Central Jersey has a new top spot for pizza if website The Daily Meal knows what it’s talking about!
In its rankings of the top 101 pizzerias in the country, The Daily Meal says The Pizza Den is the 64th best pizzeria in the U.S.
You might then expect to see old Chambersburg favorites DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, DeLorenzo’s Pizza or Papa’s Tomato Pies on the list, but nope — they’re not included at all.
In fact, only four New Jersey pizzerias made the list period. Local favorite Nomad Pizza did make the list at No. 31, but for its Philadelphia location, not for the Nomad locations in Hopewell or Princeton.
The Daily Meal says it used Yelp reviews, reader feedback and the reports of food journalists to come up with its list, which features New Haven’s famous Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana in the top spot in the country.
The Pizza Den, owned by wife and husband team of Aginah and Costa Maltabes, opened in summer 2018 on Nassau Street, next to Hoagie Haven. Their simple menu lists just 4 pies — classic, Brooklyn, tomato and sauceless — but these can be customized with a variety of tasty toppings.
Three other NJ pizzerias made the list: Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City (no. 4 overall), The Star Tavern in Orange (no. 36) and Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza in Elizabeth (no. 58).
The old Chambersburg pizzerias used to be regular features on lists like this, but since moving to the suburbs — DeLorenzo’s Pizza to Hamilton and Papa’s and DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies to Robbinsville — they have been recognized less frequently. Two years ago, USA Today affiliate site 10Bestnamed Classico Tomato Pies in West Windsor the best in the area.
Big cities like New York, Boston, Detroit and Chicago have long dominated best-pizza lists, and are well represented in The Daily Meal’s latest ratings, although Las Vegas, Nashville and Atlanta also fared well this time around. New York’s Five Boroughs took 19 of the top 101 spots
For many years, Chambersburg and New Haven’s Little Italy were two small-city pizza hot spots that regularly featured in national rankings. New Haven has five pizzerias in this list, including Frank Pepe’s, but Trenton has none.
This reporter has been to Frank Pepe’s twice, and I won’t say whether it is better than local pie, but I will say that you should definitely check it out if you are ever passing through New Haven.
