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News 12 Staff

527neolovepizza9am_2023-05-27-11-40-35

This time we were here on spotlight New Jersey. We were talking about this pizza in front of me from Neo Love Pizza in Oldbridge called, what's it called? Damien Jackson is the owner, what's it called? Uh This is called Feeling Peachy and that's uh oven roasted peaches. Uh Just, you know, so I like, like I used to, I like to say, you know, it's something, you know, new with old ingredients. Uh, like again, oven roasted peaches. We used to have peaches and dumplings when we were kids and, you know, I had an idea just to top it off with some Mars Capone and marshmallow cream that we make and it just, it gives it a uh a nice layer there of, of extra flavor. Um And it's just a beautiful thing. It's just something that makes me remember, you know, being a kid again, you know, sitting in the chair, you know, you couldn't wait for that, those peaches to come out of that pot and get in that bowl. So, you know, exactly reminds me of a peach copper. We love pineapple on pizza. Now, we've got, we got peaches and that one right there would be the chopped cheese that's also a blast on a, as, you know, just as a kid. Um, not having hamburger buns and, you know, just figure, hey, let me chop this meat up and, and put it on a hot dog roll and that's kind of where that started at. And it just developed over the years and it went into like a taco thing and then like all of a sudden it was just like, oh, wow. Like, I, I have a, a thing, like, it's just like this ground turkey. I, I could really make it really. Well, you never heard of ground turkey on a pizza? No, it's, it's a, there's a, there's a, a lot of toppings that I have, you've never heard on pizza. And uh this one right here would be the, uh, we call it what's beef? I'm a huge, uh, biggie fan. So, you know, this one of his songs is called What's Beef? Me Being from Brooklyn Best. So I figured it was only right that I call it, that us using beef pepperoni, uh, as a fresh mozzarella on there. And then what you see on top there is a, uh a creamy mozzarella and they call that, uh, if you have ever had a Barra before, I don't know if you had or not heard of it. Um, but, um, the creamy in the middle. Exactly. So, like the, the inner workings of that is you know, the, the creamy part is called and then like the, the those shards of mozzarella group together, they call that and it just gives it a nice creamy texture. Um takes, you know, away from some of the acidity and, and that you may have in the sauce that you may not have. We use a uh San Marzano tomato sauce and pour it from Italy. Like I said, I, I try to be as authentic as possible to a lot of the ingredients that I use and try to be as fresh as possible. And coming up next at noon, Duke talks about his pasta dish right there on the table and the grandfather who inspired his pizza pies.

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527neolovepizzanoon_2023-05-27-12-17-30

Look at that wonderful pasta here on the table here at spotlight New Jersey. Isn't it? Absolutely beautiful? And it smells fantastic. Damian Jackson is the owner of Neo Love Pizza in Oldbridge. He's here with us in the studio. Love that you started out working with J C P and L before you got into the pizza bits. Oh, actually started out in the pizza biz before J C P when I was a kid. So when I was a kid, yeah, when I was like 15 years old, I worked in a uh indoor music park called Fun Time America. And I was working laser tag and, you know, they were having some issues in the kitchen and, you know, everybody that my friends there were like, you know, Duke cooks, you know, everybody calls me Duke. So they're like, you know, Duke cooks and then they dragged me into the kitchen, showed me how to make pizza. And there it was right there. I was already in love with Italian food. So that's kind of, you know, where it started and then I just, it, it, it kind of transformed into this thing where, you know, I was just learning how to do things and, and wanting to do more of it myself. Um, it's funny how you say Italian food you love, but you're part Irish. Yes. Yes. So, uh, my grandfather was, uh, was half Irish. Um, so he used to make these dinner rolls, uh, when we were kids and, you know, just, it just brought the whole family together also, you know, used to, you know, feed other people in the community that, that knew that he made these dinner rolls and like it was just something that it, it, it, it really made you sit down if you know the, the just the taste, the flavor, the smell, you know, the dough being on the table. You um I remember all these things uh uh about it, you know, the coffee mug that he used to, to, to, you know, make the, the biscuit, you know, just to cut him out and set them to the side and you know, it just, you, you never know how many things uh stick with you until you start trying to make those foods. And that's, that's the flavor that I was trying to capture with the dough was, you know, I just, I remember the smell, I remember the taste and I just worked on it, worked on it called my mom over and you know, she tasted it and she goes, uh she goes, you know, it, it tastes like he's still alive. So, you know, it kinda, I feel like I feel like I'm on the right track there. So I just, I wanted to share that with you with the world that, you know, and I think that, you know, not a lot of us have the, the, the opportunity to experience, uh, a great meal. Why did you pick Old Bridge to open up your shop? Well, uh, I'm kind of all over the place. So, you know, old Bridge was, is, it's a place, you know, one of my friends, his mom lives in, uh kind of behind where, where my shop is at and he calls me, he goes Duke. You know, I see there's a, a shop available here, you know, used to be at and he goes, uh what do you think? He goes, my wife told me not to call you because I, I don't think he, she said you probably not looking because, you know, you got a little food truck and I was like, no, I'm definitely looking. So I went right over there, uh, took the number down, called the guy and within about four or five days we closed on the deal. So it was, it was something that is like, like you wearing green, it was a green light. So, you know, I kind of just followed the song. I love that. So that's just the way it went. Um I'm kind of a guy that, that follows the signs and I just, I, I go where the, the energy tells me to go. So that's how I ended up in Old Bridge. And it's, it's a fabulous time tomorrow. Duke talks about two special people who support his venture.

