Perched in the headwaters of the Esopus Creek, a quick hop from the popular Slide Mountain Trailhead, you’ll find Ralph’s Bar & Bowling, a two-lane manual bowling alley. It’s one of the few remaining throwbacks to a time when alleys dotted nearly every town in the Catskills. Inside is Auggie Russo’s latest iteration of Tiny Pizza Kitchen, his acclaimed neo-Neapolitan pizzeria, which has relocated from the city to his own space inside Ralph’s.
Today, Auggie has fired his ovens early, just after 6 am. It’s the coldest day this winter, and he’ll wind up baking 64 pizzas by night’s end. The stoves double as a heat source in a kitchen he’s tacked on to this Catskills roadside gem, a 92-year-old former hotel and bar recently acquired by Urban Cowboy, a boutique hotel lodge just up the road.
For now, Auggie is a solo act—having built every inch of this haven with his own two hands. When he’s not crafting his signature nontraditional pizzas (inspired by recipes handed down from his Neapolitan grandmother), he’s talking about his father’s handwriting and pocket-watch repair. He’s a quintessential maker, getting down to the smallest details, even the microbial.
“The decomposing sticks and pinecones and leaves floating in the air” are what elevate his yeast to yield a crust that’s “never been better,” he says. The pure joy in his happiness to finally be geographically close to his ingredients. Roots are taking hold, and that commitment shows up in the food.
Later, while savoring the last pizza of the evening, I do the math. Auggie is knocking out a pie every five and a half minutes of a six-hour service. Cook time: about 90 seconds. He joins us as we’re already halfway through his favorite, the marinara. Heat from fresh chiles, perfectly balanced by lemon, warm tomatoes, and garlic, while a crunchy panko pops through the creamy custard of a pie well-fired by hardwood heat.
Russo jumps up to greet every guest as they leave. He began Tiny Pizza Kitchen baking curbside in Brooklyn during the pandemic. Everything in full view. Every customer a conversation. He hates being stuck in the kitchen.
“This is my favorite thing to do,” Auggie says, coming back to me. “I’m like the guy who sells you doughnuts or ice cream. The happy person.” With smiles wide, we agree. The true maker has made us happy, too.
Tiny Pizza Kitchen at Ralph’s Bar & Bowling
Big Indian | @tinypizzakitchen
