See what spot won our N.J.'s best pizzeria showdown
Now there's another reason to visit Jackson besides Six Flags Great Adventure.
Brooklyn Square Pizza in that Ocean County town won our N.J.'s best pizzeria showdown, besting nine other finalists in our epic two-month-long search.
The pizzeria, which owner Pietro Grippo describes as "in the middle of nowhere'' (but it is minutes from I-195), opened in 2013; Grippo spent seven years commuting daily between Jackson and Brooklyn, where he ran Pete's Pizza, before opening the pizzeria on New Prospect Road in Jackson.
He missed tonight's raucous celebration at his pizzeria because he was vacationing with his family in Italy. But his mother-in-law, Pat Davis, promptly called him in Italy - it was 1 a.m. - and told him the news.
"I am beyond proud of this honor,'' Grippo said. "I definitely want to thank my wife Susan and my three kids who put up with the endless hours I put into my store. And I couldn't do this without the support and continued hard work of my staff.''
"We are literally in tears,'' his wife said on NJ.com's Facebook page. "We are so proud. We were sleeping when he started yelling.''
The packed dining room at Brooklyn Square burst into applause when patrons heard the news.
"Oh my gosh, this is so great,'' Sonal Pushko of Jackson said. "They (Grippo and his wife) are such nice people.''
"We were so excited when you walked in,'' said Joe Davidson of Wall, here with his mom, two aunts and sister. "This is our first time here. We heard it was good and then you walked in. You made our day.''
Grippo would not have been at a loss for words if he had been at his pizzeria this night.
"The only thing you'll learn about me is I don't shut up,'' he said in my semifinal round visit to Brooklyn Square.
You'll also learn he is battling cancer; Grippo is undergoing treatment at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey; he posted a photo of himself in bed there last month on his Instagram account. Hashtags: #Iwillnevergiveup and #f---cancer.
"There's no cure, but it's treatable,'' he said behind the counter of his pizzeria.
Brooklyn Square (there is another location in Manalapan) is a neighborhood pizzeria with traditional pizzas, but those words don't do it justice. Grippo's best-seller - ''my bread and butter'' - is the Upside Down Square, a thick, crusty, saucy success, oozing tomatoey goodness, which is now my favorite Sicilian in New Jersey (sorry, Bruno's in Clifton).
The Peter's Special at Brooklyn Square is a Grandma-like thin square pie with a peeled tomato sauce, a blend of mozzarellas, pecorino Romano, and basil. I sampled that and the Upside Down Square in the semifinal round, and they were both knockouts.
I know there are slices of both in my freezer, where choice pizza leftovers from this mission ended up, ready for the time when - or if - I eat pizza again.
The Honeymoon pizza, sampled in my finalist round visit, is another doughy delight, with imported pepperoni and a touch of honey. It's so good you'll want to get married and run away with it; forget the honeymoon.
"All my pies have different sauces,'' Grippo explained.
"One thing I have no one else has is that my pizza went up in space,'' he adds.
No, really. Then-astronaut Garrett Reisman, a Morristown native, took a Peter's Pizza up to the International Space Station in 2010, according to Grippo. An autographed photo of Reisman is on the wall at Brooklyn Square, with the words, ''Your pizza rules!''
The judges who joined me on our finalist round visit agreed.
"One of the best slices of pizza I've had,'' Olivia Russo said of the Honeymoon pizza.
"No matter where you live, go out of your way for this pizzeria,'' David DelGrande said.
Other pizzas on the menu include the Sophia Loren, with fresh mozzarella, slices of tomatoes and fresh garlic; the Nonna, a thin square with fresh mozzarella and peeled marinara sauce; and the Marone, with peeled tomato sauce, burrata, pecorino Romano and fresh basil.
Need to build those pizza muscles? Order the Popeye, with ricotta, sauteed spinach and fresh mozzarella.
Our epic search for N.J.'s best pizzeria started in June, when we asked readers for nominations. We received nominations for 500-plus pizzerias, all of which were placed on ballots, divided into North, Central and South Jersey, and The Shore.
The top six vote-getters in each region became 24 of our semifinalists; I picked the other 26. I visited all 50 semifinalists over two and a half weeks. Then I picked ten finalists, which I re-visited last week with crews of assistant judges.
Kudos to all our finalists; it was near-impossible picking a winner in this. Here are the other nine finalists:
Angelo's Pizzeria, Haddonfield
Bricco Coal Fired Pizza, Westmont
De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies, Robbinsville
Kinchley's Tavern, Ramsey
Razza, Jersey City
Santillo's Brick Oven Pizza, Elizabeth
Tacconelli's Pizzeria, Maple Shade
Talula's Pizza.Bar.Bread, Asbury Park
Tony D's Pizza, Caldwell
They're all great pizzerias, and highly recommended.
Watch for the announcement of our Readers' Choice Winner tomorrow.
For all the stories and photos during our pizzeria showdown, go to nj.com/jerseysbest. You'll also find stories and photos there of our previous N.J.'s best showdowns - best bar, best burger, best Italian restaurant, best diner, best ice cream shop and best sub/hoagie shop.
Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and Instagram.