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528neolovepart4_2023-05-28-10-48-25

Be here in spotlight, New Jersey. Love to talk about family and show their photos. Damien Jackson, who's the owner of Neo Love Pizza in Oldbridge, sent me this photo before he came in to talk today here on the show. Tell us about these lovely people. Uh That's my oldest son, Cesar who is 16 and my youngest son, Brooklyn, who's 10, um, kind of, you know, pretty much the reason why I, I do everything I do. I, you know, I have to drive that I have, uh, I, I would like to, you know, hand off something to them that, you know, wasn't, wasn't available to me just, you know, just things, things have a life has a funny way of, of treating things, you know. Um, so you wanna leave them generational wealth, uh, your own, uh, uh, just, just, uh a huge legacy like that, you know, that they would never have imagined coming to them either. I didn't foresee this coming, you know, I just, I kind of go with the wind and like I said, I follow the signs and this was something that it just came and I'm always telling them, hey, you know, don't worry about getting a job, you know, go, you know, start your own thing. You know, you have a mind. You created my oldest son. He's, he's, he's very artsy. So he knows how to draw. You know, he's, he's taught himself how to play guitar like this kid is amazing. So, you know, tell him, you know, follow your mind and, and, and do what you wanna do. Brooklyn. He's the same deal. So, you know, he's, he's very creative and, you know, very physical. And I, I always tell him, hey, you know, do what you wanna do. Don't being a boxer, he inherited that, didn't he being physical? Uh, just, yeah. Right. So I used to, uh, when I was training for J C P and L to be in line, um, I used to go to a gym and Freehold, uh, freehold boxing and used to train every single morning, five in the morning I get up, go run my mile. Then I go to the gym and, and ses was only about a couple months old and I would just take him in his car seat. I send him on the bench and face him towards the ring and, you know, he, he'll see me, you know, get, get punched. I'm, I'm doing the punching and, uh, I remember the first day he see me put somebody down and he was just like, uh, I had to be about four years old. At the time, he just run around and ring. Oh my God. So, um, he definitely, he definitely gets a lot of things from me. They both do. You know, because, you know, I also took Brooklyn and, and the, the same format, you know, sat him down on the bench. So I, you know, we both hit in the bag and, you know, Brooklyn's watching. So, and your mom Pat is here in the studio. Yes. Yes. Also, also a great inspiration this, this woman has. Uh she's, she's done a lot in her life. She's, you know, she never stops moving. Air force. She's got quite the resume. Yeah, that's just a, a dancer like, you know, um just, you know, everywhere she goes, you know, people know her to be the one to be dancing. Uh have a lot of energy de definitely a tough act to follow. Um Is I, I still feel like I haven't done enough or I could ever do it enough. Um The only thing I can do for her is, you know, show her, you know what she did, you know, help me and, and, and put me in a place that I'm at now and I wanna throw in one last shout out because of the reason you're here is because of a friend of yours, my friend uh Mark at uh C P and L. So, you know, he got a chance to, you know, do some events with me and, you know, we would go and do some, you know, some poetry for some of the other employees there. You know, also, you know, do that as well. Right. And he just, uh, he just reached out and he said, hey, he said I called, I, I got in touch and, yeah, he's like, I think you should be there. I think, I think the world should know about, you know, what you have and, you know, you have a gift and, you know, this pizza is amazing. He said, you know, and he's right, probably the best pizza he's tasted in his life. And, you know, pizzas, people see like the, the crab or the feeling peachy or, you know, like even the, the chopped cheese and they, they can't believe that these are some of the toppings on pizza. So I'm just, you know, I have, you know, I'm, I think I'm, I'm just crazy enough to, to share all of my favorite pizzas and, you know, my favorite pizza is wood fire pizza, which we'll have soon, uh, Neapolitan style. But, you know, this is, this is what I'm able to give right now. And, um, I just wanna, I wanna share this with the world. I wanna share this with everybody else and, you know, kinda, kinda of, you know, build my, my, my family name back up to, to what it used to be and what it meant. So, you know, people used to, you know, Mr Monroe was making the, the, the rolls and the biscuits and everything like that. So I wanna, you know, I want people to know that, hey, you know, Duke was, was doing the pizza, you know, it tastes like Mr Monroe's, uh, you know, biscuits and rolls and, uh, you know, we also giving out food as well, you know, we volunteer a lot, don't you just love listening to him Talk about family and friends and support. He is a great interview. He also has a great pizza. So check him out in Albridge. Now when we continue at nine, Duke talks about his plans for Neo Love pizza.

