Entries tagged with 'New Jersey'
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 27, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Dunno if you're tapped out on reading any more reactions to the Alan Richman Top 25 Pizza List, but I haven't yet seen someone from New Jersey get in on the pile up—until now. Here's Caroline from the blog Devil & Egg defending the Garden State's cheesy honor:
Now for my complaint, where's the Jersey representation!? What the friggin frick! I mean, come on. Providence, R.I., gets 2 pizzerias! New Haven gets 2! NYC gets 5 (and didn't include the original Patsy's in East Harlem)! Michigan gets 4!!!! San Francisco 3? Philly gets 2! And Jersey ... 0
Come on. New Jersey has a fine, and very well-respected history of pizza making, specifically another regional specialty known as the bar pie....
I feel this neglect by Mr. Richman is unjust--Jersey may not have squash pies topped with pine nuts or rosemary sprigs, but they still have something special. Really.
Admittedly, Slice is a bit weak in the Garden State pizza game—I don't have the car power to get around like I need to in the Jerz—but that doesn't stop me from rabble-rousing here.
"I moved from Trenton, New Jersey, across the river to Pennsylvania. I miss the pizza. I'm not kidding. I had no idea we had the best pizza on the universe, until I'm just a little too far to get it anymore." —PerkyMac, from Serious Eats Talk
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 14, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Clockwise from top left: Proofing pans hold dough balls; Paulie Gee, pizza madman; the most popular pie of the night, the Margherita with Sopressata Picante and Parmigiano-Reggiano; Paulie places a pie in the oven; the Bianco with Chopped Fresh Garlic, Pecorino Romano, and Fresh Basil comes steaming from the oven.
Regular readers will recognize the name Paulie Gee from his many comments here on Slice and from his extensive collection of pizza photos on Flickr. Paulie is the consummate pizza lover—he eats it, lives it, breathes it, and, this past Saturday, he made it. For me!
And for his family and some guests.
Paulie holds occasional pizza tastings at his place in Warren, New Jersey, where he's built a small wood-fired oven in his yard. You might have seen the Goodeater post about Paulie or the story Lois Heyman wrote about him in the Bridgewater Courier-News. After re-reading those pieces, I knew I was in for something special.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, February 10, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Clicking in to the Slice inbox today, we've got some quick tips from Mark H. (aka famdoc).
In the past week, I've had the opportunity to enjoy two fine variations on the concept of pizza.
At Nizza, in the Theater District, I enjoyed a fine version of socca, a snack found commonly around the city of Nice in the South of France (also known as farinata in the region around Genoa in Italy), made with chickpea flour. Nizza: 630 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10036 (b/n 44th and 45th; map); 212-956-1800
At Moustache in Lambertville, New Jersey, we had what might be the finest zatter bread served in the U.S. A blend of herbs, sesame seeds, and olive oil spread over a pizza crust, it was a perfect starter to a fine Middle Eastern meal. Moustache: 77 South Union Street, Lambertville NJ 08530 (map); 609-397-7777
Thought I'd pass these recs on to fellow slice fans.
—Mark
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Posted by Adam Kuban, December 5, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Photographs courtesy of Paulie Gee
If you're a regular reader of Slice, Paulie Gee needs no introduction. For the rest of you heathens who drop by only occasionally, I'll spell it out. Paulie Gee is all over the comments here on Slice, responding with great tips on eating pizza in the NYC area and with sage advice on making pizza at home.
He knows what he's talking about. The guy seems to be at every pizzeria at once, and when he's at home, he's making what looks to be a killer line-up of pies in his backyard wood-burning pizza oven. Here's his Flickr set, aptly titled Paulie Gee's Pizzeria, though I've seen him refer to it at times as Cucina Paulie Gee.
Long story short, Paulie has just been profiled on GoodEater.org, where one of the bloggers there scored an invite to a ten-course pizza tasting with Mr. Gee at his home in Warren, New Jersey. It's a great story and a nice profile of one of the voices we've really come to love on Slice here.
Go and catch a glimpse into Paulie's life at GoodEater and via Paulie's own photos.
Posted by Adam Kuban, December 2, 2008 at 9:45 AM
As if things weren't confusing enough when it comes to the name Ray's and the world of pizza. The New York Times chronicles the move of Ray's Real Pizza, once a Times Square pizzeria whose customers included (at some time or other) Alec Baldwin, Puff Daddy Diddy Dude, and Dom DeLuise.
The story mostly details how the former Times Square location attracted celebs and how the new Hazlet digs are devoid of famous eaters: "The Russo brothers keep a camera under the counter just in case a celebrity happens to stumble in. Some customers claim they’ve seen Jon Bon Jovi, the drummer Max Weinberg and Bruce Springsteen drive by."
Given the way that most pizzerias (and restaurants in general) seem to exaggerate star appearances, it's hard to tell if Ray's Real Pizza was ever a celeb magnet, but when you're touting a Max Weinberg drive-by, things have definitely slowed down in the limelight department.
Truth Hammer: The First Ray's
Also, I've gotta bring out the Truth Hammer here. You may see some other websites (ahem, Grub Street) getting confused and dubbing Ray's Real Pizza "the actual original Ray's Pizza," but that is far from the case. Ray's Real is said to have opened "in the late 1970s," according to today's Times story. Compare that to this nugget from the Times archives:
Documents gathered during the Rays' legal battle show that there was no Ray's Pizza listed in the 1959 Manhattan telephone book. That was the year Ralph Cuomo, the 22-year-old son of immigrants from southern Italy, opened a pizzeria in Little Italy, using his mother's recipe.
It was at 27 Prince Street, between Mott and Elizabeth Streets, on the first floor of a building that his family lived in and owned. The next year's telephone book listed the name: Ray's Pizza.
Ray's Real Pizza
3429 State Route 35, Hazlet NJ 07730
732-203-1600
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Posted by Allison Hemler, October 2, 2008 at 2:00 PM
John's of Jersey City
87 Sussex Street, Jersey City NJ 07302 (near Washington Street; map); 201-433-4411; johnspizzerianyc.com
Pizza Style: New York–Neapolitan
Oven Type: Coal-fired
Strangers are astounded when I say I live in Jersey City. "Really? Isn't that far from Manhattan?" It's 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the time of day, which most people aren't aware of. Because of this, there's a rumor going around town that Jersey City-ites are living in the boondocks, and just as far away from New York as the rest of New Jersey. So when I tell people that there is a John's Pizzeria in Jersey City, I'm met with a similar astonishment. "In Jersey City? Is it really John's?" Yes, it's definitely John's, even if their website doesn't acknowledge it. This location seems like the half brother that everyone is ashamed of and no one wants to talk about.
John's is at 87 Sussex Street, about a seven-minute walk from the Exchange Place PATH station, a measly four minutes from the World Trade Center (accessible via 2, 3, R, W, 4, 5, J, M, Z). The decor features outdoor tables and an inside dining room very similar to the John's in Times Square, or so I'm told. Still no slices, but there is a large entrée menu with plenty of options for those who just want their pasta and meatballs.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, September 11, 2008 at 5:35 PM
You know how people always talk about how Anthony Mangieri started out in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, before moving his operation to New York City? Ever wonder what became of his old space?
Well, word is the space has been taken over by one Alex Magyar, who has been serving New York-style pizza as well as Neapolitan-style pies there since May. And he sells by the slice. All Magyar's pies are made with fresh mozzarella on the crust with a swirl of sauce on top. Toppings hew toward the traditional (sausage, garlic, fennel, eggplant, and ricotta, for examle), and there's no other nonsense on the menu like cheesesteak pizza Buffalo chicken.
