Profile

Marcello Sabella grew up near Canarsie, but he’s been feeding local households, slice by slice, since the mid-seventies, when he opened the first Sabella’s down the block. He moved the operation to its present location in 1989, to the heart of the neighborhood’s tiny shopping strip, where Chinese takeout, Japanese eat-in, Connecticut Muffin, and Terrace Bagels form a mini-U.N. of eateries. Sabella’s contribution is pizza, thin-crust or square, no pretentions. You want more? Try the baked ziti or stuffed shells, the meatball hero or chicken parm. Marcello says the neighborhood’s once-voracious appetite for anchovies has given way to a preference for pepperoni; lost gourmands can also order pizzas margherita or bianco, should they prefer. In a clean, sunny storefront that features a small pietà near the soda machine and a Kodachrome-saturated print of Jesus to the right of the ovens, Sabella’s pies are nothing fancy, nothing fake, just simple sustenance, handmade and piping hot. — Helen Zelon

Plain slice, $2; Sicilian slice, $2