Best pizza in NJ: Pizza Bowl will decide
Contest to determine which pizza joint serves the best pie.
Matt Fagan, NorthJersey.com
Not for nothing is Jersey Pizza Joints Pizza Bowl held the Saturday before the Super Bowl.
The competition is about as fierce.
Jersey Pizza Joints, a Facebook group with 140,000 members, sponsors the event, now in its sixth year. About 300 people — including Dave Davies of The Kinks — gathered at Redd’s Restaurant in Carlstadt for an hours-long pizza-paluzza, sampling slices to crown their champ.
This year, Bucky’s of Chatham took home the prize: bragging rights to say they are the Garden State’s top pizza maker.
“I taught myself to make pizza from You Tube” said Bucky’s owner Domenick Calise, “It was during COVID.”
He found himself laid off so he began experimenting with pizza and later tried to bake with sourdough. Eventually he put the two together. About a year ago, he opened his store on Main Street in Chatham.
The pizzeria known for its sourdough crust and seed-oil-free ingredients, offering both New York-style round pies and Detroit-style square pizzas. They are praised for their light, airy crust, quality toppings like pepperoni and sausage, and appetizers such as meatballs with ricotta and Caesar salad. Calise, started with a mobile truck before opening the permanent location, focusing on traditional recipes and fresh ingredients.
“I was terrified,” he said. “But it worked out well.”
The prep for Pizza Bowl begins at the beginning of December and ends Jan. 1 as members of JPJ act as judges to whittle down hundreds of pizzerias to send the top vote-getters to the live competition.
“It’s like we always say,” Jersey Pizza Joint founder and Pizza Bowl organizer, Guy Madsen of Clifton. “It can happen on any given Saturday.”
Jersey Pizza Joints Pizza Bowl 2026
This year pitted North Jersey vs. South Jersey. The competition used to have four regions, but recent snowstorms and other factors caused a number of late scratches — and the decision was made to just have two divisions this year.
Besides Bucky’s, the other North Jersey competitors included Vinnie’s Mootz of Lyndhurst; Sun Tavern of Roselle Park, Lucci’s of Clifton, and Casa D’Amici of North Arlington.
The winner of the South Jersey region was Capricci of Howell, a family-run pizzeria that opened about 10 years ago. The menu touts dished rooted in Old World Italian recipes. “If we wouldn’t serve it on our own table, we will not put it on yours.” its website says.
The other South Jersey competitors were Brooklyn Square of Jackson; Zoni’s of Middletown; and last year’s champ, Pacidough’s of South Toms River.
Madsen said he hopes next year to widen the geographic scope of Pizza Bowl by pitting New Jersey vs. New York City. He’d invite New Jersey past champions.
Year one saw Pizza Terminal from Verona win. That was followed by Maruca’s, which has locations in Asbury Park and Seaside Heights. The winner of the third annual contest was Morristown’s Coniglio’s Old Fashioned, followed by Vinnie’s Mootz of Lyndhurst and finally, the most recent winner in 2025 was Pacidough’s of South Toms River.
Meatballs, too
In case there wasn’t already enough food, Madsen organizes a meatball contest to be held between the rounds of pizza voting. This year’s finals pitted Clifton’s Lucci’s vs. South Toms River Pacidough. Lucci’s, which just opened on the site of the Old Route 3 Pizza, took home the meatball trophy.
PaciDough’s Anthony Pacitto also took home the best meatball trophy last year, and John Speciale, who owns Carlstadt’s Pizzamore Italian Kitchen, won three consecutive meatball contests before that. He recently retired.
Side dishes
Pizza Bowl has always had its share of local celebs and bands and this year is not different. Various members of the Soprano cast are on hand and this year — including Robert Funaro, who played hit man Eugene Pontecorvol; Artie Pasquale, who played Burt Gervasi; and Tony Cucci, who played Fat Dom Gamiello.
Dave Davies, who with his brother Ray founded The Kinks, was there. He only agreed to attend if he could get a gluten free pie. Three pies were supplied by Grumpy’s in Saddle Brook.
Davies was not the only classic rocker. For the last several years, Eddie Brigati of the Rascals, a popular band from the 60s from Garfield has turned out and performed. And the Pizza Bowl house band, the Aloha Monkees was hand to keep the joint jumping and to play the Jersey Pizza Joint song.
Yes. An anthem, written just for the JPJ. The lyrics?
“Baddabing you get the point. There ain’t no slice better than a Jersey pizza joint.”
Dining and Cooking