6 New Jersey Pizzerias Among Country's Best, Popular Website Says

New Jersey is home to some of the country's best pizza, according to a new analysis by the popular food website The Daily Meal. The website's annual list of the 101 Best Pizzas in America this year includes selections from six restaurants in the Garden State.

The highest-ranked New Jersey pizza shop on the 2017 list was Star Tavern Pizzeria in Orange, where The Daily Meal suggests ordering anything that's "thin crust" or a bar pie.

"In the annals of all things pizza, (thin crust) is perhaps one of the most underrated styles. The maligned proponents of the pile-it-on philosophy behind deep-dish get bent out of shape when Chicago’s signature style is besmirched, but there doesn’t seem to be a similar geographic identification attached to this more nuanced, reserved, and minimalist approach," according to the publication.

The Daily Meal has ranked America’s best pizzas since 2012, and it’s no small feat, its editors say.

"We’ve been at this for a while. We’ve obsessively cast as wide a net as possible across the country to search for the best pizzas. All year, once each annual list appears, we research new spots ourselves and follow up on the discoveries of others wherever they are across the country. We tap friends for recommendations, pore over reader tips, argue, seek out experts to help us rank responsibly — and eat as much pizza as we can," according to The Daily Meal.

Here are the New Jersey pizzerias that made The Daily Meal list for 2017:

• #45 Delorenzo's Tomato Pies, Robbinsville (Tomato Pie: mozzarella and tomato sauce): "DeLorenzo’s serves serious tradition with their pizza — 70 years’ worth. 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 (the original closed in 2012 when stewards Gary and Eileen Amico retired)."
• #46 Razza, Jersey City (Bufala): "Razza opened just across the Hudson River from New York in Jersey City in late 2012, and it quietly became renowned locally for its wood-fired pizzas prepared by chef-owner Dan Richer, who was a semifinalist for the James Beard Rising Star Award and is so meticulous about his craft that he was nicknamed 'the Jiro of Bread,' after the sushi chef featured in Jiro Dreams of Sushi."
• #64 Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza, Elizabeth (Sicilian: pepperoni, mozzarella, pizza sauce): "What can you say about Al Santillo? Santillo may be the least well-known great pizza tradition curator in America, the gatekeeper to three generations of pizza-making and one of the most unique pizzerias in America. The man has tomato sauce running through his veins. Al Santillo’s grandfather, who had long made focaccia for his family at home, decided to try it as a business in 1950."
• #86 Papa’s Tomato Pies, Robbinsville (Mustard Pie): "Lombardi’s may be responsible for 'America’s first pizza,' but as Nick Azzaro, owner of Papa’s Tomato Pies, isn’t shy about saying, Papa’s — established in 1912 — is America’s oldest continuously owned, family-owned pizzeria. With more than 100 years under its belt, no wonder Papa’s made this list of America’s best pies again."
• #92 Reservoir Tavern, Boonton (Cheese Pie): "Tucked away on a quiet side street near the Jersey City Reservoir in Boonton, New Jersey, is Reservoir Tavern, serving some of the state’s finest brick-oven pizza and Old World Italian fare since 1936. Run by the Bevacqua family since day one, this no-frills bar and dining room commands a lengthy wait every night of the week."

See how this year's winners compare to the 2016 top contenders from New Jersey:

• #51 Star Tavern Pizzeria, Orange
• #62 Delorenzo's Tomato Pies, Robbinsville
• #80 Papa’s Tomato Pies, Robbinsville
• #99 Reservoir Tavern, Boonton

Click here to view the full list of the country's best pizza for 2017 on The Daily Meal's website.

Photo: Morguefile

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