Lev Katzav is no stranger to a pizza oven. When he moved here from Israel, he had a bunch of different jobs, the first of which was learning everything there is to know about a pizza place.
“My cousin owned a [non-kosher] pizza place in the Village [Manhattan], and working there was something I started doing when I first came to America,” Katzav said about his first step in the business. “I got my hands in the dough, but I also just tried to gain as much knowledge as I could about how to run a restaurant.”
Like many restaurants, the pizza place fell on hard times during COVID and Katzav got out of the food industry entirely. But there was something that was pulling him back towards the restaurant scene and he ended up working with a few Mediterranean places for a little while.
“Working in a restaurant was just something that I missed and I found my way back into the business after COVID was over,” said Katzav. “Soon I was working in another pizza place and that felt more like I was in the right place.”
He even started helping other people to open pizzerias of their own. He would find an investor who was looking for some help, and he liked getting in the kitchen and starting a new business. But that wasn’t quite enough.
“I really wanted a place of my own,” Katzav said about his dream, while standing in it. “I wanted a place that belonged to me and my wife where we could make the decisions and be a part of a community.”
Enter Dana’s Pizza (46 East Palisade Avenue). Positioned on the main thoroughfare of Englewood (where Katsav and his wife now reside), the community’s newest kosher establishment takes over the space that used to belong to a Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop, which may have struggled since the company’s public anti-Israel stance in 2021. Englewood didn’t have a place that sold pizza by the slice, and Katzav thinks Dana’s can fill that need. He believes that the foot traffic on Palisade should lead to enough customers walking through the door to justify the making of several types of house pies on a daily basis.
Dana’s regular pies are 16 inches and they have a good roster of types to entice customers (Jewish and otherwise). Their Cheese pie is accompanied by a White (ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan), a Margherita (fresh mozzarella and basil), a Vodka (vodka sauce and parmesan), a Caprese (fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil), and a Grandma (a square pie with parmesan). You also might walk in and find a pie that their chef has improvised on the spot, like one with jalapeño and red onion or a vegetable pie of some kind.
The logo for Dana’s says “Premium Kosher Pizza,” and that is something that Katzav is looking to build up to. He’s trying to bring in a high-quality truffle oil so that he can make a white mushroom pizza with truffle oil. He has some other ideas that he also wants to test out, and they should be rolling out in the next few weeks now that Pesach is behind us.
Dana’s has more than just pizza, though all of the other offerings are certainly secondary. The paninis are probably the next biggest attraction as the sandwiches are made fresh daily and can be bought either cold or hot, based on what the customer wants. They come in four flavors for now (Caprese, Feta, Pesto and Tuna) and have been a successful part of the menu thus far.
An interesting component of the menu is the pasta section. Dana’s is not striving to be a regular pizza shop, so their pasta menu does not hold options like baked ziti or penne alla vodka. Instead, be prepared to order from a few options of cold pasta salad (like a feta/pesto and a tuna/veggie).
“We want to be a different kind of pizza place,” Katsav emphasized. “We don’t have french fries or a fryer at all. We want our menu to be filled with some options that might be a little healthier, and our goal is to use fresh ingredients whenever possible.”
As you might imagine, salads will also be available at Dana’s as they lean into Katsav’s vision of a place that offers healthy options. But there will also be a little bit of added Israeli influence as bourekas will be joining the menu soon as well.
One thing that is sure to stand out on the menu is the dessert pizzas. Katsav has already started with one type—Eitan’s Special Request is a pie made with nutella with the sauce and the toppings being slices of banana and a dusting of powdered sugar. While it certainly doesn’t fall into the healthy category, it certainly is different from any local pizza joint.
With a grand opening to look forward to in the coming weeks, Dana’s Pizza is up and running and early signs are that it will be a popular choice for those in Englewood and even a destination for those in the surrounding areas like Teaneck, Fort Lee and Tenafly.
Dana’s isn’t just looking to take advantage of the lunch crowd on Palisade. In fact, being on a street with so much foot traffic led to Katsav’s decision to keep his place open later than any kosher pizza place during the week. The seating area can hold a dozen or so patrons, but there might be some outdoor options available as the weather gets nicer.
So whether it’s getting delivery on a busy night or grabbing something quickly for lunch, Dana’s Pizza will be available to serve anybody who walks through the door.
Dana’s Pizza is open Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday nights from one hour after Shabbat until 11:30 p.m. Reach them at (201) 567-7200 or DanasPizzaNJ.com. They are under the strict supervision of the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County (RCBC).