Apparently Magyar is the second person to open a pizzeria in the space. The guy immediately after Mangieri but before Magyar has already come and gone. We're eager to try the pizza at Gabby & Vinny's and are planning a road trip out there soon.
Gabby & Vinny's
1901 Ocean Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742 (map)
732-701-0100
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 27, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Photograph by *sim* on Flickr
You've heard of wood-oven and coal-oven pizza, but now there's lava-rock-oven pizza. In Princeton, New Jersey, next to the Sam's Club there, is a pizzeria using an oven filled with lava rock, in an attempt to achieve superhot, even cooking temps. New Jersey Monthly has the deets on Magma Pizza:
Order a slice, and you’ll get a strange oval shaped thin crusted pizza. Try it, and you’ll realize [owner Gabe Mahayni] may just have found the secret. The pizza is light from the grill, no grease or drip, just great flavor so each bite leaves you wanting more. The pies are round, and compellingly fresh as well. The calzones, and everything else is constructed before your eyes, and ready in a flash.
Magma Pizza
445 Nassau Park Boulevard, Princeton NJ 08540 (map)
609-452-8383
magmapizza.net
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 25, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Homeslice Paulie Gee commented this morning on my John's Pizzeria post of last week, tipping me to something I was unaware of until now. I figured I'd bust it out into its own post just to alert folks:
Are you aware the John's has opened a new location just west of the Exchange Place Financial District in Jersey City? I happened upon it yesterday. It's not listed on their website, but it's definitely them. They have the same "No Slices" logo on the sign hanging outside, a coal oven, and the menu looks like the Times Square location's menu. It's a very nice-looking place outside and in, but as folks like to say these days, it is what it is. It's located at 87 Sussex Street.
John's Pizzeria
87 Sussex Street, Jersey City NJ 07302 (map)
201-433-4411
Posted by famdoc, July 29, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Editor's note: Mark H. (aka Famdoc), is back with another field report. You may be familiar with Mark's dispatches from the Reykjavik Pizza Company in Reykjavik, Iceland; Jule's Thin Crust in Bucks County, Pennsylvania; and the Kula Lodge on Maui. He reports here, from exotic Stockton, New Jersey. —The Mgmt.
Via Ponte's Ortolana ($14), which is topped with onions, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, artichokes, and calamata olives.
Via Ponte Pizzeria Trattoria
13 Bridge Street, Stockton NJ 08559 (map); 609-397-9397; viaponte.org
Pizza Style: Artisanal, Neapolitan-style pies
Oven Type: Wood-burning
Price: Margherita pizza, $10; Napoletana, $11; Ortolana, $14
These are very good times for pizza, particularly in urban areas. As a New Yorker, I can shuttle from the East Village to Cobble Hill to Arthur Avenue and admire the handiwork of hardworking pizzaioli preparing artisanal pizza in custom-built wood-burning ovens. New Yorkers think nothing of waiting in line for one of those special pies, paying a premium for the privilege. A casual perusal of recent reviews on Slice supports the notion that a similar passion for artisanal pizza exists in many other cities.
If premium pizza is to enjoy widespread success in this country, it will have to make meaningful forays into the vast spaces between large cities. It will mean that risk-taking pizzaioli will have to introduce a new way of looking at pizza to a potentially large audience that's overwhelmingly accustomed to the Americanized idea of pizza preparation.
I recently had the pleasure of tasting the efforts of one such pizzaiolo who is bringing his interpretation of artisanal pizza to the riverfront community of Stockton, New Jersey, about 60 miles west of Manhattan in Hunterdon County.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, July 24, 2008 at 5:15 PM
TVJersey.com
It's interesting how people view the world through their own slightly warped lenses. For instance, the Newark Star-Ledger begins this piece on an upstart pizza truck with the news that it's pissing off its neighbors.
But viewed through the Slice lens, I'd say they buried the lede. Here's what caught my eye in the story about the Lost Brothers Pizza truck:
[Owner Howie] Stern came up with the idea of the mobile pizzeria several years ago after seeing a similar concept in Manhattan. The truck in New York, though, had its pies premade and heated them in the truck. Stern, 37, wanted to take the idea to a different level.
He quit his corporate job in re tail printing and pursued the idea. He studied different models of lunch trucks before finding a manufacturer in Canada to custom design one for $100,000. The finished product is a vehicle that has all the trappings of a regular kitchen with two ovens, a sink, a water tank, refrigerator and air conditioning.
The pies are cooked in-truck, ladies and gents. Which is really something, because even though the ones I've had in Manhattan have been good, it's not the same as having the pizza actually baked on scene. I think I smell a Newark road trip coming soon. After the jump, a video of the truck.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, March 21, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Editor's note: Slice reader Rich DeFabritus joins us today with an update on a Trenton, New Jersey, legend. —Adam
The legend continues—De Lorenzo's Robbinsville (2350 US Highway 33, Robbinsville, NJ; (609)-341-8480). New location is bigger, but crowds still a mainstay, so get here early or be prepared to wait.
Words and Photographs by Rich DeFabritus | British author Benjamin Disraeli was quoted as saying, “change is inevitable, change is constant”. And while many are resistant to change, it’s as certain as death and taxes.
Recognizing this, the famed New Jersey landmark, De Lorenzo’s Tomato Pies, has embraced change and done the previously unthinkable—they’ve moved! Now before you get your pizza peel warped in disbelief, let me clarify. Technically, the old Trenton location will stay opened concurrently with the new Robbinsville location. But with revised hours (no longer opened on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, dinner servings only) and the onset of urban decay, it’s a matter of time before the Hudson Street joint is no more.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, January 24, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Last week on Serious Eats, community member HeartofGlass asked: "How many different kinds of regional varations of pizza exist?"
I figured I'd compile a list of all the styles I've eaten or heard or read about. Sorry it took so long, HeartofGlass. It's a long list, and it appears after the jump.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, August 2, 2007 at 4:42 PM
In which Slice wades waist-deep into the plaintive muck of Craigslist's Missed Connections in search of pizza-related longing. So come with me, my love, to the swamp of love that spawns this That's Amore. —The Mgmt.
New York City
- Dean & Vanderbilt 10pm-ish: Woman in red t-shirt with pizza - m4w - 28: When you entered my field of vision I stopped in my tracks.
The way you came around the corner with that pizza balanced so perfectly on your right hand while you didn't simply walk, but traveled with speed, grace, and style was a breathtaking sight. Simultaneously, a sway and strut pushed and pulled on eachother to create liquid strides of ease and determination.
I had spent all day in Manhattan, witness to more beauty, style, and sensuality than can be expected from any average day on the island, and yet 100 yards from my front door was the most beautifully stylized display of sensuality I had felt all day.
I would feel guilty about my blatant glare, but your facial features did not contort to the often ugly shapes that convey fear, disgust, or complaceny. Instead, your eyes glowed. Your lips curled slighty up. Your nostrils flared the slightest bit.
For me, that may be the only moment you play a part in. Without doubt that pizza was shared with the person that had made you feel so light on your feet that you could glide so effortlessly along the Brooklyn sidewalk. That quick moment still had power and dripped with humanity and will stick with me.
- I had a pink rose and was writing a song on a note pad you=curly hair - m4m - 23: me: i had a pink rose. i was writing on my note pad... i bumped into you. you said sorry...
