As the story goes, Eugeno Burlino came to the United States from Naples in 1913 with his wife Maria, he became a pastry chef and in order to make ends meet, the couple began making tomato pies, or pizzas, which would be sold on the street and at church fairs. He soon became well known as the “pizza maker” and in 1914, he opened his very first pizzeria which he would call O’Scugnizzo’s, which is now known as America’s 3rd oldest pizzeria.
According to a Utica newspaper story following his unexpected death on May 26th, 1958, his real name (or at least his American name) was Eugenio Brullino and he named his restaurant after his Italian nickname, O’Scugnizzo. The newspaper reported that the word meant, “a little boy who is always running around doing things,” or “street urchin looking for a day’s work.” He thought the nickname would make for the perfect name for his restaurant, and the name remains synonymous with what Uticans call, upside down pizza, to this very day. That’s because O’Scugnizzo’s pizza is know for the cheese to be on the bottom layer, with the toppings and sauce layered on top.
Today, the pizzeria is still thriving as it celebrates its 110th year in business at 614 Bleecker Street in Utica, and the owners say they still use Brullino’s original recipe for sauce and sausage…