Patch's Signature Pizza Pursuit: Stuffed Pizza at Hollywood North in Sleepy Hollow

Stuffed pizza, a distinctive signature pizza at cozy  in Sleepy Hollow, is sold only in individual portions. Owner Arben "Benny" Kastrati explains why. "Just one portion is a big meal in itself," he says. "That's why no one purchases a whole stuffed pizza."

Stuffed pizza is available on Friday through Sunday only. Piled high with chopped meatball, sausage, pepperoni, peppers, onion, cheese and marinara sauce—its oversized servings are cut from a huge, round 22-inch pie and sell for $5 each.

A specialty pizza that Kastrati says is generating a lot of interest is the Hollywood Seafood Special. Available in 16-inch and 18-inch sizes, this pie comes with clams, calamari, scallops, shrimp, black and white mussels, mozzarella and red or white sauce.  Also very popular are chicken parmigiana and Buffalo chicken pizzas. 

Newly introduced is Stromboli pizza (square shaped to begin with, the pizza dough is rolled into a log and baked)—this combination of ham, salami and American cheese is available as a sandwich but only on Friday through Sunday.

Specials galore

Hollywood North Pizza is well known for its extensive list of mainstay and frequently changing specials. As specials come and go weekly, it can be hard to keep track of all of them.

At most eateries, customers begin by reading the menu but at Hollywood North Pizza, repeat patrons know to check out the specials first. Fourteen permanent "every-day" affordable specials are listed on an insert that accompanies the menu but many more are posted on signs tacked to the walls. There are discounted specials for just about everything even dinner entrées; some discounts apply for individuals, others are intended for feeding entire families.

The newest special is a student-discount, one-dollar slice offer (a slice normally costs $2.50), available on Monday through Friday up to 4 p.m. Five other student deals are currently offered.

The menu includes calzones, salads, hamburgers, hot and cold sandwiches, wraps, garlic knots, panini, pasta, kid's plates, seafood and other dinner entrées. Desserts include homemade cheesecake. All bread served is baked on the premises.

Soup is taken seriously here. Seven or eight different kinds are served at any given time. Currently the kitchen offers beef barley, Italian Wedding, clam chowder, cream of mushroom, Pasta Fagioli, minestrone and chicken noodle soup. Each is priced at $5.

So new it's not on the menu is a Philly steak pizza.

Kastrati grew up in Milan (Milano), Italy and played on his high school's soccer team. He competed as a professional Greco-Roman wrestler in Italy and Greece before deciding to enroll at a culinary school in Stuggart, Germany. Following graduation he cooked for eight years at restaurants in Germany.

He arrived in America twelve years ago—during seven of these years, he managed the Pizza Grill in Hastings on Hudson. He and his wife Khatuna "Kate" purchased Hollywood North Pizza in November, 2010.

Kastrati speaks seven languages: Italian, Albanian, German, Greek, Spanish, Russian and English.

Hollywood North Pizza is located at 109 Beekman Ave., Sleepy Hollow. Delivery is available to customers within 5 miles. A $10 minimum charge applies. Half and full trays can be provided for catered events. The pizzeria opens at 10 a.m. seven days a week and closes at 10 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and Sunday and at 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. 914-631-7406 or 914-631-8931.www.hollywoodnorthpizza.com

More information can be found on Facebook, www.facebook.com/pages/Hollywood-North-Pizza/105983629464896