That's So Cheezy!

…it’s beautiful

(Source: i-heart-pinkk)

Visited my grandparents in the old neighborhood. They ordered a plain pie from Nino’s on Harrison Ave. Being that this pizza place was 3 blocks away, we grew up on regularly eating it every Friday in our household. It’s not a bad pie, and they have ton of toppings, but it lacks flavor. I feel like they try to make up for it with heavy salt in either the sauce or cheese. Also it’s pretty oily. However, it’s not bad for it’s price. If it’s convenient for you, then go right ahead and get pizza from Nino’s, otherwise try the numerous other pizza joints in the Garfield/Lodi area. 

Rating: 3/5

 ~Lou

Okay so I know I already “reviewed” Dominick’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in Newton but that review was pretty biased. Reviewing pizza that’s room temperature isn’t very fair so I figured I needed to give a real deal review. This particular pizza experience happened a few short hours after my M & S II excursion when I got to Kait’s house. She said she was getting a pie and obviously I was stoked to be having another two slices of pizza in my stomach. 4 slices within 2 hours is pretty solid I’m not gunna lie. Anyway, this white slice reminded me of the white that they have at Mario’s Pizza in Jefferson which is arguably my favorite white slice in existence. They make it different than most pizzerias because the cheese is layered with the ricotta underneath the mozzarella as opposed to having blobs of ricotta plopped on top of the mozzarella. I think this is way better as it keeps the slice from getting overly filling from the over-concentration of ricotta. Unfortunately, Dominick’s does not make this slice quite as well as Mario’s does. As I mentioned in my last review, Kait and I have eaten food from Dominick’s on a number of occasions, but we never get the pizza. She’s always told me it’s not very good, and I’m starting to see why. Dominick’s biggest problem is that their food is very inconsistent. Sometimes it rocks, sometimes it sucks, and oftentimes it’s not as hot as it should be. I don’t know if this pie can speak for every white pie from Dominick’s, but i fit doesn’t, than it was definitely an off day. First off, as I’m sure you can see, the cheese is burnt, which is something I am not a fan of at all in my pizza. I had a second slice after this and it had bubbles on it. Now normally who doesn’t love bubbles, but these were gross and just tasted burnt. Yuck. The cheese that wasn’t burnt was better, but it just didn’t have as strong of a flavor as I would have liked. I’m hoping it’s just because they burnt it that it lacked taste, because honestly I think I would have really enjoyed this slice if it was just a little less bland. While this slice was underwhelming all-around, the crust was easily the worst part. It was really doughy and chewy, which are not qualities I look for in my pizza crust at all. I still finished all of it, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it while it was happening. If you’re interested in going to Dominick’s for lunch or dinner, I would recommend perusing the menu options other than the pizza. You’re definitely more likely to be satisfied by a chicken roll or pasta. I got the penna alla vodka last time we got Dominick’s and I must say, it trumps the pizza any day. And I’ve only had it once.

Rating: 2.5/5

-Tom

So the other day while at work I fucked up my finger bad enough that I had to go to the ER to get it treated. Afterwards I decided I really wanted to get some pizza, and I knew M & S Pizza was down the road. Now as Paul and I have already gone over, there are two M & S’s right down the road from each other. Paul has reviewed M & S Pizza II while I reviewed M & S Pizza I, so I decided to check out II to see if it was any different. Seeing as I went to I months ago, I have no recollection of what the other one tasted like, except that I liked it. Assuming this one is the same (which the more I think about it, the more I feel like it was), I’ve gotta say, I still like it. Now my phone decided not to save the picture I took and I didn’t realize until all I have left was crust, so I jacked this picture of M & S’s buffalo chicken slice from Google. I tried one of these and a pepperoni. I’m going to try to make a point of going back here fairly soon to get another picture, but knowing me it’ probably won’t happen for another few months. Anyway, let me start talking about the actual pizza, which was quite good. I started with the pepperoni, which tasted better than it looked. The first bite was really weak, but it picked up quickly. I mentioned in another review recently that I got a “wishy washy” pepperoni slice that I didn’t like, but this was a “wishy washy” slice that I did like. The slice was pretty greasy (a definite plus for a pepperoni slice) and the cheese just slid right off in a great way. Definitely a good pepperoni slice, but nothing incredible. And they kinda skimped on the amount of pepperoni they put on. If I can’t have a piece of pepperoni with every bite, it’s going to be a problem. As for the buffalo chicken, it was different than your typical buffalo slice, but it was a nice change of pace. Usually buffalo chicken slices have the hot sauce and/or bleu cheese as a dressing on top of the pizza but this had neither. The hot sauce was put directly on the chicken and the bleu cheese was baked in with the cheese. It was like having a white slice with buffalo chicken on top and bleu cheese inside. Now I’m sure you’re thinking “ew, gross, I don’t want bleu cheese mixed in with my regular cheese” but you do. The taste was really subtle to the point where I wasn’t even sure that there was any bleu cheese there, but I’m convinced I saw it. Some of the hot sauce had that pinkish color it gets when it mixes with bleu cheese so it just had to be in there. Just like how the bleu cheese was subtle, the hot sauce was as well. Usually I’m not crazy about subtlety in a buffalo chicken slice, but M & S did a good job of making it work. This slice really does not taste like an ordinary buffalo chicken slice and I commend M & S for doing something a little bit different and creating a really solid, unique slice of pizza. As for the price, you cannot beat M & S. I paid $4.15 for my meal which is practically unheard of for two specialty slices, especially for the quality these were at. Oh, and the crust was good too. Definitely a great pizza spot. One of these days I’ll have to go to both M & S’s back to back and compare the two. Stay tuned.

