Tacconelli's in Jersey

[sara]

Hi

Well, I confess to never having visited the origina Tacconelli's in Port Richmond, partly b/c I was intimated by the reserving dough policy...but tonite my aunt and I ventured over to the new location, on Lenola Road, across from the Morrestown Mall. We arrived at 5:15 and were seated immediately--but by the time we left, around 6, there was a long line.

We had the marinara pie w/ roasted peppers and prosciutto. It was an awesome combination--there was a great kick in the sauce, the peppers were gorgeous, the crust was thin and crispy and yet held up. Only complaint-one slice was soggy with grease--but all others were fine. And I loved the homemade hot peppers-delicious. All this for $17.50 w/ two sodas (pie was $10 plus $1.75/topping). Service was very very casual (they put threw two plates, a stack of napkins, and our menus in a big stack in the middle of the table when we arrived) but friendly.

They're open for dinner only starting at 4 pm daily, except for Monday when they're closed. Definitely worth a trip across the bridge.

[Rosie]

Sara--Thanks for the report. Keep them coming!

[Holly Moore]

Greetings Sara

Thanks for the heads up. Do you know what kind of oven they are using there?

Don't see how it could be Tacconelli's though if they aren't ironing laundry in a corner of the dining room but I'm definitely going to give them a try.

[sara]

Holly, I didn't get a look at the ovens (tho I now realize they were right out front, I must've walked right by them). A family member was at the register (attractive dark haired 30 something woman), but I didn't see any laundry!

By the way, it's cash only. And I think BYO--I saw many different kinds of beer and wine present and none on the menu.

[SteveW]

I heard about this new Tacconelli's location for the first time several days ago. They're using a new brick oven(I'm guessing a wood-burning one). According to the Tacconelli family, the original Tacconelli's in Philadelphia required that customers reserve their dough, because their vintage oven could only handle a certain amount of pies per night.

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Steve

[KatieLoeb]

Sara:

Oooohh! I'm jealous! You made it there quite quickly after the recent opening - good on you! I shall have to make the trek over the bridge soon - because Tacconelli's is always worth a trip for. Glad the new location can handle not requiring dough reservations. I'm looking forward to my first ooportunity to check it out.

[Rosie]

Please post address and phone #.

[cinghiale]

According to Michael Klein's "Table Talk" in the Inky, "Tacconelli's Pizzeria, the Port Richmond landmark dishing out brick-oven-baked thin crusts since 1946, has added a second location: It's at 450 S. Lenola Rd., Maple Shade (856-638-0338) and is run by son Vincent. It's dinner only - take-out and eat-in - Tuesdays through Sundays. Unlike at Port Richmond, you do not have to call to reserve pizza dough."

Courier-Post has photo of oven here.

[sara]

Address:

450 S. Lenola Rd

Ph:

856-638-0338

Directions from Philly (mine, not theirs):

Take the B.F. Bridge to Rt 38--go straight past the Cherry Hill Mall, keep going til you start to see Moorestown Mall. BEFORE the mall, turn right on Lenola Rd and less than 0.25 miles down on your right you'll see Tacconelli's. If you pass Moorestown Mall on your right when you're on Rt 38, you've gone too far.

I strongly suggest going early as it got quite crowded later--they open at 4 pm.

Again, they are CLOSED MONDAY--so don't go tonite!!

I, happily, have 2 slices left in my fridge for lunch. That's a good Monday kickoff...

[cinghiale]

Sara: dead-on tie, but your info was better

[sara]

Posting in synchro!

Also, you should all know that Tac's is quite near some very good shopping (besides the two obvious malls)--you'll pass Canal's on the way (good wine selection), and around the corner from Tac's (go a little farther and make a left at the light) is Loehmann's --and they're having BIG sales at the moment (25% off, plus). Also, Trader Joe's is only another 10 min or so away in Marlton.

So it's easy to make a full trip to Jersey out of it for us city folk.

[cinghiale]

So it's easy to make a full trip  to Jersey out of it for us city folk.

For other "city folk stuff" with a rental in hand, I'd add (i) on 38, Target in the thing opposite the CH Mall (better than S. Phila), then (ii) shift over to 70, head east a bit farther, and hit Miel, then (iii) head back west, exit Cuthbert (south), right on Park Drive (Cooper River) to Moore Bros.

[sara]

Ah yes, along with Miel, I'd add (in the same shopping center)--Bobby Chez's crabcakes (take home and cook for dinner) and Corkscrewed.

[sara]

Went to Tacconellli's again last night..and this time had a pretty disappointing meal. Maybe it was the late hour (9 pm on a Thursday night, they close at 10), but the pizza was overcooked, the sauce was nearly bland, and there were maybe 4 pieces of roasted peppers on our whole pie. In addition, we tried the house special-with spinach and chopped tomatoes, on white, and the spinach was dry dry dry.

I dragged several Philly friends out there, and this was quite a letdown. Has anyone else been lately?

[rockhopper]

I tried a pie there this weekend. The lady at the register was very friendly. (uh-oh; is this authentic philly?) The waiting area was chaotic though. It was hard to tell where the line was for take out, for getting your name on the waiting list and who was just hanging around. The crowd didn't bother me; it usually mean good food or good hype.

Despite the friendliness of the employees (and the lack of the sound of gunfire outside) there was more than enough Philyuhdefya attytude in the crowd. I was stuck in line next to a meathead complainiing that "dere ain't no good pizza in joyzee" (wherever that is).

The pizza was expensive. The crust is very thin and by the time you get to the second slice it's fairly flaccid. There sauce was pretty close to being simply crushed canned tomatoes. The mozzarella was sparse and nothing out of the ordinary. So on a scale of 1-10 it was a 6.

Tony's pizza (next door to where Ramona's was and Little Tuna is) in Haddonfield will keep my business.

[john b]

(delurking)

After everything I heard over the years about Tacconelli's and never having made it over the bridge, I was excited when I heard that they'd be opening in NJ, a minute from my office and ten minutes from home.

Well, it was good, but not as good as all of the buzz led me to believe it would be. We had a red pie and a white. The red sauce was way too salty and a little over-spiced. The white pie, except for overdoing the garlic salt on the crust, was very good. Between the salty red sauce and the white pie crust, my lips were shriveled.

I tried the same two pies a few nights later, figuring I might have caught them on an off night, but I got the same "saltfest."

DeLorenzo's is still number one in my book.

[Holly Moore]

Welcome to eGullet John B and congradulations on "delurking."

I'm a great fan of the original Tacconelli's but have not ventured to the Jersey offshoot yet. I'd encourage you to spring for the $3 toll and give Tacconelli's Port Richmond a try. It is such a wonderfully unique restaurant that I don't see how even the original Tacconelli's could duplicate the experience at a second location. For one thing I'm betting no 70 year old bread oven dominates the kitchen.

Has anyone hereabouts who is familiar with the orginal tried the Jersey version?

[john b]

Adding to my previous post...

I did ask about the difference between the ovens in NJ and PA. The oven in PA is oil heated, they heat the oven all day then turn the heat off when they start cooking, the brick/masonry retaining the heat. This, I was told, was the reason they could only sell a certain amount of doughs per day. At a certain point in the night, the oven got too cool to cook the pizzas.

The NJ oven is gas, and the gas heat is kept on while they cook.