DINING

Pizza: North Jersey's 8 best old-school pizza places

Pizza lovers, ever wonder who you should thank for your greasy, gooey, gorgeous slice of deliciousness?

The genesis of pizza is impossible to determine — folks have been combining cheese and bread for as long as there's been cheese and bread — but the pizza that many of us grew up eating started at the dawn of the 20th century in Italian-American kitchens. If you love pizza (and really, is there anyone who doesn't?) you owe a big thank-you to the Italian immigrants who came to New York, Philly, Chicago and soon enough New Jersey, and proudly peddled their from-scratch pies.

Old-school pizza at Ralph's in Nutley

Those pies, the wild child of the Neapolitan pie, which originated in Naples in the 18th century, cost a nickel. For those who couldn't spare a nickel, the pizza man would cut a piece off and charge a penny; thus the slice was born.  

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Now more than a century later, that simple delectable combination of cheese, tomato and bread is so in demand that chowhounds have a seemingly endless number of varieties — from puffy Neapolitans and thick Sicilians to thin-crust pies and deep-fried pizzas, not to mention countless number of toppings (lobster anyone?). FYI: Americans eat 100 acres of pizza every day, or 350 slices per second, according to a study.

But that good old-fashioned, long-enduring pizza — that heady comfort food that is devoured in college dorms, grabbed on the run, relished late at night, eaten cold in the morning — can still be found and enjoyed throughout North Jersey. It's not fancy. It doesn't require a state-of-the-art glistening oven. The chef hasn't spent years studying the fine art of bread-making. The china is usually made of paper. The napkins typically one-ply.

But the pizza? Let's just say, if it's loved by grandma and grandpa, mommy and daddy, boys and girls, it's a must.

Here are the pizzerias making some of the best old-school pizza in our region.

Pizza Town USA, Elmwood Park

Pizza Town makes old-school pizza as it has been made since it opened its doors in the '50s.

Michelle and Bruce Tomo make their pizza today in the same way and in the same kitchy spot as did their father, Raymond, who opened Pizza Town in 1958. "We haven't changed anything, except the prices," Michelle said, reporting that a slice used to cost 15 cents; today it costs $2.

Pizza Town has many fans, including: New Jersey Monthly, which recently named it one of the Garden State's best; CBS-FM radio, which declared it the fourth best in the tri-state area; and Tim Hanley, chef and owner of S. Egidio pizza restaurant in Ridgewood. 'It is so good," Hanley said. "A really great slice joint."  A really flashy one, to boot.

Old school pizza at Pizza Town

It's no doubt the only roadside neon-lit building with a red-white-and-blue circus tent top with lots of Uncle Sam depictions in all of New Jersey. "When we came from Brooklyn to New Jersey, the people didn't want Italians," Michelle said. "So my father let them know that he was an American war veteran." It didn't take long for Raymond, today 92, to win his neighbors' hearts — and palates. What makes the pies so good? "Perfect balance," Michelle said. "We char the dough just a little, then load it up with tomatoes and cheese. You should taste every ingredient in every bite." As for toppings? "We don't do anything crazy. No spinach, no broccoli, no pineapple." Why not? "Because that's not the way it was in 1958," Michelle said. 

Go: 111 Route 46, Elmwood Park; 201-797-6172, no web site. 

John's Boy Pizzeria, Glen Rock

Antonio Goodman, seafood chef at Market Basket, the gourmet caterer and food shop in Franklin Lakes, and a self-described "pizza aficionado," loves John's Boy Pizzeria. "It reminds me of my childhood," he said. Which is the idea of this family-owned pizzeria. The pizza is made fresh every day; the sauce is homemade too. Goodman recommends waiting a few minutes for a slice from a pie that has just come out of the oven. As John's Boy's website says, " Pizza tastes best fresh out of the oven — that’s why you won’t find a delivery truck at John’s Boy." Goodman concurs: "There's just something about the taste of a slice from a hot pie that is phenomenal." 

Go: 206½ Rock Road, Glen Rock; 201-652-8188, johnsboypizzeria.com.

Luigi's, Ridgefield Park

Chef Ralph Perrotti of gastropub Atlas Public House in Jersey City may know how to cook high-end dishes — he helmed the kitchens at The Pear and the Plum in Wyckoff and the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn. But when it comes to pizza, he doesn't need anything fancy — just a delicious old-school pie. Seventy-year-old family-owned Luigi's is his all-time favorite place for that. "The pizza has a nice flavor," he said. "The dough is crispy. It's just really good."

Go: 54 Mount Vernon St., Ridgefield Park; 201-641-9869, luigisinthepark.com.

