KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan. He saw Barstool Sports boss Dave Portnoy's review of a local pizza joint and went there to find out what makes the place special.
—
7.7 was the rating Barstool Sports President Dave Portnoy gave Northeast Pizza at Brooklyn and Lexington avenues in Kansas City, Missouri Historic Northeast neighborhood.
Portnoy is has a nationwide following on social media and is known for his blunt and honest pizza reviews.
"I was just grateful that we were even in that conversation," said Noah Quillec, co-owner of the pizza place. "He’s kind of become the gold standard on determining whether a pizza place is worth trying or not."
Northeast Pizza is one of the newest businesses in the Pendleton Heights Neighborhood. Quillec, along with Mike DeStefano, his business partner and pizza chef, opened in February.
"With his experience and the amount of pizza he's eaten, I think it gives us some credibility," DeStefano told KSHB 41 News reporter Ryan Gamboa.
The two both have a passion for the service industry. They operate other businesses across the metro.
Quillec lives in a Northeast neighborhood and had a vision to create a "local, neighborhood restaurant."
Mike and Noah made trips to Chicago and New York to eat at what some would consider the pizza capitals of the world.
"We just saw that Kansas City didn't have anything like what they had there," DeStefano said.
DeStefano says he's followed Dave Portnoy's social media accounts and has watched his pizza reviews over the past six years.
He knows what Dave likes and it's more of the New York style pie.
"Somebody gave me a little heads up from his social media account that he might be in Kansas City," he said. "We were on, you know, alert, but had no idea when he was going to come."
Portnoy stopped by on Saturday night with little warning after calling in his order.
The employee who made the pizza was not working on Wednesday night when Gamboa and his photographer, Jake Weller, stopped by.
Employees said once one employee realized who the order was for, she got nervous.
With a "seven-seven" rating, those worries faded after the video was posted on Portnoy's X account on Tuesday.
"No one knew that pie was for Portnoy and that’s great," DeStefano said. "We’re just doing what we do on a regular basis. It's a nod to the team. The level of consistency that the team is executing here, I couldn’t be more proud."
Portnoy made his first stop at Pizza Tascio in the Northland, dropping the video on Monday and gave that pizza restaurant a rating of 8.1.
Barstool Pizza Review - Northeast Pizza (Kansas City, MO) presented by @draftkings #DKPartner pic.twitter.com/qOWQVZ4QFo
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 2, 2025
On Wednesday night, Portnoy gave Minsky's Pizza in River Market a 6.5 rating.
As the kitchen leader, DeStefano says the 7.7 rating puts the business on the map.
"I’m sure there’s hundreds of pizza places in the city and for us to be on his radar, we’re super proud of that," he said.
The Pendleton Heights neighborhood in Kansas City's Northeast area is full of character and has a rich history.
Quillec told KSHB 41 there's a lot of people in the neighborhood doing some great things that can sometimes get overshadowed by the area's challenges.
"PH Coffee is really the business that's holding it all together," he said.
The Portnoy review puts a neighborhood typically cast in the shadow in the spotlight of it's business growth and opportunity.
"Northeast deserves some recognition for that, that people are here and are taking care of their space and contributing to something bigger than themselves," said Quillec.
Laurlyl Sidwell, who works in the area, frequents Northeast Pizza with her co-workers at lunch time, but doesn't spend her money on dining out other times.
She and a friend at dinner on Wednesday night at Northeast Pizza told KSHB 41 it must be good food if she's eating out.
"I don't agree with his review," she said with a laugh. "I think it should be way higher."
Northeast Pizza is located at 2203 Lexington Ave in Kansas City, Missouri.
—