I looked up and said it was fine and looked down. It took me a while to realize how beautiful you were. you went into driggs pizza i was going to follow you but i was kinda high. i can't believe i am posting this. this is fun. hope life is swell.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, August 1, 2007 at 4:09 PM
Photograph courtesy of Jason Perlow
Posted by Adam Kuban, July 17, 2007 at 2:20 PM
From Slice reader Matt from New Brunswick, New Jersey:
Great site. I've been reading it for a while. Anyhow, I'm not sure if this interests you guys or not, but in the last year there's been a lot of pizza street art and tagging in New Brunswick. I just did a post about it on my blog, which has been tracking street art in New Brunswick for the last six months (hubcitystreetart.com). Like I said, not sure if this is even of interest to you guys, especially since it's going on in central New Jersey.
Dear Matt,
This definitely interests me. Doesn't matter where it is, as long as it's pizza, I'm into it. Interesting that someone has taken up the tag "Pizza." Took long enough! Now s/he must start traveling and spread the tag throughout the globe!
Hasta la pizza,
Adam
Posted by Ed Levine, June 25, 2007 at 9:00 AM
Bar (or tavern) pizza is an entity unto itself within the pizza realm. It's been around at least since Prohibition ended in 1933, but who knows, maybe there was a speakeasy serving pizza. It is served all over the country, although I have found a preponderance of bar pizza in New Jersey; Staten Island, New York; Chicago; and Connecticut.
What defines a bar pizzeria? They're usually family-run businesses that have been passed down from generation to generation. It's pizza served in a bar (of course), which means minors are not let in unaccompanied by adults. At Vito & Nick's on Chicago's far South Side, a sign on the door greets all perspective customers with that very message. Bar pizza is served by waiters, waitresses, and bartenders who, let's just say, have been around the pizza oven more than a few times. They may make you feel welcome, but only after sizing you up for a full minute. They usually have a twinkle in their eye that's not immediately discernible, and more than a little bit of attitude. A bar pizzeria likely has plastic tablecloths if it has any tablecloths at all. There's a good chance that the choicest tables are booths.
What is bar pizza like? It's usually very thin-crusted to (I'm guessing) leave plenty of room in the eater's stomach for beer. It's baked in a gas oven that may have replaced a coal oven if the bar is old enough. Bar pizza is made with decent, commercial, aged mozzarella and comes topped with canned mushrooms, standard pepperoni and, if you're lucky, house-made sausage. You will not find any fancy-pants ingredients or toppings in or on a bar pizza, although at the Brü Rm. at Bar in New Haven, Connecticut, they have created a yuppie, postmodern bar pizzeria that serves things like mashed-potato pizza and blonde ale. It's actually good pizza and good beer, but somehow it seems antithetical to the original idea of bar pizza.
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Posted by correspondent, March 27, 2007 at 4:15 PM
LA RUSTIQUE BAKERIA
Address: 84 1/2 Morris Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302 (near Exchange Place)
Phone: 201-860-4010
Hours: Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sat-Sun 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. (hours can be quirky; call ahead)
Payment: Cash and all major credit cards
The Skinny: Takeout and delivery only, with some outdoor seating
All photographs by Michael Parillo
BY MICHAEL PARILLO .:::. As both a lifelong New Jerseyan and a pizza obsessive, I've been known to get gloomy about the state of the slice in my area. Too many ten-gallon cans of industrial-grade tomatoes, too much sweet and spongy dough. So a couple of years ago when I was tipped off about a killer pie in Jersey City, I made a beeline to La Rustique Bakeria.
JC isn't exactly in my neck of the woods, but if you have pizza, I will travel. I loved the pie, and I vowed to return. But then, whether out of laziness or wanting to avoid faraway takeout—La Rustique has just one table inside but adds outdoor seating in the warmer months—or simply because I've been captivated by my wife's homemade pizza and the impressive recent offerings in New York City, I didn't make it back until now.
Not much has changed at the small, modest-looking storefront bakery and pizzeria. A blown-up 1938 mug shot of Frank Sinatra still watches over the pizzaioli as they stretch their dough ("Nice and thin, gumbah—attaboy," I imagine Blue Eyes saying), and a glass case by the register still holds a tempting array of enormous pies—larger than those on the menu—which are cut and sold as "oversized slices" (Margherita $3; with toppings, $3.50).
Since this wasn't a warmer month, I had to order my pies to go. I went with a large Margherita with half sausage (large Margherita, $14.30; small, $8.50), and a small white pie with spinach (large white, $16.95; small, $10.95). The owner seemed suspicious when he saw me snap a photo from the sidewalk, and I didn't want to blow my cover, so I faded into the woodwork for a few minutes while my pies cooked. (I would defend my right to photograph, sans flash, to the ends of the earth, but I prefer to avoid confrontation with people who are feeding me.) Luckily, the baking didn't take long, given the intensity of the inferno beneath the brick oven's high-heat tiles.
After paying and shrugging off a sarcastic comment about my "taking pictures for posterity"—did he think I was trying to steal his design secrets?—I threw my short stack of boxes in my car and drove away. This is the part that kept messing me up. I was staked with hot pizzas, but I had no nearby safe house at which to tuck into them—home was almost 20 miles away. Park bench? Hourly motel room? I pulled over and settled for a few quick bites of the white pie—you know, because it would be unfair not to eat some of the stuff while it was as hot as possible. This was a good move, for the moment.
But then, as I drove, with my windows fogging over and my taste buds teased into great expectation, I had to endure the tantalizing aroma of smoke, herbs, tomatoes, and hot cardboard (I love the scent of pizza-warmed cardboard, a perk of the takeout experience). I avoided looking at my speedometer, and I'm lucky I wasn't pulled over.
I made it home while the pizza was still warm, and I went to work in earnest. The Margherita looked similar to the one I had the last time, which I'd photographed, for posterity. Today's specimen was a gorgeous, colorful pie, with snow-white house-made mozzarella peeking out from under the bright red blush of San Marzano tomatoes. (The cheese is so delicate and low in moisture that it must be placed beneath the tomatoes or it will burn.) The vibrant red was blurred to a fuzzier hue where Parmesan cheese had been sprinkled. The end crust bore the precious burn marks that I've come to value so highly.
Unfortunately, the pizza wasn't thin enough in the middle, and some of the internal areas met my teeth with a somewhat gluey texture. It seemed the bottom had charred before the dough directly beneath the cheese had had a chance to set fully.
Still, this was one tasty pizza, albeit subtly so. La Rustique achieves a refined savoriness rather than favoring forceful flavors. In fact, it's a pizza that resists being adorned. I liked the sausage slices, but the fennel-rich links, though nice, threw the flavor out of balance a bit. There's no question in my mind that ordering a Margherita is the way to best appreciate this pie as a whole—the creamy and mild mozzarella, the tangy and not-too-sweet tomatoes, the salty Parm, the nicely charred crust, all in harmony.
Yes, the Margherita is the star, but the white pie might earn top billing elsewhere. Not surprisingly, it, too, had subtle charms, given all of its innocent white, so its generous dusting of oregano and its scattered slivers of basil really picked up the flavors. And it contained no mozzarella, only a thin layer of ricotta. My thoughts on ricotta-topped pizza can go both ways—as much as I love No. 28 in Manhattan, I've found the ricotta on its white pie to be too pillowy—and so I was glad that La Rustique got the ricotta-to-other-stuff ratio exactly right. My only complaint about this pizza was that I could not detect the presence of the roasted garlic that was noted on the menu as being blended with the ricotta, which sounded like a nice touch.
Overall, with both pies, the very best parts were the burnt bits. There's just nothing like an oven that's hot enough to literally put its mark on a pizza. La Rustique's dough itself is good, not quite baking up crisp-chewy at the end crust—the ultimate—but offering a satisfying crunch before the cornicione collapses. Where it's charred, though, and where the smokiness of the burn marks can mix with the flavor of the cheese and the tomatoes—now that's heaven on earth. Jersey, listen up: No more pale pizzas!
