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A Slice Of Life

Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH

Silvana Bastone makes spinach and tomato pizza. It was the favorite of her father, Cesare Bastone, who died in November. The pair were a team for 32 years, Cesare in the kitchen and Silvana at the counter.

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By JAMIE PILARCZYK

jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com

Published: January 21, 2009

PALMA CEIA - For almost 33 years, Tampa families have ordered pizza and had it served with a little spice from Cesare's of New York Pizza.

"It's good quality pizza and ingredients with a little attitude from me, for good faith," said Silvana Bastone, who runs the pizzeria, 2117 S. Dale Mabry Highway.

Started by her father, Cesare Bastone, Cesare's of New York Pizza has been a community staple since 1976. Regulars drive from all over the county and can't walk into the tiny storefront across from Plant High School without running into old classmates, neighbors and friends.

Cesare Bastone, who died in November, is also survived by his wife of 57 years, Eva. After his death, their daughter, Silvana, took charge.

The couple had been a team for 32 years - Cesare in the kitchen and Silvana at the counter - taking orders and serving specialties such as the white pizza made with spinach and tomatoes.

Business has been slow for the past two months.

"People think we're closed since my father passed away," said Silvana Bastone, 53. "A lot of my customers have a hard time coming back. But without them, I can't survive."

The Bastones got their start at the family pizzeria in the Bronx, N.Y., right across from Yankee Stadium on River Avenue. Silvana Bastone recalls serving slices to baseball greats such as Thurman Munson and Reggie Jackson. She was the only one of three sisters to stick around the shop, working her way up from stocking napkins to making pies.

"I love to cook, and I learned a lot of things from my dad," she said.

One of their employees suggested the family open a pizzeria in Tampa, where they had vacationed. They came to Florida, opening a shop at 1314 S. Church Ave. on Feb. 24, 1976. The Bastones remained in that location for more than 18 years before moving down the street, across from Plant High School.

Carmen Schumacher dines at the pizzeria every Tuesday with her husband, Steve. He travels on Wednesdays, and Carmen returns for a second night in a row so she doesn't have to eat alone. She said they always order the same thing - spinach and tomato pizza - but, "we never know what comes out." Silvana always doctors it up or brings something special she made that day.

"They are like family," Schumacher said. Silvana Bastone even spent Christmas Day with her family.

"Silvana is like a sister to me," Schumacher said.

The Schumachers first walked through the pizzeria's doors in 1990 when they moved to Beach Park from Kansas. They used to take their three boys weekly for pizza. When their son, Andres, was 8, he had a crush on Silvana.

"We still tease him about that," Schumacher said.

Her grown sons now turn up at Cesare's with their own children in tow.

"I've been feeding generations since 1977," said Silvana, who joined her father a year after he moved to Tampa. "I've seen them grow up, get married, divorced, have children, and pretty soon it'll be them getting married."

Cesare Bastone's spirit remains at the store, his daughter said, in recordings combining Bastone on trombone with famous singers (including Madonna and his favorite, Andrea Bocelli), in the recipes he passed along and in the memories of customers who stop by for a hot slice of spinach and tomato pizza.

Rex Maniscalco was introduced to Cesare's by a friend who lived in Palma Ceia. He fell in love with the food, began helping out and now is a fixture, with wages of pizza and pasta.

He has been through a lot with the family, including helping out in 1998 when Cesare was in the hospital, recovering from gunshot wounds he received while protecting his wife from a masked robber outside their South Tampa home.

Maniscalco said he would accompany Cesare Bastone to his farm in Manatee County to help pick tomatoes ("Cesare had a passion for tomatoes") and Swiss chard for the restaurant, ending the trip sitting in the middle of the fields with pizza in one hand, a beer in the other, enjoying the afternoon sun.

"He treated me like a son," said Maniscalco, who found the pizzeria three days after it opened in 1976.

Silvana Bastone doesn't go to the fields; she buys fresh produce from a wholesale market. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she spoke of her father.

"He didn't have a bad bone in his body," she said, explaining how he would offer credit to families who were going through tough financial times.

Smoothing her apron and drying her cheeks, Silvana reflected on carrying the legacy forward.

"He loved to see people clean their plates," she said. "It made him feel good."

Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 259-7661.

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