Keep It Secret, Keep It Saucy | Mike Vittorio - Mike's Underground Pizza

Staying Hungry presents “Keep It Secret, Keep It Saucy” (Ep. 119) - an inside look at how one Long Island chef built a hidden pizza empire from the ground up.This week, hosts Michael D’Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with Mike Vittorio - the creative force behind Mike’s Underground Pizza and Vittorio’s Italian Steakhouse. Together, they peel back the layers of what it really takes to turn passion into a brand people line up for.Vittorio shares how clean, unbromated flour and a 450-pound backyard tomato harvest shaped his signature sauce, why owning your building might be the smartest move in hospitality, and how staying small helped him grow big. The trio dives into dry-aged ribeyes, staffing and work ethic, social-media hype, restaurant tech (POS, AI phone systems, digital payments), and the balancing act between expansion and authenticity.For restaurant owners, chefs, and entrepreneurs - this episode is equal parts masterclass and motivation, served with plenty of sauce.TIMESTAMPS00:00 – Welcome to Staying Hungry & intro to Mike “Mikey Underground” Esposito2:18 – Growing up in the business: from fisherman’s son to pizzeria lifer6:45 – Why Victoria’s Italian Steakhouse was born from “doing everything possible with a piece of dough”11:02 – Clean flour, bromate, and why most bread doesn’t taste like bread anymore16:30 – 450 lbs of tomatoes, backyard farming & the best sauce he’s ever made21:40 – Garden-to-table: pairing fresh veg with steak, fish, and Italian classics25:55 – Family, kids in the restaurant, and teaching independence through hospitality31:20 – Real estate, buying the building, and protecting razor-thin restaurant margins36:48 – Community, Pizza Strong, and why giving back always comes back42:05 – Vito’s as a “hidden gem” & menu philosophy: big, flexible, and guest-focused47:10 – Dry-aged steak 101: aging in-house, flavor, shrinkage & pricing52:32 – Clean kitchens, inspectors, horror stories & why bathrooms really matter57:00 – Staffing, work ethic, and why some young workers tap out on the grind1:02:15 – Tech & restaurants: POS pain, fees, AI phone answering & digital currency worries1:08:40 – Social media, Mike’s Underground mystique & turning demand into brand1:14:05 – Franchising offers, expansion plans & keeping quality from getting watered down1:18:30 – Legacy, Johnny’s Farm & what it means to nourish a community