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Venuto's Pizza aims to conquer South Jersey

jmbrightman

By jmbrightman
in New Jersey: Dining

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jmbrightman

jmbrightman

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The Venuto family, founders of Hollywood Tans and other franchises, are bringing thin crust pizza to South Jersey and Southeastern PA. The second store (of 40 planned to open soon, in advance of 100's after that ) opened this week in Washington Twp (08080). They use a ceramic brick conveyor oven capable of cooking a pie in 6 minutes, and a large variety of fresh ingredients for toppings. I tried a regular cheese pie (The Michelangelo) and a pepperoni pie (the Raphael). The crust was near cracker thin, and crunchy at the edges. It is the best I have tried since moving here almost 2 years ago from South Philadelphia; better than South Phila faves Celebre's and City Pizza. It was smilar to Tacconelli's crust, but without the garlic dusting the bottom of the pie.

http://www.venutos.com

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john b

john b

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I'm liking the "coming soon" locations in Cherry Hill. :biggrin:

Have you tried Maruca's?

John

"I can't believe a roasted dead animal could look so appealing."--my 10 year old upon seeing Peking Duck for the first time.

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SundaySous

SundaySous

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From their web site:

"The Bill of Doing Things Right, You have the right to serve pizza at your wedding."

I like the way these people think.

"And in the meantime, listen to your appetite and play with your food."

Alton Brown, Good Eats

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Jeff L

Jeff L

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  It is the best I have tried since moving here almost 2 years ago from South Philadelphia; better than South Phila faves Celebre's and City Pizza.  It was smilar to Tacconelli's crust, but without the garlic dusting the bottom of the pie.

That's because you apparently haven't tried Delorenzo's tomato pie in Trenton yet

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jmbrightman

jmbrightman

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  It is the best I have tried since moving here almost 2 years ago from South Philadelphia; better than South Phila faves Celebre's and City Pizza.  It was smilar to Tacconelli's crust, but without the garlic dusting the bottom of the pie.

That's because you apparently haven't tried Delorenzo's tomato pie in Trenton yet

I live further from Trenton now than I did before. I may never try Delorenzo's.

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Jeff L

Jeff L

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  It is the best I have tried since moving here almost 2 years ago from South Philadelphia; better than South Phila faves Celebre's and City Pizza.  It was smilar to Tacconelli's crust, but without the garlic dusting the bottom of the pie.

That's because you apparently haven't tried Delorenzo's tomato pie in Trenton yet

I live further from Trenton now than I did before. I may never try Delorenzo's.

Trust me, it's worth the drive. Better than any pie I've tasted in PA or NJ hands down.

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rockhopper

rockhopper

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  It is the best I have tried since moving here almost 2 years ago from South Philadelphia; better than South Phila faves Celebre's and City Pizza.  It was smilar to Tacconelli's crust, but without the garlic dusting the bottom of the pie.

That's because you apparently haven't tried Delorenzo's tomato pie in Trenton yet

I live further from Trenton now than I did before. I may never try Delorenzo's.

Trust me, it's worth the drive. Better than any pie I've tasted in PA or NJ hands down.

Really close to DeLo's Hudson tomato pie is Alfred's Tomato Pie in Blackwood which is less of a hike for southerners; and in a much better neighborhood. I was just there a week ago and Tony Luke was also there having pies. The menu: tomato pie. Want something else? Gotta go someplace else. (I'm usually leery of places with menus that read like war and peace). It's also just a guy - Alfred - and his son; not some chain with visions of empire and a conveyor belt.

But in fairness, I'll try Venuto's.

Dum vivimus, vivamus!

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rockhopper

rockhopper

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Ok, so we went to get a hollywood tan pizza on saturday. On Venuto's website they list "West Deptford" as their only open store. Google maps and Mapquest call it Woodbury. I wrote to the address at Venuto's to let them know and the email bounced back.

So it's just a few miles south of Woodbury on 45 and it's on the right. It looks like an ex-McDonald's. It was saturday around 3 and we were the only ones there. At first we thought they were closed.

It is indeed a fast food atmosphere. You go to the counter and a high school kid will take your order. Credit cards accepted. The guy we had was very nice. There are a few paleolithic pizzas in a display case so you can see what the menu looks like - or get just a slice. So I got their "flagship" pizza. Michelangelo I think; tomato sauce and cheese.

Here it is:

gallery_660_5050_129659.jpg

Pardon the crappy phonecam quality. They bring it to the table on a pedestal.

Here's an upskirt:

gallery_660_5050_23292.jpg

Not especially browned.

