New York pizza conflict might be the recipe for a day in court

Hot fresh pizza with pepperoni and a lawsuit.

One venerable downtown New York City pizza establishment, Prince Street Pizza, is suing newcomer Made in New York Pizza on the Upper West Side over what Prince Street says is some proprietary pepperoni.

Prince Street Pizza owner Dominic Morano said fra diavolo sauce and fresh cut pepperoni make for a proprietary recipe for his joint’s "Spicy Spring" pizza.

Mr. Morano’s family says it is taking legal action against Frank Badali, who left Prince Street Pizza about a year ago after seven years and is now at the newly opened Made in New York Pizza.

Eytan Sugarman of Made in New York Pizza, however, sees the pie differently.

He says that although Mr. Badali did create Made in New York’s pepperoni recipe, it’s different than the spicy pepperoni at Prince Street.

For his part, Mr. Badali was quoted in local media as saying the recipe has been “upgraded.”