The New Jersey Pizza Hunt

Date: 5/31/18 Location: West Phillipsburg, NJ Slices ordered: Plain and Penne Vodka Website: bellamiapizzanj.com/ Bella Mia is a small pizzeria tucked away in the busy Shoprite/Home Depot shopping center. There is ample parking that is shared with the nearby shops and Bourbon Street Liquor Store. There are a few folding chairs and a small table set up outside as a make-shift outdoor eating area. The inside is slightly more spacious than it appears. The counter had a great selection of specialty slices and the staff was friendly. I decided to go with a plain slice and a penne vodka slice. Both slices had a good, fluffy crust with a thin, crispy base. The plain was a bit greasy, but a good, reliable slice. The pasta slice was filling with a great vodka sauce and a good ratio of cheese to sauce. This spot is a good go-to in my opinion.

Date: 5/26/2018 Location: Raritan, NJ Pizza ordered: Plain and Grandma Website:  http://www.4sisterspizza.com/  Four Sisters Pizza is a small pizzeria located along the busy West Somerset Street in Raritan, NJ. Since there is no dedicated parking lot, parking can be a bit of a challenge, but you can usually find something in close walking distance. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is quaint with plenty of plants and the classic chalkboard of specials. I decided to go with a grandma slice and a plain slice. The grandma sported a crispy base and crisp, delicious crust. The sauce was awesome, but a tad unevenly distributed along with the cheese. The taste plain slice reminded me of school cafeteria pizza. The cheese slid right off the slice and either wasn't the best quality or there was too high a ratio of cheese to sauce.

Date: 4/12/2018 Location: Franklin, NJ Pizza ordered: Plain, Chicken-Bacon-Ranch, and Mac&Cheese Website: franksinsomerset.com/ I stopped in at Frank's for lunch on the way home from some field work with an appetite and they delivered. The restaurant itself has ample seating and decent parking in the shopping center lot. Staff was friendly and I appreciated the large selection of slices to choose from. I decided to try the chicken-bacon-ranch, mac & cheese, and plain slices since they all looked quite good. The plain slice was on the greasy side with some seriously stringy cheese. The crust was pleasantly fluffy, though the sauce was run-of-the-mill and average. The mac and cheese slice was very filling but very plain. It definitely had a blend of cheeses, but nothing really stood out. The chicken-bacon-ranch slice was alright but had a lot of empty real-estate that could have better been utilized by toppings. The pizza here was pretty average but not bad overall.

Date: 4/9/2018 Location: Somerset, NJ Pizza ordered: Plain and Tomato Website:  www.cafealfredos.com/ Alfredo's Restaurant & Pizzeria is tucked away into a strip mall along the busy Easton Avenue. There's ample parking in the outdoor lot and plenty of indoor seating available. The staff was polite and very friendly.  I decided to go with the plain slice and the tomato pie slice. Both slices featured a fluffy crust with a crispy exterior and a crispy base to the pizza. The tomato slice had some quality sauce with good flavor. The plain slice went a little overboard on the cheese and needed some more sauce to even out, but overall was a perfectly average slice.

Date: 4/3/2018 Location: Somerset, NJ Pizza ordered: Plain and Buffalo Chicken Website:  http://mezzalunasomerset.com/menu.php Mezza Luna is tucked away in a strip mall along the busy Easton Avenue. There is plenty of room to park and a good amount of indoor seating. The staff was friendly and there was a moderate selection of pizza available at the counter. I went with the buffalo chicken and my usual plain. Now I'm not much of a buffalo chicken fanboy, but this particular slice was quite good and very filling. There was plenty of blue cheese and chicken with a good quality buffalo sauce. The plain was a bit underwhelming. It was slightly gummy and seemed undercooked with a stringy/gooey cheese.

Date: 2/6/2018 Location: Philipsburg, NJ Pizza ordered: Plain Phone: (908) 859-0759 Nicolosi's pizza seems to be a local favorite. There's a pleasant atmosphere with some impressive baseball memorabilia adorning the walls. I went with a standard plain slice, as there wasn't much selection at the time I decided to stop by. The slice was greasy but had a good cheese to sauce ratio, both of which were tasty. The base and crust were the right amounts of crispy. And while I prefer my slices come unseasoned so that I may add them myself if necessary, the slice came with a good ratio of spices that weren't too overpowering.

Date: 2/7/2018 Location: Somerset, NJ Pizza ordered: Plain and BBQ Chicken Website:  http://www.cafeamici.net/ Cafe Amici is your typical small corner pizzeria. The walls were adorned with various sports posters, mainly baseball, pictures and maps of Italy, a Godfather movie poster and several local sports team plaques. There was an impressive selection at the counter which is usually a good sign. The slices are large and definitely filling. The plain had a tasty, fluffy crust, but the sauce to cheese ratio was off. Too much cheese, not enough of the red stuff. The BBQ chicken was either overcooked or lacking flavor. I would like to try some of the other specialties, but in the meantime, I can say the pizza I had was just average.