this wood-fired oven bakes them.”
The Hagans have an organic garden in the spring and summer months. It provides the fresh ingredients used in their pizzas. “During the remainder of the year we use fresh, locally grown ingredients whenever possible,” Hagan pointed out. “Our ‘petite’ basil comes from Gratitude Farms in Hanceville.”
You might wonder just how a traveling pizza truck works? The guys make fresh dough early each morning. They chop fresh ingredients, load everything they will need into the refrigerator and stock up on the wood used to generate the heat for the oven. Then they crank up the truck and head for their destination. Presently you can find them in the parking lot at either Sticks ‘N Stuff, or From The Heart Monograms on Highway 31 South in Cullman. You might also see them at private parties or corporate events.
For T.J. Hagan, being able to travel and bring his pizzas to people in different areas is exciting and interesting. In the future, he plans to open a brick oven pizza restaurant, but for now, the mobility gives him options that being “land-locked” would prevent.
He can cater large crowds at a destination of the client’s choosing, even remote areas like some of the bays around Smith Lake, with the help of a generator. He can move with the weather, or the seasons, if he desires — being on wheels offers lots of options.
Primarily, his goal is to bring something special to Cullman. Something that people will remember, and come back for again and again.
Because he and Tiffiny were so amazed at the things they learned in Italy, that when they returned, they took another trip to Boulder, Colorado, to learn the craft of making artisan pizza. T.J., who has cooked on a ceramic stove, has now come to appreciate the flavor that brick, wood-fired ovens impart to the foods made in this rustic fashion. There is just something about the wood and the fire that gives Old Town Pizza a flavor unlike other pizzas.
Using ripe, juicy Roma tomatoes in addition to other, heirloom varieties, organically grown onions, red and green peppers and other fresh ingredients, they have created a varied and unusual menu. If you are a one-topping kind of pizza aficionado, you’ll love the mac-n-cheese specialty pizza. Maybe you want to expand your pizza possibilities with a Gloria, or a Hoss, or even one of your own ideas. The results will surprise you.
“One of our best-selling pies is made with white smoked chicken, hickory smoked bacon, and a rich tomato/basil sauce made with sun-dried tomatoes, then topped with feta cheese,” T.J. described.
He dreams up new combinations frequently and mentioned working on a recipe for a pizza using figs and fresh, Cullman-grown pears topped with Gorgonzola cheese as a desert pizza in the spring.
You can find out more about these pizzas on Facebook at Old Town Pizza; or on the website at www.otptruck.com; or by calling T.J. Hagan at 256-303-5020. You can also email him at otptruck@gmail.com.
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Sunday, December 7, 2014 4:32 pm.
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