Get Your "Mutz" Here!

Hoboken's got "mutz." To those who are not familiar with abbreviation, I'm talking about Mozzarella. Not only do we have the best pastries and the best bread in town, we also have the best mozzarella.

The problem is in deciding where to get it. Some people swear by Fiore's, some will tell you that M&P Biancomano's has the best, while others will argue that Lisa's Italian Deli or Tony's Italian Bakery can't be beat. There's also and brand new Park & Sixth who make fresh mozzarella.

Each store claims to have the best. And according to each of the mozzarella makers, they've never tasted anybody else's.

Vito's Delicatessen even has t-shirts that proclaim, "Hoboken's Best 'Mutz.'" and Fiore's sign reads: "Famous for our Mozzarella."

Lisa's Italian Deli will appear on a 'Cake Boss' episode, which will feature brothers Tony and Angelo Lisa's mozzarella, and signs in the store announce that Hoboken tours stop by on Saturdays to see the "mozzarella boss".

The store that has been around the longest is Fiore's Deli at 414 Adams St . It was established in 1913, by the Fiore Family. In 1950, current owner John Amato Sr. started working—sweeping floors, etc.— with Joe Fiore, the son of the original owner. Amato purchased it in 1965 and now he and his son, John Amato Jr., as well as his brother-in-law, Uncle Doc (Dominic) Vitolo make the mozzarella every day, several batches a day. 

But how do you make the best mozzarella? John Jr. says, "you get to know the feel for it, what each curd is telling you. In winter when cows are eating hay, the curds are drier. In summer, when cows are eating grass, it's wetter. It's easy to make mozzarella then. We know how to cook it. It's all about consistency and water temperature." His father and uncle have been making the cheese for at least 50 years and they've got it down. They make approximately 100 lbs—sometimes more—mozzarrella every day. Especially Christmas is a big "mutz" holiday. People are looking to buy mozzarella for family celebrations  Fiore's makes and sells "almost a ton of mozzarella at Christmas," says John Jr.

Pete Biancamano of M&P Mini Market Italian Deli at 1116 Washington St, says that his recipe was passed down from his father, who founded the store almost 30 years ago. Biancamano makes the mozzarella three to five times a day and though mostly it's used in sandwiches, you can get twists, too. Some restaurants buy their mozzarella, but he didn't want to say which ones—in case the restaurants were claiming it was homemade by them.

Lisa's Italian Deli and Catering at 901 Park has been around since 1971. Current owners, brothers Angelo and Tony Lisa, learned how to make the mozzarella from their parents. They make between 150 and 175 lbs a day. Most of that goes into their signature dishes and sandwiches. The trick, Lisa says, is "patience and love. When you do something with love it makes everything better." They do so, every morning, for at least for hours. 

Danny and Nicky Losurdo, of Tony's Italian Deli at 410 Second St., have been making fresh mozzarella for the past 35 years. When asked what makes it so special, Danny says, "It's the water in Hoboken. It's the water temperature, how you work it—the experience." Tony's is one of the few places that make those little mozzarella poppers, bocconcini, every day.

Vito's Italian Deli, at 806 Washington St., will make bocconcini to order and sometimes has it as a special. Co-owner Freddy Perez—he partnered with owner Vito Buzzerio—says one of the reasons their mutz is so good is because they "taste it to make sure. It's the consistency of the process." Freddy also says that Vito's ships all over, "We even had an order we shipped to China."

Relative newcomer, Luca Brasi's Italian Deli at 100 Park has been in business for 10 years, and makes its mozzarella fresh every day.

Park and Sixth just opened in June of 2009. Glen Donovan is the owner and Brian Dowling manages the place. "

We figured if we were opening up in Hoboken we needed to make our own mozzarella," Donovan said. Both Donovan and Dowling are half Irish and half Italian. "We taught ourselves how to make it," Dowling said.

Whether you eat your fresh mozzarella cut from a twist with tomatoes or prefer it thick on a sandwich, there are plenty of places in Hoboken for you to get your homemade, fresh mutz fix.