And a side view

gallery_660_5050_88343.jpg

The pie was indeed thin. The outer crust was crisp to the point of being cracker like. The rest of the pie was sad. Very floppy. You can't tell from the photo but it was undercooked; even a pie that thin they managed to get that uncooked dough layer.

The cheese was a bit salty and it was stringy so if you're looking for the TV commercial experience; you'll get it. The sauce was essentially slightly thinned tomato paste without much other flavor. No actual tomatoes in sight for those of you who don't like that.

The verdict. I'd eat it again but I won't wait in line more than 5 minutes nor drive out of my way to get it. I think they don't really get the thin crust concept you would get in a place like the now defunct Rocco's in Trenton.

The vibe was fast food from the surroundings to the product. For the same price I'd rather go to Alfred's Tomato Pie and get a superior product in nicer surroundings where the vibe is expert pizzaiolo who cares about his product.

gallery_660_5050_96526.jpg

It's even sliced like a DeLorenzo's pie. And he provides a restroom for the customers.

Dum vivimus, vivamus!

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Jeff L

Jeff L

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Rockhopper, that Alfred's pie really looked like Delorenzo's pie down to the spacing of the cheese and tomato vs cheese balance. Next thing you'll tell me is that they cut it with a knife and not a pizza slicer.

I would be interested in trying this pie but that thing from Venuto's looked just awful. Really, a bathroom for patrons at Alfreds, what's up with that :rolleyes:

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rockhopper

rockhopper

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Rockhopper, that Alfred's pie really looked like Delorenzo's pie down to the spacing of the cheese and tomato vs cheese balance. Next thing you'll tell me is that they cut it with a knife and not a pizza slicer.

I would be interested in trying this pie but that thing from Venuto's looked just awful. Really, a bathroom for patrons at Alfreds, what's up with that :rolleyes:

My first time at Alfred's I told him that I had DeLo's every friday for about 10 years in the 90s. He is friends with them and picked up tips on making the pie. Yes it's cut the same weird way.

For comparision with the same crappy phonecam here is a DeLo's tomato pie with mushrooms.

gallery_660_5050_75333.jpg

and here is Mrs Rockhopper watching the kentucky derby while eating it:

gallery_660_5050_64367.jpg

That lady at the cash register has been there forever. And she remembers you even if you haven't been back for a while.

Dum vivimus, vivamus!

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Jeff L

Jeff L

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That lady at the cash register has been there forever. And she remembers you even if you haven't been back for a while.

Just some background, that lady is Eileen Amico whose dad, Chick was the founder of the original Delorenzo's along with his brother who now operates Delorenzo's on Hamilton Avenue. Their pie is really good but not as good as Hudson Street.

In case you didn't know, the guy making your pizza is Eileen and Gary's son Sammy. He will be moving in to a brand new Delorenzo's slated to open later this year in Robbinsville. I think you better get back again soon cause it's anyone's guess how much longer Gary wants to keep the place going after Sammy's place is running.

We should get some folks together and do a friday lunch as that's really the best day and time to go...no wait, pizza piping hot on the table when you arrive. I've been going for almost 40 years!

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Jeff L

Jeff L

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why do they call it a tomato pie if it has cheese?  I always thought of tomato pie as the cheeseless sheet.

You are referring to the Philly style tomato pie which indeed is cheeseless. Many bakeries carry this thing which isn't bad but is not a Trenton style tomato pie, it's not a pizza at all. Trenton, I believe, has coined the word tomato pie which is a thin crust pizza with just a little cheese and a sauce blend of chopped and ground tomato on top with the usual spices. The very best example of this pizza imo is Delorenzo's on Hudson. I am somewhat of a purist and always order a plain tomato pie with just garlic which has roasted garlic pieces embedded in the sauce, quite tasty indeed.

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Jeff L

Jeff L

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Are you sure the term "Tomato Pie" originated in Trenton? I have no reason to doubt that, but have noticed that Vic's in Bradley Beach has a 'Tomato Pie' sign on the restaurant, too.

No, I'm not sure. This is a link to "Slice" and it's pretty comprehensive although it doesn't answer the tomato pie origination question:

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2005...enzos_toma.html

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jmbrightman

jmbrightman

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Last night's visit to Venuto's was another poor showing. The pies were undercooked (and expensive at almost 30 bucks for 1 plain and 1 pepperoni), and while the kids behind the counter did not appear busy, nobody seemed to think it was important to clear the tables of trash plates and napkins left by slice eaters.

Edited by jmbrightman (log)
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