Tony D's Pizza, Caldwell

Tony D's doesn't have a website. It barely has any indoor seats; a couple of two 2-top tables. But owner Tony DiFabrizo manages to sling pizza that mavens can't get enough of. Many order for takeout. "We don't get coffee beans from Ethiopia or prosciutto from the other side of the world," DiFabrizo said. "We just try to make a really good pie that stands out." What differentiates Tony D's from many others is that he offers square pies, too, with thin crusts. "We stretch the dough thin and cut it thin," he said. Come warm weather, Tony D's fans can sit outside on the patio and enjoy the good weather and good eats.

Go: 3 Hanford Place, Caldwell; 973-228-9500. No web.

Ralph's Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant, Nutley

This pizza is baked twice -- to ensure that every ingredient covers the entire pie at Ralph's in Nutley

Eight years after Pasquale "Pat" Custode, started working for Ralph Pellegrino's pizzeria, he bought the place. Ralph's opened in 1961. He has been at Ralph's for 40 years. "There's a lot of history here," Custode said. And while much has changed over the years – Custode has added a well-appointed 40-seat dining room, a party room for 70, and soon there's even going to be a parking lot – the quality of the pizza has stayed high. Custode, who cooks alongside his daughter and another staffer, bakes his pizzas in a round pan twice – once at a high temperature (around 700 degrees), and then at a lower temperature to ensure that all of the toppings completely cover the dough.

The dining room at Ralph's in Nutley

"I don't really have crust showing," he said. "The sauce and the cheese go to the very edge." As do the toppings: meatballs, peppers, anchovies, mushrooms and more. A slice costs $2.25.

Go: 564 Franklin Ave., Nutley; 973-235-1130, ralphspizzeria.com.

Reservoir Tavern, Boonton

Current chef and owner Nicola Bevacqua's grandfather, also called Nicola, founded this no-pretense tavern, opening its doors in 1936. Not much has changed. The food cooked is more or less the food that nonna cooked. "We call it grandma food," Bevacqua said. And while grandma didn't cook pizza, the pizza sauce is made using a special family recipe. And the dough? Take your pick: thin, thick, Sicilian. "People want more choices," Bevacqua said. "It used to be pepperoni only. Now it's pineapple, arugula, caramelized this or that." Does that upset Bevacqua? "Not a bit. Anything that sells is fine with me." What sells the most, Bevacqua reported, is the white clam and garlic pie and the vodka sauce and shrimp pie. No slices available, but there is a full bar, so you can enjoy that pie with a cold glass of beer or a lovely white wine. 

Go: 92 Parsippany Blvd., Boonton; 973-334-5708, therestavern.com.

Barcelona's, Garfield

No thrills, just good eats, one Trip Advisor wrote about this 85-year-old joint with a menu as long as a diner's. It's got sandwiches, spaghetti, steaks, meatballs, chicken, veal, seafood, appetizers, salads, desserts and, of course, pizza, which Barcelona proclaims are "famous." When asked what kind of oven Barcelona's uses for its pizza? A server answered, "A pizza oven." It's that kind of place. The decor? Looks somewhat like a Rotary Club meeting room with a bar. But you didn't come here for the decor, right? You came here for good old-school pizza and that's what you'll get.

Brooklyn's Coal-Brick Oven, Hackensack, Ridgewood and Edgewater

Old-school pizza at Brooklyn Brick-Oven Pizza, which now has three locations in NJ

The story of this traditional pizza joint begins in the 1900s in New York City, where Patsy Lancieri began to use a coal-burning brick oven to make pies. Fast forward some 80 years, and Patsy's nephew opens a coal-brick oven spot in Brooklyn. In 1993, his relatives bring the pizza to New Jersey, first to Hackensack, then Edgewater and finally Ridgewood. "Everything is homemade," assured Christina Liguori, manager of the Ridgewood location. The shop offers two pizzas only: cheese and tomato or cheese and garlic. Then customers can add on whatever they want: ricotta, black olives, extra mozzarella, pepperoni, green peppers, pineapple, red onion... Some get carried away. "People come and say they want a 'Garbage Pie,'" — that is a pie with all the toppings. But Liguori makes sure to point out that it's going to cost them: Each topping costs $2.25 extra on a whole pie; $1.75 on half. "The most I've seen is eight toppings," she said. FYI: the not-too-thin, not-too-thick dough can handle the weight. 

Go: 161 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack, 201-342-2727;  443 River Road, Edgewater, 201-945-8589; 15 Oak St., Ridgewood; 201-493-7600 brooklynspizza.net.

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