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 30, 2006 at 3:05 PM
The previous post about Ed Levine's top pizza picks drew some emailed and IMed responses that the choices were mostly all coastal and that there were no Chicago joints on it whatsoever. Well, here's a list that ran earlier this month in USA Today. In it, Jeff Ruby, coauthor of Everybody Loves Pizza (along with Penny Pollack), gives the paper his and Ms. Pollack's top spots:
Metro Pizza [four locations, Las Vegas NV; metropizza.com]
"The pizza menu at this gourmet oasis in the desert reads like a map of regional flavors. With grilled shrimp on the New Orleans, barbecued chicken atop the Memphis and pineapple on the Honolulu, there's something for everybody...."
The Cheese Board Pizza Collective [1512 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley CA 94709; map]
" 'The Cheese Board is a collective, owned by its members, that brings sustainable agriculture to the pizza table,' Ruby says. Each day the menu, featuring a single sourdough vegetarian pizza, is decided collectively by the group...."
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Posted by Adam Kuban, August 15, 2006 at 10:46 PM
KINCHLEY'S TAVERN
Location: 586 North Franklin Turnpike, Ramsey NJ 07446 [map]
Phone: 201-934-7777
STAR TAVERN
Location: 400 High Street, Orange NJ 07050 [map]
Phone: 973-675-3336
Since this has been a New Jersey kinda day on Slice, I thought I'd reblog some material here from Off the Broiler, eGullet founder Jason Perlow's site. Jason alerted me to these two posts of his ages ago, and I figured it was high time I mentioned them. First off is Kinchley's Tavern in Ramsey, New Jersey:
Photograph from Off the Broiler, courtesy of Jason Perlow
Since founding eGullet, I have since learned about and dined at several of the best pizza parlors in New York City — Patsy’s and Arturo’s in Manhattan, Grimaldi’s, Totonno, Di Fara and L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn, Blue Moon in the Bronx, the list goes on. As a New Jersey resident, I do have to say that there are probably a scant few places that would come even close to those giants. But I submit to you that such a place does exist, and its in way the hell up Route 17 in Ramsey, and its called Kinchley’s Tavern. Stylistically the pizza they serve is very different from true New York style pizza, but its damn good pizza nevertheless.
Kinchley’s has been serving pizza for at least 40 years, probably more. Originally, it started out as a bar, but then at some point, they started making bar pies.
Now, a bar pie is essentially a small pizza (approximately 12 inches in diameter) with a very thin, almost cracker like crust. In terms of sauce, its somewhat on the sweet side, unless you get the “Fra Diavolo” sauce, which is considerably spicier and is usually what we opt for. My suggestion is if you go that way, opt for the pitchers of Boylan’s Birch Beer to go with it.
Photograph from Off the Broiler, courtesy of Jason Perlow
The second pizzeria Jason called to my attention was the Star Tavern in Orange, New Jersey:
Photograph from Off the Broiler, courtesy of Jason Perlow
Jason says:
As I alluded to in a previous post about Kinchley’s Tavern in Ramsey I love a good bar pizza. Star Tavern in Orange is probably one of the better examples of this particular pizza style — nice crispy crust with good char, nice tangy sauce, good cheese distribution. The restaurant has that great old school tavern atmosphere that you find in great college towns.
... I URGE you to resist the temptation to order a "special" pie or any other pie with toppings on it before trying the plain cheese pie [above] first. The plain cheese pie is an exercise in pizza perfection simplicity. This is a very good example of when less is more.
Slice will have to take Mr. Perlow at his word, since we haven't been to either of these establishments. But we trust his judgment and pass along his recommendations to you. He was also kind enough to allow us to use his photos here; please do him the courtesy and click through to his site. You won't be sorry—Kinchley's has more charm than you can shake a stick at, and his photos of the Star Tavern's wares are simply mouthwatering.
NJ Dining: Kinchley's Tavern [Off the Broiler]
NJ Dining: Star Tavern [Off the Broiler]
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 15, 2006 at 3:00 PM
MACK'S PIZZA
Location: 3218 Boardwalk (b/n E. Pine and E. Wildwood avenues; map)
Phone: 609-522-6166
Location: 4200 Boardwalk (b/n E. Roberts and E. Baker avenues; map)
Phone: 609-729-0244
The Skinny: Two locations on boardwalk. Part of the Mack's vs. Sam's Wildwood pizza rivalry. Described as "greasy" by many people we talked to, due in part to the use of cheddar in the cheese blend.
SAM'S PIZZA
Location: 2600 Boardwalk (b/n E. 26th and E. Juniper avenues; map)
Phone: 609-522-6017
The Skinny: On the Wildwood boardwalk. One half of the Mack's vs. Sam's Wildwood pizza rivalry. Sam's is Slice's preference. A delicious, salty slice with just the right crust-sauce-cheese balance. Original building burned down recently but has since been rebuilt.
SHOOBIES AT THE SHORE: PIZZA IN THE WILDWOODS
That's not just a cute sign. It speaks the truth. Girl Slice experienced seagull ferocity firsthand when she left a sandwich unattended for just a few seconds. Seagulls immediately swooped in and claimed part of it. Onlooking carnies were amused.
You can keep the Hamptons and your overpriced summer share. Give me the Wildwoods and a reasonably priced Doo Wop Modern motel instead.
With more than two miles of boardwalk jammed with roller coasters, amusement piers, carnies, shoobies, and sandwich-snatching seagulls, this jem of a resort area on the Jersey Shore has more character than you can shake a driftwood stick at. And the great wooden way there has at least as many pizzerias lining it as any given street in Manhattan. When it comes to pizza in Wildwood, though, the great debate is Sam's vs. Mack's.
I first learned of the rivalry after watching several Wildwood documentary DVDs with Girl Slice. She was going down the shore on a recent weekend to do a little historical research on the town. In each documentary, the rivalry was addressed. According to the docs, you're either a Mack's or a Sam's devotee. I followed the girl down to Wildwood, and we put that notion to the test, taking an informal poll of locals we met while in town. Sam's came out on top by a wide margin. A group of Wildwood cops were Sam's fans, as were the cashiers at a downtown Wildwood sandwich shop, who went so far as to say, "Most of the older people around here say Mack's, but us younger ones like Sam's. Mack's is too greasy."
The greasiness of the Mack's slice was echoed by almost everyone we talked to and is due in large part to the joint's use of cheddar on its pies. That's a Mack's slice above left, compared to a Sam's slice above right.
Let's make some more photographic comparisons:
From left: Mack's plain slice, Sam's plain slice.
From left: An upskirt shot showing Mack's crust, an upskirt of Sam's.
Pretty pix, eh? But you don't eat with your eyes. After taste-testing was complete, Girl Slice and I sided with the majority of the Wildwoodies we spoke to: We're Sam's fans, hands down. Sam's had the better crust -- light, airy, crisp, and pleasantly salty, compared to Mack's, which was sufficiently crisp but not as light or thin and which lacked the saltiness we found so appealing at Sam's. Add to that the near-perfect cheese-to-sauce ratio at Sam's versus Mack's thick blanket of mozzarella and cheddar (the latter cheese of which we feel has no business on a pie or slice).
