Bill Cianci's (Mostly) Burger Reviews: Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, Wayne, NJ

Where -

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, Wayne, NJ, 1600 Rte 23 N, Wayne, NJ 07470 - (973) 872-2625 https://acfp.com/

What -

A traditional large pie with a side of wings.

Build -

Grande mozzarella, Italian plum tomatoes, Romano cheese, basil and olive oil, mushrooms.

Comment -

Disclaimer: I realize a pizza review may not sit well with some of my readers so please allow me to politely remind you of my use of the word "mostly" in the title of this blog, and if you are still a bit upset, I think you should seek professional help because you're an even bigger burger geek than I am.

I've been wrongfully resisting the patronage of this establishment for a while now, all because my brain is wired to think in only one dimension of food – burgers. I kept saying to myself, "Although I absolutely love pizza, pizza is not a burger.” But finally, a colleague at work was able to talk me down from the flat grill and off we went to sample Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza. I'm very glad I did.

This company-owned (non franchise-able) business was a refreshing change from most pizza joints in the Northern New Jersey region. Its fresh ingredients reminded me of some of the best pizzas I have ever eaten where quality not quantity is key, and apparently it's also the personal mantra of owner Anthony Bruno.

The delicate yet ample crust is baked to perfection with a few well-done areas delivering a host of different flavors, and this is in the crust alone. The low-moisture mozzarella perfectly compliments the fresh-tasting tomatoes, which are not overly flavored with handfuls of dry Italian spices (like so many other pizza joints feel the need to do), and the sprinkle of Romano screams "game over, stick a fork in me, I'm done.” Both the basil and olive oil flavors take turns peeking through the cheese and tomato, delightfully adding to my pizza bliss. This pie is a textbook example of "keep it simple" and "less is more." Fresh ingredients cannot be made better by adding more flavors so why turn simple, delicious fresh food into a science experiment? Isn't life complicated enough? Oh, and one more thing, the mushrooms, the freakin' mushrooms...let's just say, order them.

But I digress....

The pizzas are slid into the 800-degree oven and cook in one minute (how nice is that when the place is packed and you need to bang out those pies?). Anthony Bruno's motto for the business is, "I'm only as good as my last pizza,”…so true, and yet another very refreshing attitude to have in this world of finger-pointing, self-indulgent, lazy asses raised with an unrealistic sense of entitlement.

One more tidbit, Wednesday night is $5 martini night, (I get mine dirty with blue cheese-stuffed olives) and they pass around samples of their eggplant and meatballs. You'll receive a meatball on a plate with a small dollop of ricotta cheese on top and a hors d'oeuvre fork stuck in it. The meatballs are without a doubt the best I have ever had at a restaurant (sorry Carmine).

Anthony's continues to receive very good to excellent ratings with the Zagat Survey (now I know why). Mr. Bruno first opened a coal fired pizza shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he was able to expand into many states and has never looked back. God bless.

Well done, Mr. Bruno, well done. Pun intended.