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528neolovenoon_2023-05-28-12-19-17

We are talking with Damian Jackson here on spotlight New Jersey. He's the owner of Neo Love Pizza in Oldbridge. What was it like for you, Damien as a gentleman trying to get a small business off the ground. What were the challenges you faced? Uh, the, the challenges? Wow. Uh, you know, being a lineman, uh, having, uh, that, that job is, is very demanding and, you know, right when, when the power goes out, you know, you, you, you're called on the middle of the night, you know, you have to be there, you know, 16 hours a day sometimes and, you know, maybe 100 and 10 hours a week. Uh, so I just had to, I had to make a choice and, and what it is that I wanted to do. Exactly. And it was one day I, I was, uh, making some dough with my youngest son, Brooklyn and, you know, I kind of just look to the side and it, it dawned on me that, you know, this was, this was, I can't bring him to work with me at J C P N L and we can't climb poles together. Right. But I can have him in the kitchen with me. I can, you know, these are things that I can show him, I can show him certain skill sets, you know, while we, you know, while we're in the kitchen or where we're at, you know, whatever, whatever restaurant that I own or anything like that. Like, it's just, I, I knew that I had to change the narrative. So I, I, I made a choice that, that very night and I decided that, uh, you know, and I had a love for, for being in line and I, that's something that I want to do when I was like 15 years old. So I'm just fortunate enough to be able to have done and still doing everything that I put my mind to everything that I dream about. Um, just, you know, anything that I, I feel like I can, I can think about, I, I feel like I can create it. Exactly. You manifest it. Part of your future plans include starting your own youtube channel. Yeah. Just, uh, you know, kind of talk about pizza and, and, and, and put it back on the map. I don't, I don't feel like there's enough people talking about pizza anymore. Good pizza. I feel like there's a, a lot of pizza that's uh trash if you will. Um, but, you know, I don't think people put enough effort into making the, you know, good pizza. We can go so many places and you know, get a 99 cent slice and you know, this slice and that slice. But where's the good pizza at? So what's your secret for that? Good pizza? My secret is, is all love. Like, you know, do, do it from your heart, do it, you know what makes you feel great? Um And, and try to stay, you know, as authentic to the culture as possible, you know, it, you know, Italian culture is, is, goes, goes way back, you know, every everybody's culture goes, you know, far, far back and you know, you, you have to invest some sort of time into knowing about that culture, knowing, you know, where things started at and, you know, like people judge me for putting uh mozzarella on my, on my menu, I spell it mozzarella. So like in, in Naples, that's what they, that's what that, that's how they spelled it, that's how they said it. So I just wanted to, you know, pay some homage to that and, and, and put that there and, you know, I get English teachers that say, hey, that's spelled wrong or, you know, I guess you should do your history. There's a method to your mad, you know what you're doing. There's a method to, to everything that I do. And uh most of all, I, I, I, I try so hard to do everything with, with just like if it's not 100% love, it's 99% love and it, it, it goes that much farther and it transfers into the food and then that food goes to somebody else. And then I like now they feel that love and then I just want them to, to leave my place or, you know, sit at home and, you know, fell, fell a little love. You can catch all five segments with Neo Love on news 12 dot com and my Facebook page.

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Damien “Duke” Jackson, owner of Neo Love Pizza in Old Bridge, joined News 12’s Della Crews to present some of the restaurant’s signature dishes.

Spotlight New Jersey: Neo Love Pizza in Old Bridge

Damien “Duke” Jackson, owner of Neo Love Pizza in Old Bridge, joined News 12’s Della Crews to present some of the restaurant’s signature dishes.

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