6 In New Jersey Are Among 101 Best Pizzas In America In 2019

Six New Jersey food places landed on a well-respected list of the top 101 pizzas in America for 2019, with one eatery nearly topping the national list.

Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City was third nationally on The Daily Meal's 2019 ranking of America's 101 Best Pizzas, which was released last week.

The Daily Meal considered nearly 1,000 pizzas and looked for such qualities as a nuanced sauce, well-distributed cheese, a flavorful crust and an overall balance of ingredients.

The “101 Best Pizzas in America” list is culled from a preferred pool of perfect pies. The Daily Meal then reached out to a diverse list of pizza chefs, bloggers, critics and writers, and asked them to take a survey on the pizza shops where they actually had eaten.

Here is the complete New Jersey list, and their national rankings:

• #3 Razza Pizza Artigianale (Jersey City) "Razza opened just across the Hudson River from New York in Jersey City, New Jersey, in late 2012, and it quietly became locally renowned for its wood-fired pizzas prepared by chef-owner Dan Richer, who was a semifinalist for the James Beard Rising Star Award. Not only has Richer perfected his crust — it’s crisp from end to end and its inside is soft with a complex flavor — but he’s also meticulous about his toppings, which he sources locally," according to The Daily Meal.
• #32 Star Tavern Pizzeria (Orange) "In the history of all things pizza, the bar pie is perhaps one of the most underrated styles. It’s a shame, save that it makes bar pie bastions like Colony, Eddie’s and Star Tavern in Orange, New Jersey, easier to enjoy without battling crowds," according to The Daily Meal.
• #37 Delorenzo's Tomato Pies (Robbinsville) "DeLorenzo’s serves 70 years’ worth of tradition with its pizza. It was launched in Trenton in 1947 by southern Italian immigrant Alexander "Chick" De Lorenzo; today, Delorenzo’s tradition is upheld by his grandson Sam Amico at the new location in Robbinsville, opened in 2007," according to The Daily Meal.
• #47 Santillo's Brick Oven Pizza (Elizabeth, New Jersey) "Al Santillo’s grandfather opened Santillo’s in 1950, and the massive, cathedral-like brick oven, which requires a 20-foot-long peel to retrieve the pizzas, was built in 1957. This New Jersey pizzeria is really something you have to experience for yourself," according to The Daily Meal.
• #52 Papa’s Tomato Pies (Robbinsville) "Papa’s Tomato Pies, established in 1912, is America’s oldest continuously owned, family-owned pizzeria. And the family behind this operation is key: Their recipe has been passed down through generations and survived a 2013 move from Trenton to Robbinsville," according to The Daily Meal.
• #55 Bread and Salt (Jersey City) "Rick Easton is one of the country’s most meticulous and renowned bakers, and he first gained recognition back in 2015 for a stone-milled, high-extraction wheat flour 'local bread' sold at his shop in Pittsburgh. So it goes without saying that the pizza dough he’s turning out at the Jersey City location of Bread and Salt is going to be equally fussed-over," according to The Daily Meal.

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Connecticut was named the best pizza joint in the nation for the third year in a row.

Connecticut might have had the No. 1 pizza, but New York led the way overall with 28 pizza places on the Daily Meal list. New York was followed by Illinois with nine, California with seven, and Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey all with six.

Here are the top 10 overall pizzas in America:

10. John’s of Bleecker Street (New York, New York)
9. Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria (Chicago, Illinois)
8. Patsy’s (New York, New York)
7. Sally’s Apizza (New Haven, Connecticut)
6. Totonno’s (Brooklyn, NY)
5. Buddy’s Pizza (Detroit, Michigan)
4. Pequod’s (Chicago, Illinois)
3. Razza Pizza Artigianale (Jersey City, New Jersey)
2. Lucali (Brooklyn, New York)
1. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (New Haven, Connecticut)