Sam's was that rare find for a jaded old pizza eater like me -- a single slice that had me plunking down my money for a second. At the risk of sounding too New York provincial, Sam's held its own against many of our greatest slices and indeed surpassed much of the dreck I've eaten in the five boroughs. Transport the joint to the Big Apple, and I think you'd have a pizzeria that would make many a New Yorker's short list of top slice spots. Good thing, then, that Sam's sits firmly where it does; I need a reliable pie whenever I visit the Wildwoods. Play it again, Sam, indeed.
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 15, 2006 at 10:15 AM
Something's going on in Pizzaland. Over the last month, Slice readers have become especially communicative. We've received more great emails in the last few weeks than in any given period during this site's existence. I don't know what we did to earn the goodwill, but keep it coming! This email came over the transom at Slice HQ this morning. Please stay tuned for some additional words on these emails later in the day. —The Management
Dear Slice,
Thank you for doing the Lord's work by providing one-stop shopping for all my pizza news needs. I am a huge fan of the site and it has enlightened my own pizza eating with its histories and pizzeria documentation. I've made many a journey to the coveted pizza coves of Manhattan and Brookyn, but since my home is New Jersey, I tend to concentrate my research in the Garden State.
I'm not sure if this came across your pizza crimelab computer yet, but last Friday the Star Ledger published an article about the state's best pizza as part of their Munchmobile series. Every summer, the paper selects a small crew of foodies to accompany a reporter and photographer on weekly outings across the state. Each 'muncher' gets to select their food specialty. Here's a link to the article, but it doesn't contain any photographs. If you're really interested, I can send you a hard copy.
Anyway, I spent a glorious day in the Munchmobile (a van with decorations and a giant hot dog atop its roof) and had trouble tasting anything even close to my current obsession: Grimaldi's.
However, there was one pizzeria called Santillo's in Elizabeth, that deserves a seat right next to Grimaldi's up in pizza heaven. If you're ever interested in taking a short trip across the Hudson, I would love to host you for a Santillo's tasting. It's the oldest brick oven in New Jersey and clocks in at 160 square feet.
Keep fighting the good fight, and please let me know if I can ever be of any service. I tend to travel out of the area, and I keep detailed notes about every new pie I try in my Pizza Journal.
Best,
Scott Wiener
Thanks for the tip, Scott. The Munchmobile failed to register a hit on the Slice "crimelab computer." (Heh. I like that). Good thing we don't work for Homeland Security. I'd love to take you up on the offer. I'll be in touch about taking a trip to Santillo's. You're right, it's but a short trip over the Hudson — and I love Jersey, so it'd be nice to visit again. Talk to you soon. —Adam
The Munchmobile: Primo pizza [Newark Star-Ledger]
Slice Archives: New Jersey
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 28, 2006 at 1:42 PM
And they are:
- Zachary's Chicago Pizza: Berkeley, California
- PIzzeria Regina: Boston
- Patsy Grimaldi's Pizzeria: Scottsdale, Arizona
- Vic's Bar & Restaurant: Bradley Beach, New Jersey
- Tacconelli's: Philadelphia
- John's: New York City
- Star Pizza: Houston
- Imo's Pizza: Saint Louis
- Home Run Inn: Chicago
- Mellow Mushroom: Atlanta
- Windy City PIzza: Tampa, Florida
- Anthony's Pizza and Pasta: Denver
- Papreza's Pizza: Henderson, Nevada
Well, they say 13 is an unlucky number, right? I mean, only one New York City pizzeria on this list? And it's John's? John's is good, sure, but not the best in NYC. And maybe we should hold our tongue until we've had pizza from the Grimaldi's branch in Arizona, but how can it be any better than the homegrown original Grimaldi's? I guess AOL had to tailor its list to please people across the country. And it's further evidence that these lists are always flawed. Heck, even if Slice put out a list, I'm sure someone—lots of someones—would find fault with it. But they're always good for debate, so have at it. Comments welcome.
13 Perfect Pizzas Across America [AOL Cityguide]
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 12, 2006 at 1:58 PM
Some of you pizzaheads may already have Pizza! The Movie on your radar. Word is that the producers (see photo, above) have finished it and it's being screened at various film festivals. The nearest screening to Slice HQ will be in Trenton, New Jersey, on Sunday May 7 at 2:30 p.m., as part of the Trenton Film Festival.
Anybody up for making a pizza road trip out there? Here's the plan: We'll take the 12:13 p.m. NJTransit Northeast Corridor Line from Penn Station and arrive in Trenton at 1:37 p.m. Round-trip Off-Peak tix are $19.50 each. From there, it's a short walk to the Contemporary Club (just across from the statehouse), where the movie will unspool.
Following Pizza! The Movie, we'll hit up Pizza! The Pizza at the legendary DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies on Hudson Street. (And don't even ask about the DeLorenzo's on Hamilton Ave. It's closed on Sundays.)
It looks like I'll have to buy tickets by mail-order. E-mail me ASAP if you'd like to go, so I can get you in on the purchase: adam [at] sliceny [dot] com Tickets are $8 each.
PIZZA! THE MOVIE
When: Sunday, May 7
Where: Trenton, NJ
Getting There: We'll take NJTransit (12:13 p.m. Northeast Corridor Line)
Estimated Cost: $42.50 ($19.50 roundtrip train ticket; $8 movie admission; $15 or so at DeLorenzo's)
Posted by Ed Levine, February 16, 2006 at 8:43 AM
Here's the American Pizzeria Timeline, which includes only two non–Pizza Belt entries, Tommaso's and Uno's:
1905: Lombardi's, on Spring Street in New York City, is granted the nation's first license to sell pizza.
1910: Joe's Tomato Pies opens in the Trenton, New Jersey, Chambersburg neighborhood.
1912: Papa's Tomato Pies in Trenton opened by Papa, who learned his trade at Joe's.
1924: Anthony (Totonno) Pero leaves Lombardi's and opens Totonno's in Coney Island, New York.
1925: Frank Pepe opens on Wooster Street in New Haven, Connecticut.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, February 15, 2006 at 11:10 AM
You've heard of the corn belt and the rust belt. But what about the Pizza Belt, the part of America that gave birth to what Jeffrey Steingarten calls Neapolitan-American pizza. The Pizza Belt starts in Philadelphia and runs through Trenton and the rest of New Jersey. It extends throughout New York, Long Island, and New Haven and ends in Boston. Think of it as the Interstate 95 belt, with a few detours along the way.
It was in New York that Neapolitan immigrant and grocery store owner Gennaro Lombardi was granted the nation's first Ilcense to sell pizza in 1905. Lombardi's, in turn, spawned Totonno's in 1924 and John's in 1929 and, in an apparently unrelated move, Patsy's in East Harlem in 1933. Joe's Tomato Pies opened in Trenton in 1910, followed by Papa's Tomato Pies in 1912. New Haven was next, where a Neapolitan immigrant Italian bread baker named Frank Pepe opened his eponymous Pizzeria Napoletana in 1925, followed in short order by Paul's Apizza in 1932, State Street Apizza (now called Modern Apizza) in 1934 and finally Sally's in 1938 (founded by Frank Pepe's nephew, Salvatore Consiglio). In Philadelphia, Salvatore and Chiarina Marra opened Marra's in 1927. The Tacconelli family started baking bread in their Port Richmond neighborhood in the 1920s, though they didn't start making pizza until 1946. Similarly, in East Boston, Francisco Santarpio baked bread at his eponymous bakery until Prohibition ended in 1933, when he took over the adjoining storefront and began serving pizza. Seven years before that, Anthony Polcari opened Pizzeria Regina in Boston's North End.
