From FastCasual.com...
Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza announced that Green Brook, N.J.-based AMPAL Group has signed an agreement to develop 10 franchise stores in Central and Northern New Jersey. The first is expected to open later this year in a location that has not yet been announced. This most recent agreement brings Blaze Pizza's total number of franchise stores under development to 56, with several new restaurants planned to open this summer. Over the last century, pizza has become the quintessential New York food, and so it’s no surprise that it’s been featured many times in The New Yorker. What is surprising is just how much pizza has changed. Pizza started out small, but made it big. The first New York pizzas, which were sold at Lombardi’s, in Little Italy, around 1905, cost five cents; a century later, pizza would be a globe-spanning, billion-dollar industry.
Click here to read the full article in The New Yorker. The New York City game of pizza musical chairs went for another turn today. Crain's reports that Grimaldi's pizza will take over the 462 Second Avenue spot in Kips Bay formerly occupied by, among others, an offshoot of Coney Island's Totonno's pizza. This will be Grimaldi's second Manhattan location after the one in the old Limelight, and joins recently opened Coney Island, Queens and New Jersey locations. Though no official opening date has been announced, owner Frank Ciolli tells Crain's, "We have a lease, we just put up
some signage, and we'll be opening soon." Ciolli's name is no stranger to the press these days. If you haven't been following the Dough Drama unfolding in Brooklyn though, here's a recap: Last November Grimaldi's was forced to move from its original location after a rent dispute with its landlord. Just a week later it was announced that pizza king and original Grimaldi's owner Patsy Grimaldi would be returning to Brooklyn to open his own new pizza joint, Juliana's, in the former Grimaldi's space. Ciolli then went and filed an injunction against Patsy to prevent him from opening the "rival" pizza parlor. In spite of all the lawsuits and sauce slinging, Juliana's seems poised to open any day now, so this well-timed announcement brings some of the focus back to Grimaldi's. The empire Ciolli's built off of Patsy Grimaladi's pizza seems unlikely to fall, but if this new incarnation doesn't succeed, we say Ray's Famous Original We Were First We Swear Pizza make a go of it. from The Gothamist.com Pizza! If you grew up obsessed with it — postgame pizza, movie pizza, baby-sitting pizza, college pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza! — and followed that American passion for cheese, sauce, and bread with an adult pursuit of the best slice, the finest pie, the Platonic Neapolitan, then the idea of naming America's best is likely contentious.
"A best pizza list? I know pizza. That's not great pizza!" Yes, pizza is tough to rank responsibly. Consider that just years ago, The New York Times' then critic Sam Sifton said Motorino "serves the city’s best pizza." It was enough to make you roll your eyes and call him out for knowing better, right? City's best? Not its best artisanal or Neapolitan pie? What about its best slice? And what is a "best" slice or pie anyway? After all, you could argue that great pizza can be many different things.... Click here to read the whole "The Daily Meal" article at Fox News. Sampling...2012 Winners by Region: Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and New Jersey Osteria (Philadelphia), DeLorenzo's (Trenton, NJ), Jumbo Slice Pizza (Washington DC), Papa's Tomato Pies (Trenton) by Peter Genovese, Star-Ledger
‘This must be the Munchmobile,” said the dad walking down a Maplewood street with his daughter. Good guess, since the Big Dog was nowhere in sight. Six guys eating slices and taking notes, with three boxes of pizza from Arturo’s on a park bench: That must have been the giveaway. There was no shortage of volunteers for our gourmet/artisanal pizza trip. The world’s most popular food — you can get it from Trenton to Tashkent and beyond — is also Jersey’s favorite; there are 3,000-some pizzerias in the Garden State, ranking it ahead of New York in states with the most pizzerias per capita. Everyone has a favorite neighborhood pizzeria; on this trip, we were going beyond pepperoni, meatball and chicken. Pizzas with high-end ingredients: San Marzano tomatoes, imported bufala mozzarella, truffle oil, prosciutto de parma, Sicilian tuna — you get the idea. More expensive pizzas? Sure, you get what you pay for. But when the sauce, cheese, crust and toppings all come together on one of these high-end pizzas, you enter the exalted state known as pizza nirvana. Click here to read the full article from The Star-Ledger... The pizzerias reviewed... AH’PIZZ, MONTCLAIR ARTURO’S OSTERIA & PIZZERIA, MAPLEWOOD PIZZA VITA, SUMMIT OSTERIA PROCACCINI, KINGSTON NOMAD PIZZA, HOPEWELL SAN MARZANO PASTA BAR, WESTFIELD  Those of you that love that firey taste of brick oven pizza would be interested in trying out the Pizza Vita truck over at the new outdoor Pier 13 venue uptown.
The owners have two other businesses in Summit, NJ (Bona Vita and Vita Chocolates), and are very proud of their mobile operation. They cite how it’s the only wood-burning oven in Hoboken – and that the 12″ Neapolitan pies (starting at $10) are “light and airy,” using pre-risen yeast that won’t bloat you. This type of food truck you won’t typically see on the street due to how it’s run (the staff is on the outside with tables – and the entire truck basically serves as the oven exclusively). They’re at Pier 13 Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (weather permitting). They also set up in Jersey City on Wednesdays, and Summit other days. From Hoboken411.com Our annual Readers' and Critics' Choice Restaurant Poll takes you all over the state to some of our favorite restaurants.
Pizza Category North: Pizza Vita, Summit Central: Pete & Elda’s, Neptune South: Brother’s, Cape May Critic's Choice: Ralph’s, Nutley Critic's Choice: Santillo’s, Elizabeth Critic's Choice: Star Tavern, Orange Click here for the full listing of restaurants in all categories. The key to great pizza could be debated endlessly. With so many joints devoted to the revered item throughout the state, choosing just a few was nearly impossible. We narrowed down our list by category – these slices will please even the most picky of pizza aficionados. We know the Garden State prides itself
on great pizza – here are our picks for the best slices. By Emily Tamburri.  Adele DiBiase loves her pizza oven. “She’s beautiful,” says the chef and co-owner of Pizza Vita in Summit.
This is no ordinary oven, but a wood-fired Stefano Ferrara oven imported from Italy. With its round shape and gorgeous tile work, it’s almost a work of art, but it’s got a job to do — cook Neapolitan-style pizzas in a minute and a half. You can do this when the oven’s set at 900 degrees. DiBiase started in the food business as a pastry chef, then she and her husband, Rocco Flores, opened Mama Tucci in Madison, which moved to Livingston before closing four years ago. Then the two opened, with Ernesto Santorelli and chef Marc Bruzzio, Bona Vita Osteria in Summit. Pizza Vita, housed in the space once occupied by Honey Browns, opened last July. It’s right next to the classic Summit Diner. Click here to read the full review in the Star-Ledger | Jersey PizzaYou can brag and boast about lots of things, but Jersey's got the best pizza. Period. ArchivesMay 2013 CategoriesAll |
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