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We the Pizza: Slangin' Pies and Savin' Lives
Poignant stories and 65 knock-out recipes for award-winning pizza, wings, and more from Down North, the mission-driven Philadelphia pizzeria owned and operated exclusively by formerly incarcerated people.
Philly born-and-bred entrepreneur Muhammad Abdul-Hadi found his true north when he opened Down North Pizza, an award-winning pizza joint that aims to reduce recidivism rates in North Philly. The restaurant was an instant hit, with pizza-lovers lining the blocks on its opening day to get their hands on its tender-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside Detroit-style pies. We the Pizza tells the Down North story about how the restaurant fulfills its mission to educate, serve dope food, and offer second chances for the formerly incarcerated.
We the Pizza features more than 65 recipes for pizza, wings, fries, drinks, and shakes—plus lots of vegan options—from the hands and minds behind the mission. In addition to photos of the craveable food from the shop as well as shots of pizza in the wild from around Philadelphia, the book also provides detailed historical information about incarceration in the United States, along with profiles of employees who each share their story and their second-chance experience. Exclusive pizza-collab recipes are also included from high-profile chefs like Marc Vetri, Marcus Samuelsson, and Michael Solomonov—all supporters of the Down North mission and vision.
Philly born-and-bred entrepreneur Muhammad Abdul-Hadi found his true north when he opened Down North Pizza, an award-winning pizza joint that aims to reduce recidivism rates in North Philly. The restaurant was an instant hit, with pizza-lovers lining the blocks on its opening day to get their hands on its tender-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside Detroit-style pies. We the Pizza tells the Down North story about how the restaurant fulfills its mission to educate, serve dope food, and offer second chances for the formerly incarcerated.
We the Pizza features more than 65 recipes for pizza, wings, fries, drinks, and shakes—plus lots of vegan options—from the hands and minds behind the mission. In addition to photos of the craveable food from the shop as well as shots of pizza in the wild from around Philadelphia, the book also provides detailed historical information about incarceration in the United States, along with profiles of employees who each share their story and their second-chance experience. Exclusive pizza-collab recipes are also included from high-profile chefs like Marc Vetri, Marcus Samuelsson, and Michael Solomonov—all supporters of the Down North mission and vision.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published February 11, 2025
23 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 16, 2025
This is a fantastic read. It is both a cookbook and a timeline of civil rights.
The author has created a pizza restaurant and the Down North Foundation to provide education, assistance, and opportunity to formerly incarcerated people.
They also educate young people and encourage them to stay out of the "street economy."
Oh, and the recipes slap! And, I appreciate that they have lots of vegan and dairy-free options.
The author has created a pizza restaurant and the Down North Foundation to provide education, assistance, and opportunity to formerly incarcerated people.
They also educate young people and encourage them to stay out of the "street economy."
Oh, and the recipes slap! And, I appreciate that they have lots of vegan and dairy-free options.
July 14, 2025
Part cookbook, part manifesto, part history lesson. If you don’t read the US Incarceration System Timeline Notes, you’re missing it.
March 30, 2025
I am always intrigued when I hear about a new pizza cookbook. While lounging around one weekend morning, I saw a story on CBS about Philadelphia’s Down North Pizza and their recent cookbook publication. I had my local bookstore order it for me. I was intrigued about the story behind the book (and the pizza)!
Let’s start with the story.
Danny Trejo (the actor and cookbook author in his own right) pens the forward for the book. He praises the recipes and the stories: “powerful, resilient stories of those impacted by the criminal legal system” and “the power of second chances” (6). The preface, “Pizza de Resistance,” is written by Ajima Olaghere, PhD and is a treatise with statistics, data and history to stand up and question the entire incarceration system. He applauds the work of Down North Pizza: “This book is a culinary ode to Black people—for us to always think free, be free, love free, eat well and be well” (9). Now we get to the introduction as Abdul-Hadi, the founder describes “Grand Opening Chaos.” He opened Down North Pizza in one of the vacant building fronts he owned without any experience in the restaurant field. He had drive and fortitude: “I knew this pizza shop would work. The mission is what drove me forward” (10).