Rating: 4/5

-Tom

P.S. I found my M & S I review here.

For those who don’t know, there are a lot of Frank’s Pizza’s in Northern New Jersey. It seems like there may or may not be several Frank’s “chains” as some of them have very similar tasting pizza. This review is for Frank’s Pizza & Restaurant in Sparta, NJ. I believe this is the fifth Frank’s I’ve been to in Morris/Sussex County. This one is very similar in appearance and taste to the one nearest me on the Milton side of Jefferson Township, so I get the feeling they are related. Anyway back to the pizza. I don’t like the Frank’s by my house, so I didn’t really have high hopes going in for the one in Sparta. Kait said that the white slice they have was really good when she tried it though, so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. While they did not have any of the aforementioned white slices left when we got there, I still had an overall positive pizza experience. It was pretty late and the pickings were slim, so I got a tortellini slice and a pepperoni slice. I was eyeing the buffalo chicken, but Kait wanted it and they only had one left so I let her have it, though I still managed to coerce her into letting me try it. Of the three, the tortellini was easily the best. It’s essentially a white slice with an extra topping and if the white slice is anything like this was, Kait was totally right about it being awesome. I definitely want to go back when they have some because I would love to try it. It wasn’t overly cheesy, bland, or filling in the ways that a white slice can be sometimes, and the tortellini was an awesome touch. I never really think about getting tortellini slices, but maybe I should start experimenting some more. Unfortunately, the pepperoni was not up to par with this slice. The first adjective that came to mind to describe this slice when I bit into it was “wishy washy.” Kait didn’t get it and maybe no one but me does, but the slice just tasted thin and watery. I usually like when the cheese on a slice is really runny and just slides off, but the sauce was equally runny on this slice and made it seem almost tasteless. I don’t think I would have liked their plain because even the pepperoni was having trouble saving this slice which usually doesn’t happen. It was still a passable slice, but I’m not jumping to get another one anytime soon. The buffalo chicken was similar. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it didn’t have anything going for it that really roped me in. I liked the taste the hot sauce gave the chicken, but it was a little too subtle for me to really enjoy it. Ratio is really important on a buffalo chicken slice and Frank’s need to change theirs up a little. I’d still consider trying this slice again, but I honestly don’t know if my opinion would change at all. Overall, Frank’s was a pretty good pizza choice. Sussex County is overall lacking in the pizza department, and this is the best pizza I’ve had in Sparta thus far. Worth a try if you’re in the area.

Rating: 3.75/5

-Tom

Here’s a pepperoni and a tomato & basil I got from Pinto’s Pizza in Jefferson when Matt was in town last week. The pepperoni wasn’t quite as good as it usually is there, but the tomato & basil hit the spot. I’m so glad I got into tomatoes because tomato & basil slices are sweet when they’re done right.. If you’re on the Milton side of Jefferson, this is definitely the pizza spot to check out.

Rating: Previously a 3.5 but it’s more like a solid 4.25/5

-Tom

While in Binghamton on a weekend tour with Polaroids, Mike Q and I decided it was necessary to sample the local pizza. Though Pat had advised us to stop at Lupo’s instead of getting pizza for a local delicacy known as a “Spiedie” (which I must say was preeeetty okay), we still stopped at Grotta Azzurra for 99 cent slice Fridays. As we were walking in, we noticed some slices of pizza lying on the ground outside of the restaurant (pictured above). We joked around about how we should just eat those and how terrible the pizza probably was. Unfortunately, neither of these things were jokes. This may have been the worst slice of pizzaI’ve ever eaten in my life. It tasted like nothing. It looked really old, as if someone just warmed up a slice they took out of the freezer because the cheese did not move at all. The crust was no better. It crunched and then tasted like absolutely nothing. What a waste of my time and money. We made Chris try it too and he spit out the crust I gave him. I can’t believe I was subjected to pizza as horrendous as this, especially while in New York State. Avoid at all costs.

Rating: 0/5

-Tom

For decades, Barcelona’s has been a staple in the once heavily Italian-American neighborhood of Harrison Avenue in Garfield/Lodi. My grandparents used to go on dates to this rustic restaurant (which also boasts a bar). But not much has changed from those days at Barcelona’s, including the menus. With such a plethora of pizza parlors in the area, the pies at Barcelona’s are often overlooked. It’s such a shame because a plain pie is only roughly $7. You can’t find that price anywhere in New Jersey for a pizza pie unless you go to a shitty chain franchise. And on top of that, the pizza is amazing. 

I stopped in a few days ago on my way to the Barclays Center to see Youth Lagoon and The National. I was with two friends, both on vacation from art school in Savannah, Georgia. One of them, from Chicago originally, had never had real good Jersey pizza. We ordered a half plain/half vegetable pie (which came with peppers, onions and broccoli). It was amazing. As you all know I’m a fan of thin crust slices. Well Barcelona perfects their crust with a family recipe dating back to the 1920’s. It seemed almost brick-oven in it’s taste and texture. The cheese was also delicious, not too greasy. The sauce was a tad lacking in taste. I found myself adding a lot of red crushed pepper to make up for it. But this was only a minor complaint as the pie overall was stellar. The toppings went great together, especially the broccoli. I definitely recommend this spot to anyone who happens to be in Bergen County

Rating: 4.5/5

~Lou