
Sotto Sopra Pizza in Massapequa serves ‘upside-down’ Sicilian

Upside-down Sicilian is the specialty of the house at Sotto Sopra Pizza in Massapqeua. Credit: Newsday / Erica Marcus
There’s one slice that customers order more than any other at this 10-month-old Massapequa pizzeria: the upside down Sicilian. So, in May, the owners changed the name from Rosa’s to Sotto Sopra, Italian for “upside down.”
If you’re expecting a pie with sauce on the bottom and crust on the top, know that “upside down” refers only to the topping: the cheese goes onto the thick crust first, then the tomatoes. But the effect is winning. The cheese adheres nicely to the puffy, tender crust and the sweet, clear tomato sauce, applied with restraint, stays on the pie — not on your shirt.
Upside-down Sicilian is just one of dozens of specialty pies here. Round pies include baked clam, mac ’n’ cheese, chipotle chicken, ravioli alla vodka and disco (French fries topped with brown gravy and American cheese or mozzarella). Square pies include drunken grandma (fresh mozzarella and vodka sauce), sfincione (onions, breadcrumbs, pecorino and caciocavallo cheeses) and a very soigné potato with fresh mozzarella, red onion and truffle oil. Whole pies range from $18 to $26, slices from $2.75 to $4.75. There’s also a full menu of salads, pastas and Italian specialties.
Sotto Sopra Pizza, 624 Broadway, Massapequa, 516-557-2933, sottosoprapizza.com