What was the mission?
Slangin’ Pies + Savin’ Lives
I love a cookbook that includes a playlist and We the Pizza does that! They name every one of their pizzas at Down North after a song from a Philly artist.
The ingredients (“The Commissary”) might seem a little out of the ordinary for a pizza cookbook but it all makes weird sense: aji amarillo pepper paste, curry paste, dried fried shallots, jerk seasoning, mayo, Montreal steak seasoning, and Thai chili sauce. As for the basics, they recommend King Arthur bread flour, low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, Gran Moravia parmesan, Follow Your Heart vegan parmesan, and Full-Red Pizza Sauce w/Basil. Down North is a halal pizza shop so they utilize halal beef and turkey pepperoni and they make their own sausages.
Truth be told, I actually bought this book just for the Norf sauce that was raved about on the CBS morning show. Let me tell you though, their pizza crust recipe is most worthy as well. Note that these pizzas are of the square variety with a thick crust and some great crunchy cheese borders. Now for that Norf sauce… I was a bit taken aback that the base is a premade sauce but I persevered and bought some organic pizza sauce from Sprouts since I couldn’t find a 28 oz. can of their recomended sauce. This signature sauce is based on an arrabbiata sauce and it is quite ANGRY. I did not add the full amount (1/3 cups) of red pepper flakes to my try and it was almost too hot for us, especially the leftover sauce I tried to coat pasta with.
A lot of the recipes in this book start with a commercial base. The Norffalo Sauce uses Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and Sweet Baby Ray’s Nashville Hot Wing Sauce. The House BBQ sauce is based on Bull’s Eye and KC Masterpiece Mesquite sauces (but a good amount of gochujang is added). Their Flip Side BBQ Sauce though is a delicious sounding mix of fresh Vidalia onions, tomato sauce, Lee Kum Kee Black Pepper Sauce and a long list of cupboard spices. There’s a sauce for everyone: Thai Red Curry, Honey Chipotle, Basil Pesto, Spicy Cheese, Garlic-Parm, Wiz (homemade Cheez Wiz), Vegan Wiz, Vegan Caesar, Vegan and Thousand Island.
More pizza toppings recipes are included like Pikliz (Haitian “hella hot” pickles), sautéed mushrooms (utilizing that Montreal seasoning), and roasted chicken thighs.
Mike Carter, the executive chef of Down North, introduces the Vegetable + Vegan Pizza section. These are recipes that are not meant “as an afterthought, where you just take off the meat. Vegans want options as good as the carnivore choices” (59). Carter also shares his own story. He comes from a culinary family and new that food was in his blood but “At age fourteen, though, I got pulled into the streets” and spent time at a boys facility where he still found his way into the kitchen (59). He keeps his eye on the culinary world but as an ex-offender, he was an easy mark. Resilient is a word that I know I’ve overused, but he kept on.
The vegan and vegetable pies are truly made to appeal to everyone. Vegetable pizzas have a not to make them totally vegan. Two Fifteen (named after Philly’s area code) is made with pickled mushrooms and shishito peppers and garlic.
Mar, sous chef and “Dough Guy,” introduces the Meat + Seafood section, where he tells his story:
Down North was a place he found but didn’t intend on staying but he wanted to support the people, himself, and the cause.
I wouldn’t call these pies traditional but that doesn’t make them any less delicious. I made the Roc the Mic (94) pizza. This pepperoni version has a base of mozzarella, provolone and sharp white cheddar. The pepperoni is placed on top and then baked. (BTW, the thick pizza crusts are pre-baked for a while before toppings are added.) After the pizza is baked with the toppings, stripes of Norf sauce are spooned on. As I mentioned before, these pizzas have a great cheesy edge.
Note that vegan remixes are included in the Meat + Seafood section, too.