Why did all these pizzerias start in the same 33-year period? What did they have in common? Did Frank Pepe work at Lombardi's before moving to New Haven? Here's what we do know. There was a tremendous wave of southern Italian immigration in the late nineteenth century. These immigrants all came in through Ellis Island, and then fanned out along the Eastern Seaboard looking for work among relatives, neighbors, and friends who had come from the same area in Italy. New York, of course, was where they landed, so it made sense for a certain number of them to look for and find work there. Trenton had hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs and a burgeoning Itallan-American community called Chambersburg. New Haven had many factories (including Colt Industries), as well as a plethora of fishing and port-related jobs. Philadelphia (South Philly) and Boston (East Boston and the North End) both had fast-growing Italian-American communities with thriving commercial centers.
What can we conclude from all this? That the development of America's pizza culture closely followed southern Italian immigration patterns. If the southern Italians had come into this country through Duluth, Minnesota might have been known as the Land of a Thousand Pizzas.
Ed Levine is a regular contributor to the New York Times Dining section and is author of New York Eats and New York Eats More. He also maintains a blog: Ed Levine Eats. This entry is an excerpt from his book Pizza: A Slice of Heaven, published on Slice through special arrangement.
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 2, 2006 at 12:03 PM
From Law.com comes a story connecting recently confirmed Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. with the famed tomato pies of Trenton, New Jersey. "Tomato pies" are, of course, what Trenton calls pizza. The reporter visits the DeLorenzo's on Hudson Street and finds:
An answer to the Alito question has emerged with the pizza. This is pizza minimalism at its best. Unlike pizza chains that think they have to heap on the ingredients to win customers, De Lorenzo's is confident enough to know that less is more. Barely enough crust and cheese, not too much tomato and an emphasis on toppings that are not timid but also not over-the-top.
This could be good news to Cass Sunstein at the University of Chicago Law School, who wrote a book praising judicial minimalism but worries that Alito might move the Court sharply to the right. If Alito follows the example of his boyhood pizza, he will do just enough to decide a case: no more cheese, or rhetoric, than needed. His opinions will be tantalizing enough to draw a following but not as zesty -- and occasionally off-putting -- as those of Scalia. Scalia, I can attest, is an unabashed anchovinist when it comes to pizza toppings.
Alito's Tomato Pie Philosophy [Law.com]
DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies [from the Slice archives]
[Thanks to reader Jaime W. for the heads-up on this story!]
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 30, 2005 at 8:00 AM
HOW YOU DOIN'?: Mack's Pizza, in what appeared to be the original location (top left); well, at least it looked older than the version of Mack's farther south on the boardwalk. 92¢ a slice! (top right) Beat that, NYC! "You lookin' at me?" This pizzaiolo (above) at Mack's used a novel pizza-sauce pump to apply the red stuff to his pies, after first layering on the cheese.
For Memorial Day weekend, the editor and publisher of this site—that would be me—went "down the shore" to the Wildwoods in New Jersey. Memorial Day, of course, is when we give props to the men and women who have served our country in war. For their sacrifice, Slice is truly grateful. Their heroic efforts guarantee that this site can, in safety and freedom, glorify pizza in all its tasty forms, as trivial a pursuit as that may be.
Memorial Day and its attendant weekend have also become the unofficial start of summer, and the three-day holiday that many of us enjoy gives us respite from our labors. And while this site is done out of love for the pie, it is nonetheless a labor. So while I was in Wildwood, pizza took a backseat to relaxation. Alllow me then to take a cop-out here and present you with a gallery of photos from Wildwood, New Jersey, in lieu of the full-blown reviews you have come to expect.
Hey: It's better than nothing, right? Here they are ... enjoy!
Many of the pizzerias on the Wildwood boardwalk seemed to go heavy on the roman numerals. Hot Spot V and Leone's II among them (above). There were a couple of Mack's Pizzas on the boardwalk. There may have been more, but I lost track. The one below left was "the last Mack's on the boardwalk" and the sign there advised your editor and his friend not to walk any farther. The one below right was a few blocks farther south on the great wood walkway.
Not to go too heavy on the Mack's tip, but I've gotta show you the crazy device the tough-lookin' pizzaiolo was using to apply sauce to his pies. Click the above-left photo to enlarge it and you'll see he's got a sauce pump that he's using to distribute sauce on top of a layer of cheese. The pies at Mack's looked good, too. Very thin and crisp in appearance with a nice sauce-to-cheese ratio. We had just eaten a funnel cake and cheesesteaks beforehand, though, and were in no shape to stuff slices on top. Santino's Pizza (above right) is "home of the panzarotti"; we didn't investigate the nature of this exotic-sounding dish.
The 99¢ slice seemed like a deal when we first spied it, but half a block down the boardwalk was the 92¢ slice (see photo at very top right). The 99¢ slice place, however, did have a carnival barker of a pizzaman hawking his wares: "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Ninety-nine cents a slice! Just 99 cents for the best pizza you'll eat on the boardwalk."
Wildwood presented pizza in many forms. Above you'll see a small stall dedicated to some pretty out-there egg rolls, pizza egg rolls among them. For some reason, the stand found it funny to misspell Chinese, saying on one glass panel, "It's not just chinese, it's Chineese." To which we said, ai yah.
The South Jersey Shore is a short trip from Pennsylvania, so a lot of Philadelphians visit. Their influence is not to be taken lightly in the Wildwoods. We had some good cheesesteaks there, but were not prepared to sample the cheesesteak pizza (above).
The Wildwoods have one of the largest collections of googie (a.k.a. "doo-wop") architecture in the country, so it wasn't surprising to find a googie pizzeria (above) along the main drag there.
We stayed in a googie motel in Wildwood Crest called The Astronaut. It was a disappointing example of the form, but the price was nice and it was on the beach. Just down the road from us were better representations of the genre, such as the Imperial 500 (below), and I couldn't help think how much my cousins would enjoy a Wildwood beach holiday.
Well, that's about all the stuff I've got to show you from Wildwood. It was a fun weekend, and I hope to go back this summer. If I do, I'll be sure to try the pizza and bring you a full report. Thanks for indulging my slideshow here, and hasta la pizza!
Posted by correspondent, January 24, 2005 at 12:30 PM
Sibling Rivalry: The sign on the left marks your arrival at De Lorenzo's Hamilton Avenue, a favorite of Chambersburg residents, as well as the celebrities whose pictures dot the walls inside. De Lorenzo's Hudson Street, right, is a converted row house with limited seating and no public restroom. Arrive prior to opening hours, as the hungry crowd grows quickly. Otherwise, a two-hour wait is not uncommon.
DE LORENZO'S HAMILTON Location: 1007 Hamilton Ave.,
Trenton, NJ 08629
Phone: 609-393-2952
Payment: Cash only
The Skinny: Bigger and more diner friendly than its sister pizzeria; crust has a more consistent crispness
DE LORENZO'S HUDSONLocation: 530 Hudson St., Trenton, NJ 08611
Phone: 609-695-9534
Payment: Cash only
The Skinny: Preferred among locals. Smoky-tasting crust is even thinner than sister pizzeria. Get here early; dining room is small and lines—and wait—can get long
VALUE ADDThe Yankees' Double A affiliate, the
Trenton Thunder, play right around the corner from De Lorenzo's Hudson. So if you're a Yankees fan, you can catch a game and get a
pie and make it a cool day
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICH DEFABRITUS, Slice Correspondent .::. Recently, while perusing Slice, I asked editor-in-chief Adam K. why there was no mention of the Trenton, New Jersey’s legendary De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies.
"Never heard of it," he replied. I was shocked; any pizza lover worth his or her sauce knows De Lorenzo's. [Hey: What are you saying, Rich!? — Ed.]
