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Seeking pizza perfection in the Garden State
Scenes from Italian restaurants.
By Tim Carroll
Ponce de Leon sought the Fountain of Youth. I set my sights a little lower and simply sought the pizza of my youth.
The journey for a perfect slice of pizza was part of a recent trip to the land of pizza; New Jersey. I was joined on my quest by my daughter, Susan, and her boyfriend, Adam, a native of Glen Ridge, N.J. who was familiar with the local peoples and their strange language.
Rather than study ancient maps, I searched "best pizza, North Jersey" on my iPad and immediately found enough recommendations to keep us on the road as long as Ponce. The journey began at Maggie's Town Tavern in Little Falls. Even though I grew up 10 miles away, I had never been in the place. One reason would be that my hometown of Bloomfield had 26 pizza restaurants or pizzerias of its own.
For no good reason, we took the word of Canadian goaltender Martin Brodeur for our next pizza destination. We figured since he played his entire NHL career with the Jersey Devils, he must have had a few good slices of pizza. According to New Jersey Monthly, "the Brodeur family visits Famous Ray's Pizza in Verona at least once a month." It was very convincing.
Officially called The Famous Ray's Pizza of New York, the pizzeria was a classic slice joint with steamy windows, countertop stools and no tables. The pizza was amazing.
We headed west to the town of Caldwell, where the No. 7 rated pizzeria in North Jersey was located. It was clearly a hit with the locals, who were standing out on the sidewalk waiting to get a table.
My Allen American press credentials did not impress the crowd in front of us, so we moved on to The Pizza and Sandwich Barn just up the road. This classic pizzeria was recommended by Allen resident Chris Tripucka. The local owner of Eagle Designs grew up in nearby Essex Fells and claims to have spent many a teenage afternoon at the Pizza Barn. The pizza couldn't compare to Famous Ray's, but apparently the sandwiches are to die for.
Next we circled back to Totowa to head to Dominick's Pizza. I had been to the pizzeria exactly two times over the past five years, and the elderly Dominick still recognized me as that guy from Texas (sort of). The pizza was probably very good, but our taste buds and appetites were starting to fade from the oregano overdose.
The final destination for the night was Mario's, a restaurant in Clifton that was a favorite from my teenage years. My plan had been to compare the previous four pies to the pizza of my youth. Instead, my two companions refused to eat another slice. I didn't eat my crusts, which is an insult to a good pizza. Like the Chicago pizza favorite -- we were stuffed.
While the thrill from this pizza parade wore off quickly, we did learn that you can get a good slice of pizza just about anywhere in Jersey. We also learned that Canadian goaltenders know something about pizza (Ray's was our favorite), and the next time, we will leave room for dessert. Spumoni, anyone?
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