The What We Do pizza has a recipe for a beef sausage (ground beef, fennel seeds, garlic and onion powder, fresh ground pepper and Kosher salt). It’s topped with kale, the signature cheese mix (moz, provolone and white cheddar), pepperoni, banana peppers and Honey Chipotle Sauce. Yeah That’s Us is their Buffalo chicken version. There’s also a lamb based pizza and a turkey sausage pizza. There’s a ton of variations and different meats: beef bacon with canned pineapple, a Philly cheesesteak pie, brisket, a taco version, pesto-based, Thai pizza, etc.
There is a jail house pizza recipe (but why would you make it at home, they ask). Collaborations with the likes of Chefs Marc Vetri, Michael Solomonov, Shenarri Freeman, Marcus Samuelsson, Reem Assil, and Nicole and Michael Nicholas show some try cheffy (and over-the-top creative) pizza recipes.
Wings + Fries is the appetizer section. The standouts here are the Vegan Norffalo Wings (cauliflower) and the Norf Fries (doused with beef bacon, dirty salt, spicy cheese sauce, BBQ sauce and crispy shallots).
Beverages like classic, strawberry, blueberry, cucumber-mint, and watermelon lemonade varieties are listed along with a vanilla milkshake recipe with lots of remix ideas.
Do NOT miss reading about the Down North Community Foundation (187-189) to learn about the other worthy projects like the Growing Freedom and The Healing Garden, Down North Treehouse, and Protect Ya Crib.
Sobering historical facts and statistics are listed at the bottom of every page of this cookbook. One cannot help but pause. I did pick up this book for the pizza recipes, but We the Pizza aims to educate. I feel honored to own this book and I also feel enlightened.
Let’s start with the story.
Danny Trejo (the actor and cookbook author in his own right) pens the forward for the book. He praises the recipes and the stories: “powerful, resilient stories of those impacted by the criminal legal system” and “the power of second chances” (6). The preface, “Pizza de Resistance,” is written by Ajima Olaghere, PhD and is a treatise with statistics, data and history to stand up and question the entire incarceration system. He applauds the work of Down North Pizza: “This book is a culinary ode to Black people—for us to always think free, be free, love free, eat well and be well” (9). Now we get to the introduction as Abdul-Hadi, the founder describes “Grand Opening Chaos.” He opened Down North Pizza in one of the vacant building fronts he owned without any experience in the restaurant field. He had drive and fortitude: “I knew this pizza shop would work. The mission is what drove me forward” (10).
What was the mission?
What I did not yet realize was how much value, wisdom, genius, and innovation there was in the streets themselves. You can give someone a job, but you can’t give them their humanity. All you can do is acknowledge it or deny it. In my efforts to provide formerly incarcerated people with jobs, I was reminded that my community is undeniably beautiful in spite of what the system has taken from us. We the Pizza is about our glorious journey and just how far we can go together. (10)
Slangin’ Pies + Savin’ Lives
I love a cookbook that includes a playlist and We the Pizza does that! They name every one of their pizzas at Down North after a song from a Philly artist.
The ingredients (“The Commissary”) might seem a little out of the ordinary for a pizza cookbook but it all makes weird sense: aji amarillo pepper paste, curry paste, dried fried shallots, jerk seasoning, mayo, Montreal steak seasoning, and Thai chili sauce. As for the basics, they recommend King Arthur bread flour, low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, Gran Moravia parmesan, Follow Your Heart vegan parmesan, and Full-Red Pizza Sauce w/Basil. Down North is a halal pizza shop so they utilize halal beef and turkey pepperoni and they make their own sausages.