"Nope. Why don't you write a review?" Adam said. And with that, I gave myself (and my family) an excuse to make the trip before celebrating the New Year.
For those not in the know, there are actually two De Lorenzo's (one on Hamilton Avenue, the other on Hudson Street) in an area known as Chambersburg, traditionally a final stop for many Italian immigrants at the turn of the last century. Although the history is murky, Americho "Rick" De Lorenzo Sr. and Alexander "Chick" De Lorenzo opened up separate operations in what amounts to a friendly sibling rivalry. To this day, Rick's son, Rick De Lorenzo Jr., operates the Hamilton Avenue location, while Chick's son-in-law, Gary Amico, operates the Hudson Street establishment.
Ask any local about De Lorenzo's and the typical reply is "Hamilton or Hudson?" since each has its own rabid following. You see, while both make tomato pies, there are subtle differences and nuances that invariably pull the diner's allegiance to one side or the other. Both are wildly popular, and you’ll always see long lines of people waiting to get seated, even in inclement weather.
One more thing: In Trenton, it's called "tomato pie," not pizza. Although the terms are interchangeable, there is a body of myth and lore attempting to distinguish tomato pie from pizza. The generally accepted explanation is that a tomato pie is built as follows: dough, cheese, toppings, and then sauce.
Our plan was to go to De Lorenzo's on Hamilton Avenue for lunch followed by an early dinner at De Lorenzo's on Hudson Street for a comparative review. Since neither location takes reservations (and both often leave the phone off the hook), we were a little concerned that we may need to call ahead to "reserve" dough, but we threw caution to the wind and decided to take a chance on walking in.
Hamilton Avenue
Commonly considered to be the more "diner friendly" location, the first thing you notice is how cozy the place is. The sign says "De Lorenzo's Pizza," but don't be fooled, they serve authentic Trenton tomato pie. There is one small dining room with booths and tables, replete with wood-paneled walls and music in the background (think Jerry Vale). The open kitchen is straight to the back, and Rick De Lorenzo Jr. serves as your host and cashier. As long as I have been patronizing De Lorenzo's (15 years or so), Rick doesn’t appear to have aged a bit. He's still every bit as feisty, too—if you are fussy or difficult, he'll let you know you're agitating him.
The place was packed, but we lucked out and found an open booth. We sat down and were quickly greeted by our bow-tied clad waiter. Each table has a small, laminated menu, and you can have anything you like—as long as it’s a tomato pie. If you're looking for calzones or garlic knots, try someplace else; the next person in line will gladly take your spot. Since it was just me, my wife, and our two young children, we decided one large pie would suffice. As a purist, I normally eschew any toppings, but for some reason, we elected to try half of the pie with sausage, the other half "tomato and cheese," otherwise known as "plain." Keeping with local tradition, we both ordered birch beer to drink.
The piping hot pie was placed on our table in about 10 minutes, which is decent given the amount of customers they have to serve. Immediately your eyes are drawn to the bright red color of the sauce, not the darker "burgundy" color you might find on a run-of-the-mill pizza joint's offerings. There is also a lot less cheese than you'd expect, and just the slightest bit of charring and bubbling at the top crust's edge. The pie was cut into 10 triangular slices, most likely with a pizza-cutting wheel.
Halfsies: The De Lorenzo's Hamilton Avenue tomato pie. We ordered this pie half sausage, half tomato and cheese. Lines at this location begin to form around noon. The shop then closes at 1:30 p.m., and reopens at 4 pm for dinner.
We reached for the plain slices first. Everyone has his or her own reason for craving a De Lorenzo's tomato pie. Mine is the crust. When picked up, the Hamilton Avenue crust stood perfectly horizontal from crust edge to tip and was in no way weighted down by sauce, cheese, or oil—no small feat for a thin-crust pie. A look at the crust's bottom showed charring similar to that on the top crust edge as well as what appeared to be corn meal in the dough, conceivably used in lieu of semolina to prevent the pie from sticking to the peel or oven.
A bite into the slice was accompanied by the requisite "crunch." I am always disappointed by pizza that is soft at the center and gets crunchy toward the edge; somehow the pizzaiolo at De Lorenzo's consistently avoids this pitfall. Every bite snapped, crackled, and popped. The crust was light and airy, with excellent flavor and chewiness, seemingly deep-fried. Keep in mind that this pie is cooked in a traditional gas-fired oven yet had many of the qualities you would expect from a brick oven.
The sauce tasted as good as it looked, tangy and sweet with no unnecessary additives floating in it; adding salt or pepper to enhance the flavor seems blasphemous. Another peeve I have with "traditional" pizza is the blanket of cheese that is formed on top. Many of us have experienced that eager first bite only to have all the cheese slide off in one piece, burning your lips and chin. Not so with De Lorenzo's. This is a tomato pie, so the cheese is sprinkled in much less abundance. As a result, each bite leaves cheese-string trails from your mouth back to the retreating slice but never whole globs. The balance struck between the sauce and cheese is about as close to perfection as you could get, this is really great eating!
The sausage slice was a different story. The taste was fantastic, no doubt, but the extra oil from the meat drenched the crust and weakened it. That meant the crust didn't crunch like the plain slices did, a disappointment from my perspective. While sausage is one of the more popular toppings at both De Lorenzo's locations, my suggestion to first timers is to go with a plain pie for a true representation of the shops' craft.
In the end, our tab was about $15 (excluding tip, cash only), and Rick rang us up on a circa-1950 cash register, a testament to how mom-and-pop De Lorenzo's still is.
Hudson Street
A few hours had past since our lunch at De Lorenzo's Hamilton Avenue, and we were excited about our upcoming dinner at De Lorenzo's Hudson Street. Our time of arrival was 4:30 pm, just prior to the mad crush usually experienced around 5:00 pm or so.
Hudson Street is nowhere near as diner friendly as Hamilton Avenue. First, the restaurant is a converted row house, so accommodations are tight. At most, there are 15 booths or tables, with not much wiggle room. Second, there are no public restrooms, so make sure you take care of "business" prior to your arrival—and keep drinking to a minimum. The décor was quite similar to Hamilton Avenue, again with wood paneling, only in a much smaller setting. There are two ovens in the center of the floor, and a single television is usually tuned to a football game during the winter months.
We were second in line for seating, and it was quite a chilly day, so we were fortunate to be standing indoors rather than outdoors. There is no host, and seating is first come, first served. The queue resembles more a jumbled mass of loiterers snaking out the door and down the street, relying on self-management to ensure people sit in the appropriate order of arrival.
It took about 20 minutes before a booth opened up for us. Unlike Hamilton Avenue, there are no menus, so you have to order as if you know the deal. Here's a primer: There are small and large pies, eight and 10 slices, respectively. There are fewer varieties than Hamilton Avenue, but the mainstays are the usual—tomato and cheese, pepperoni, anchovies, sausage, peppers, even a white-clam pie that is said to be amazing.
Having eaten at Hudson Street before, I was well aware of these peculiarities. Gary Amico, who operates the restaurant, took our order. Given our earlier experience with the sausage topping at Hamilton Avenue, we opted for a plain pie. Birch beer accompanied the meal (of course).
PLAIN AND SIMPLE: The De Lorenzo's Hudson Street tomato pie. We ordered this pie with tomato and cheese only, to maximize crunch. Note the fine charring and golden crust, which tastes as good as it looks. Note the hours at DeLorenzo's Hudson (right); they're open for lunch on Fridays only.
