April 2016 – In Search of the Best…. PIZZA

By M.D. and Joe Skms

Score: 92

http://www.arturosnj.com

362

Arturo’s Osteria & Pizzeria is located at 180 Maplewood Ave. in Maplewood, NJ. This is a thriving NYC suburb with an attractive Main street scene hosting some very nice shops, bars and restaurants where Arturo’s holds a sweet spot close to the commuter train station.

The “Jersey Pizza Guys” arrive and glance over the well-lit mid-sized room with modest, casual décor, small wooden tables, a window seat communal table and two amazing Neapolitan wood fire pizza ovens that sit behind a small working counter space. (Watch the short clip ot the ovens in action). Of course the Jersey Pizza Guys gravitate to the communal table.

After taking this in you’ll realize that Arturo’s is a place of action that caters to long time locals and newbie parents alike, since stroller friendly is a must in this community and it works comfortably with the space. Arturo’s is packed many nights from 6pm on, the wait can vary and no reservations are accepted. The crowd only helps to gives a nice buzz to the room, though dining we never felt it was too loud or crowded.

The service was enjoyable, served by a young, vibrant, attentive crew. Any lack of experience and knowledge was easily made up with smiles and attentiveness. Also note, this is a BYOB so the Jersey Pizza Guys were certainly enjoying the vino.

Despite a nice range of menu options and great reviews from the likes of the New York Times we were there for pizza (see the pizza menu). We started with (2), The Bianco and Santo, we also Shared a Margherita with a local friendly family at the communal table and then moved on to the end game with the Tartufi and Plain with Soppressata. These are all beautiful pizzas, the last two pizzas made using an excellent shredded mozzarella, not the homemade fresh mozzarella.

The Bianco and Santo pizzas came out first with a wonderful soft and large crust rim “pizza bone”, almost chewy, bread like crust (check out Arturo’s amazing breads) that was tasty and delightful, a signature of Arturo’s. The Bianco pizza was our least favorite of the night, holding little interest and no distinctive qualities or flavors. The Santo pizza with sausage, onion and roasted chili oil was an excellent, well balanced and “kick it up a notch” lively pie.

The Margherita pie, (billed as “our favorite pizza”), which we were lucky enough to share with the friendly family sitting at our communal table was uneventful and came off fairly ordinary. It was also uneven and a bit doughy as if cooked too hot so the dough never had a chance to fully cook. For confirmation, I asked an older couple at the table next to us, also having the Margherita and they agreed “it was ok but not great” and the fresh basil was the most distinctive flavor on the pie.

Round (3) and we were now into the Tartufi and Plain/Soppressata pies. This is where we were hooked. These were both fantastic pies, The Tartufi has a special, excellent and additive flavor with explosive taste from the sausage, mushrooms and truffle oil. The Plain pie with Soppressata was a beautifully aromatic well-balanced pie with deep flavor and a slightly salty overtone likely due to the great tasting Soppressata. Both of these pies are made with the shredded mozzarella which was delicious.

Overall, The Jersey Pizza Guys would highly recommend and eat at Arturo’s again, (the bread alone is worth the trip) we are especially looking forward to trying their other food which gets marvelous reviews. The atmosphere and service lent a dining experience that bordered on festive and certainly will leave you with a full stomach and a full smile. Arturo’s also has a sister operation “Razza Pizza Artigianale” http://www.razzanj.com on Grove St. in Jersey City and its now on our hit list of new places to explore.