Pizza has this ability to bring people together. It’s feel-good food that people from all walks of life can get behind. —Muhammad Abdul-Hadi
Truth be told, I actually bought this book just for the Norf sauce that was raved about on the CBS morning show. Let me tell you though, their pizza crust recipe is most worthy as well. Note that these pizzas are of the square variety with a thick crust and some great crunchy cheese borders. Now for that Norf sauce… I was a bit taken aback that the base is a premade sauce but I persevered and bought some organic pizza sauce from Sprouts since I couldn’t find a 28 oz. can of their recomended sauce. This signature sauce is based on an arrabbiata sauce and it is quite ANGRY. I did not add the full amount (1/3 cups) of red pepper flakes to my try and it was almost too hot for us, especially the leftover sauce I tried to coat pasta with.
A lot of the recipes in this book start with a commercial base. The Norffalo Sauce uses Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and Sweet Baby Ray’s Nashville Hot Wing Sauce. The House BBQ sauce is based on Bull’s Eye and KC Masterpiece Mesquite sauces (but a good amount of gochujang is added). Their Flip Side BBQ Sauce though is a delicious sounding mix of fresh Vidalia onions, tomato sauce, Lee Kum Kee Black Pepper Sauce and a long list of cupboard spices. There’s a sauce for everyone: Thai Red Curry, Honey Chipotle, Basil Pesto, Spicy Cheese, Garlic-Parm, Wiz (homemade Cheez Wiz), Vegan Wiz, Vegan Caesar, Vegan and Thousand Island.
More pizza toppings recipes are included like Pikliz (Haitian “hella hot” pickles), sautéed mushrooms (utilizing that Montreal seasoning), and roasted chicken thighs.
Mike Carter, the executive chef of Down North, introduces the Vegetable + Vegan Pizza section. These are recipes that are not meant “as an afterthought, where you just take off the meat. Vegans want options as good as the carnivore choices” (59). Carter also shares his own story. He comes from a culinary family and new that food was in his blood but “At age fourteen, though, I got pulled into the streets” and spent time at a boys facility where he still found his way into the kitchen (59). He keeps his eye on the culinary world but as an ex-offender, he was an easy mark. Resilient is a word that I know I’ve overused, but he kept on.
I believe nobody should be judged solely by their last mistake. That’s why Down North’s mission is front burner. We’re trying to change the system. Before I wanted to be a gangster, I wanted to be a revolutionary, but ex-offenders can’t attend protests about this shit. Police contact is a parole violation. So, Down North is my demonstration, showing what guys given a second chance can actually do. (63)
The vegan and vegetable pies are truly made to appeal to everyone. Vegetable pizzas have a not to make them totally vegan. Two Fifteen (named after Philly’s area code) is made with pickled mushrooms and shishito peppers and garlic.
Mar, sous chef and “Dough Guy,” introduces the Meat + Seafood section, where he tells his story:
I got my first court case when I was twelve. I didn’t commit the crime, but it didn’t matter—I was running with guys who did. And in high school, everybody gets labeled and you don’t know any better, so you start leaning into the label. It becomes who you think you are. (92)
Down North was a place he found but didn’t intend on staying but he wanted to support the people, himself, and the cause.
I wouldn’t call these pies traditional but that doesn’t make them any less delicious. I made the Roc the Mic (94) pizza. This pepperoni version has a base of mozzarella, provolone and sharp white cheddar. The pepperoni is placed on top and then baked. (BTW, the thick pizza crusts are pre-baked for a while before toppings are added.) After the pizza is baked with the toppings, stripes of Norf sauce are spooned on. As I mentioned before, these pizzas have a great cheesy edge.
Note that vegan remixes are included in the Meat + Seafood section, too.
The What We Do pizza has a recipe for a beef sausage (ground beef, fennel seeds, garlic and onion powder, fresh ground pepper and Kosher salt). It’s topped with kale, the signature cheese mix (moz, provolone and white cheddar), pepperoni, banana peppers and Honey Chipotle Sauce. Yeah That’s Us is their Buffalo chicken version. There’s also a lamb based pizza and a turkey sausage pizza. There’s a ton of variations and different meats: beef bacon with canned pineapple, a Philly cheesesteak pie, brisket, a taco version, pesto-based, Thai pizza, etc.