It took about 45 minutes before our pie arrived, largely due to the limited cooking capacity at Hudson Street. With only two ovens, there are only a few pies cooking at any one time. Actually, the entire tomato-pie-making process seems to be done with more care than any other pizza establishment I've seen, so you feel like the result is a bit more special. The pie was cut in front of us with a knife—first in half, then into asymmetric slices.
Once you taste it, you know the wait was worth it. The taste was completely different from Hamilton Avenue. The crust has a smoky taste, not unlike something from a wood-fired oven. The crust is thinner than Hamilton Avenue's already thin crust but still substantial enough to maintain balance with the cheese and sauce. If there is an Achilles heel to Hudson Street's tomato pie, however, it's the inconsistent crunch; the pie is crisper at the edge, and gets softer toward the middle. However, at its crispest, it is without equal. This suits some people just fine, but to me, it was a small letdown compared to Hamilton Avenue's consistent crunch and firmness.
No other apologies needed, this pie rocks. The ingredients seemed slightly more fresh and flavorful than Hamilton Avenue, although not enough to quibble over. Interestingly, where the Hamilton Avenue tomato pie provides a consistent taste experience from bite to bite, the Hudson Street tomato pie shakes things up a bit. Some bites impart the taste of crust and cheese, with a smidge of olive oil. Other bites give you amazing tomato flavor and a crunch that is near potato-chip perfection. Each bite is something to look forward to with anticipation, and you are never disappointed. Examining the pie should indicate as much—it looks a lot like an authentic Neapolitan pizza Margherita, with splashes of tomatoes (seeds intact) and bits of cheese sprinkled about.
This pie was my wife's favorite. I have always preferred Hamilton Avenue to Hudson Street, if only for their consistent taste, but my wife has never shared my enthusiasm. From the second she tasted the Hudson Street pie, I knew she was hooked. To her, this was by far the best pie she had ever eaten. I can't argue with her—this is a darn good tomato pie, and I'd put it up against pizza from any place in the country.
Our tab was about $14, before tip. The mechanical cash register here seemed even older than the one at Hamilton Avenue. Our stomachs filled, we left pondering the wait for the eager souls lined up around the block and looked forward to our next excursion to Trenton for De Lorenzo's.
In restrospect, my favorite was the Hamilton Avenue pie, but I could be swayed. My wife (and 3-year-old daughter) preferred the Hudson Street version. You can't go wrong with either location, but given the ambiance (or lack thereof) and legend backing it, Hudson Street is generally the preferred choice among locals. Do yourself a favor and make it a point to visit one (or both) De Lorenzo's to taste the best tomato pies Trenton has to offer.
Posted by correspondent, June 4, 2004 at 12:01 AM
Garden State Slice
[This is the debut entry of Amanda G., our New Jersey bureau chief. She'll be checking out pizzerias west of the Hudson for Slice. — Ed.]
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Grimaldi's in Hoboken is on the corner of Clinton and Second streets, a short walk from the Hoboken PATH station. Like its namesake east of the Hudson, this Grimaldi's has a coal-fired oven. Our New Jersey bureau chief's half-pepperoni–half-mushroom-olive pie. | Photographs by Amanda G. 
I had high hopes for our trip to the Hoboken branch of Grimaldi's. My husband, Steve, and I had eaten there a couple of times when we lived down the street. We had ordered take-out on occasion, and I remembered the pizza having a chewy crust that was perfectly charred; a bright sauce; and mild, melty cheese.
So when Steve, my sister, and I headed over there for dinner recently, I was expecting, more or less, pizza perfection. What we got was anything but, despite a pleasant atmosphere (I do love the red-and-white tablecloths) and a well-dressed salad to start things off. We ordered a large pie, half pepperoni and half mushroom and olive. It was delivered to our table with a flourish, and looked delicious. But when we prodded it gently with the provided spatula to remove the first slice, a soupy center came to light. There was a small puddle of liquid pooled on top of the pie and underneath the crust. I attempted the Fold Hold, to no avail, and had to eat the pizza with a knife and fork.
The slice, to its credit, tasted good, despite the mushy foundation. All the toppings were fresh (well, apart from the olives, which seemed canned) and the sauce had the perfect balance of ripe sweetness and bright tang. The pepperoni was meaty and spicy and didn't require major effort to chew, which was good. I particularly enjoyed the cheese, which cooled quickly and made for easier eating.
But that sorry, soggy, soupy crust ruined it for me. I missed taking that first bite of the slice, where your teeth push through the cheese and it just burns the roof of your mouth a little before you pierce the crust with a satisfying crunch. I tried to simulate the experience by piling some of the sauce, cheese, and toppings onto a bit of the handle-crust that remained crisp, but it wasn't the same.
Of course, this beautiful state of ours has plenty of other fine pizza parlors to visit, including local favorites right in town (East Brunswick) like American Pie and Stefano's. This Pizza Patrol is on the move. ... Till next time.
###
GRIMALDI'S HOBOKEN
Location: 133 Clinton Street, Hoboken NJ 07030
Phone: 201-792-0800
Payment accepted: Cash and cards
GRIMALDI'S HOBOKEN MENU [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
To compare menus from Hoboken and Brooklyn Grimaldi's, and to read the story of the battle of the Patsy's, click here.
Slice on the Brooklyn Grimaldi's.
A nice profile of Patsy Grimaldi in Pizza Today.
[Our New Jersey bureau chief needs your help. E-mail her with suggestions for great Garden State Slices: me (at) amandagenge.net — Ed.]
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 5, 2004 at 2:25 PM
HOBOKEN
CLICK TO ENLARGEOur newly appointed New Jersey bureau chief was able to procure a menu from the Grimaldi's in Hoboken. You'll notice that this menu has a more detailed account of the whole Patsy's–Grimaldi's name-change controversy. We're still not sure if that's the whole story or whether it only confuses us more, but we thought we'd share it with you.
Notice how this location accepts credit cards. Though this menu doesn't say it, this location delivers (with a $12 minimum)! That'll be just one more thing for our Jersey friends to crow about.
Anyway, you're probably wondering if our new New Jersey connection filed a report on the Hoboken Grimaldi's ...
Developing ... Keep reading Slice to find out!
BROOKLYN
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 29, 2003 at 9:14 AM
The first time I had ever heard of chicken pizza was while watching some cooking show in high school. I remember thinking it was novel idea worth investigating. I also liked other questionable things high school, but that's another story. Anyway, the man responsible for broadening my fowl-on-a-pizza horizon was Wolfgang Puck, who appeared on that show as part of its feature on Los Angeles restaurants.
Older and (a bit) wiser, I no longer think chicken on a pizza is a good idea. So I don't really know why the opening of Wolfgang Puck Express in Hoboken interests me. The New York Times reports:
Wolfgang Puck, whose Los Angeles-area phenomena Spago and Chinois now have branches in places like Chicago and Las Vegas, has opened his first outpost in the Northeast: Wolfgang Puck Express, a bright, casual spot in Hoboken, N.J. Why Hoboken? The space, a block from Hoboken Terminal in the Waterfront Corporate Center, 100 Sinatra Drive (First Street), was immediately available and has a splendid view of Manhattan. The restaurant, one of a chain of 28, has a pizza bar as well as tables and booths. Prices range from $4.50 to $13.95 for dishes like squash soup, Chinois chicken salad and smoked salmon pizza.
"Wolfgang Puck Express"? Sounds like a train line in Austria. We'll stick our head in and have a look at the pizza bar next time we're in Hoboken, which might be Saturday for the Lake Trout show at Maxwell's.
Wolfgang Puck Express
Address: 100 Sinatra Drive (1st St), Hoboken NJ
Phone: 201-876-8600
