G. Harvest was a man who experienced more in one month than most men experience in one decade.  His adventures inspire the breads that we make.  Here’s the story behind our Pepperoni Roll.

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While living in New York and saving money for my second trip around the world (this time a trip through the Southern Hemisphere), I worked in a small, neighborhood pizzeria owned by and named after Luigi Romano.  He was a man of small stature and his patience matched is size.  His temper, however, should have been paired with someone the size of the Incredible Hulk.  To this day, I work up to Luigi’s exacting standards when I am in a kitchen.  Getting slapped in the face by a little man after you leave streaks on his dishes will encourage you to develop an attention to detail.

One summer evening Luigi and I were closing his shop.  As always, he sat in the kitchen and counted his money while singing happy songs in Italian.  Occasionally he would look up, point at something he felt I didn’t clean well enough, and curse at me for a few minutes before returning to his stacks of money and happy songs.

I had finished cleaning, was clocked out, and was grabbing a pepperoni pizza I had left in the now-cooling oven.  Every night I would sit down at home with a pepperoni pizza and enjoy it as I watched black-and-white movies on TV.  I lived close enough to Pizza by Luigi that, when I sat on my sofa and opened the lid to the pizza box, a cloud of steam would rise up to my face and the cheese would still be nice and stringy.  Those free pizzas made the verbal abuse from Luigi worth it.

Anyway, Luigi was almost done counting/singing when the back door to the kitchen flew open.  Two masked men with knives ran into the pizzeria and one of them slashed Luigi across the arm he had raised to defend himself while the other kicked him in the groin.  Luigi collapsed onto the floor and was soon surrounded by an expanding puddle of blood.  One of the men stood over Luigi, throwing the just-counted money into a bag.  The other turned his attention to me.

Adrenaline started coursing through my veins and I don’t remember much after that but, from what Luigi told the police, I rolled up the pepperoni pizza I had in front of me and hit the man attacking me over the head with it.  He screamed in pain as the mozzarella and tomatoes shot out of the end near him and burned him.  He ran out of Pizza by Luigi, screaming like a little girl as he ran down the road.  The other burglar came at me with a fury.  I simply unrolled the pizza and threw it at him.  Because of my time on the high school track team throwing discus, I have great aim when throwing anything circular in shape.  Keep this in mind if you dare to pick a fight with me.  I hit him in the face, too.  He fell to the ground and I took away his knife.  This is when came out of my adrenaline high and returned to a clear state of mind.

Once the police showed up they informed me that I had single-handedly defeated two of the Mob’s best henchmen.  I simply shrugged and told them that this is how men are raised in South Louisiana.  Luigi, grateful that he didn’t lose that night’s earnings, gave me a $50 bonus, which I spent on two steaks, a bottle of wine, and a Puerto Rican woman named Vilma.

This story became Luigi’s favorite story to tell his customers.  He told it so many times that his customers actually started asking for a rolled up pizza, similar in fashion to the one I had defended myself with on that fateful night.  It immediately became the most popular item on our menu.

Luigi sold the idea to a major food producer and the rest, as they say, is history.  He made enough money off of this recipe that he closed the store and retired.  The location of his former pizzeria is now a Starbucks.  This is the only Starbucks I will drink coffee in.  Luigi offered me enough money to cover my trip around the globe but I told him I wanted the right to continue making my Pepperoni Roll.  He granted my wish, much to the chagrin of the major food producer.

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Our Pepperoni Roll starts with our pillowy Focaccia dough.  We stuff it with sliced pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, and a butter garlic sauce.  We then top it with a blend of Italian herbs and pull it out of the oven just in time for your lunch break... and in time to thwart any noontime robbery attempts.  The Pepperoni Roll is available Tuesdays and Thursdays.