There is a jail house pizza recipe (but why would you make it at home, they ask). Collaborations with the likes of Chefs Marc Vetri, Michael Solomonov, Shenarri Freeman, Marcus Samuelsson, Reem Assil, and Nicole and Michael Nicholas show some try cheffy (and over-the-top creative) pizza recipes.
Wings + Fries is the appetizer section. The standouts here are the Vegan Norffalo Wings (cauliflower) and the Norf Fries (doused with beef bacon, dirty salt, spicy cheese sauce, BBQ sauce and crispy shallots).
Beverages like classic, strawberry, blueberry, cucumber-mint, and watermelon lemonade varieties are listed along with a vanilla milkshake recipe with lots of remix ideas.
Do NOT miss reading about the Down North Community Foundation (187-189) to learn about the other worthy projects like the Growing Freedom and The Healing Garden, Down North Treehouse, and Protect Ya Crib.
Sobering historical facts and statistics are listed at the bottom of every page of this cookbook. One cannot help but pause. I did pick up this book for the pizza recipes, but We the Pizza aims to educate. I feel honored to own this book and I also feel enlightened.
Read
March 20, 2025Love that there are so many vegan options in here!!
February 6, 2025
Muhammad has created a cookbook that tells his story of what it was like to start up his restaurant, Down North in Philadelphia and how special his restaurant is for the people that live there. His book includes recipes from Michael Carter, David Joachim and a few others. Tons of photographs of recipes, people, and the Down North by Amurri Lauren. “We the Pizza” includes a table of contents, Introduction to Down North, ingredient page and equipment page. Each chapter has a story by Muhammad and tells some facet of his life, meeting the chefs, workers, etc., pictures and recipes from Down North. Each story is written beautifully and so emotional, pictures are added to each chapter and the recipes are flavorful and easy to follow, so that you can enjoy these pizzas, chicken wings and fries. The few recipes that I sampled were the “Down North Pizza Crust” easy to put together and delicious. Norf Sauce, Vegan Wiz Fries, Harissa Chicken Schnitzel Pizza, and I’m a Boss pizza. All of these recipes were easy to follow, most of the ingredients you will find in your pantry and all were delicious. Thank you to Clarkson Potter for the free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
April 1, 2025
What's not to love about a Philly restaurant - Down North- making awesome pizzas and rebuilding lives of formerly incarcerated people. The recipes sound delicious and the poignant stories of those whose lives have been changed make for a really good book. The photos are excellent! Next time I head to Philadelphia you can bet I'll be checking out a pizza and that awesome looking vanilla milkshake. Clarkson Potter provided me with a free copy of this book; the opinions are my own.
November 29, 2025
I love pizza. I need to plan a trip to Down North Pizza in Philadelphia to try some vegan options. What a great organization (downnorthfoundation.org) that helps build the community. The timeline detailing slavery to incarceration is eye-opening. Great recipes.
March 3, 2025
Such an amazing message. I wish I lived closer. 😪
March 13, 2025
Recipes and photography look amazing. The history and stories are beautifully written.
July 20, 2025
DNF - July 2025. Didn't realize it was a cookbook.
Read
August 22, 2025I can't cook my pizza to 700 degrees at home. LOL
Great layout and appeal to this cookbook. WIsh I could visit.
Great layout and appeal to this cookbook. WIsh I could visit.
November 17, 2025
Maybe the best cookbook I’ve ever seen, from the stories to the history to the recipes to the photos. So well done.
December 1, 2025
This book isn't about pizza. I mean, it is. But it's also about education and redemption. Education for you as a reader, about incarceration and life after prison, and redemption for people who whose lived experience is not what you think. Several pages detail the history of American's penal system and systematically racist polices that make it one of the largest industrial complexes we know. But it's also about hope and good food and taking risks with both. This is why I read cookbooks and I'm grateful to find this, again, on my library's New Books shelf.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews