Angelo's Restaurant & Pizzeria

How does a pizza place get pizza so wrong??

It's Sunday and we JUST received a Margherita pizza that we ordered through Grubhub. I'm writing this review as my significant other is attempting to gnaw through a slice of shitty disappointment - which she had to MICROWAVE because it arrived cold and flat and lacking in any kind of flavor.

Let's make this review a game, shall we?

Strike one: The time. This pizza was ordered at 3:46pm and arrived at 4:52pm. Wow. Awesome service right there. If it's going to take an HOUR to make a pizza, at least make sure it arrives hot. I can only describe what was delivered as cold, stiff and dead... kind of like all of my hopes and dreams for this pizza.

Strike two: The flavor. The pizza was LACKING in the main ingredients which make it a Margherita pizza. Let's see, fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil, mozzarella...this is what makes up a Margherita pizza, no? NOPE. Not on this one. This one was apparently made from what I can only assume was left-over ingredients sitting in someone's fridge: half a can of old tomato paste, an old store-bought pizza crust, seemingly flavor-less imitation mozzarella, and maybe a hinting of an herb which will remain unidentified. We actually used our imaginations and tried to be optimistic in thinking this pizza would have tasted better, had it arrived warm. However, this is really not the case.

Strike three: The cost. Overall, this pizza cost us $18+, including: one large pizza, a $1 delivery surcharge, and the tip. Here's a tip for anybody reading this review, save yourself the money and buy a frozen pizza from DiGiorno. It's much much better. OR (adding some flair for sarcasm here) toast up some bread and smear some tomato paste onto it, then add a hinting of parmesan. THAT would have been better than this.

aaaand you're OUT.

This makes yet another disappointing pizza experience for me since moving to New Jersey, which is a land full of Italian joints (shouldn't these people be the BEST at making pizza??). From now on, I'm going to stock-pile my freezer with frozen DiGiorno pizzas and save myself some money.

I have gotten takeout pizza and other italian food several times from here and it is now my go-to place.  The pizza is really good with a good amount of cheese and a crispy and pillowy crust.  Not too much, not too little.  

The main thing, though, that brings this pizza joint into the 4-star stratosphere is the other italian food.  I didn't expect much, but we ordered penne vodka, tortellini alfredo, meatballs, and stuffed shells.  The penne vodka was really good, no off flavors.  The meatballs were acceptable, but I probably won't get them again.  The stuffed shells were good with a bunch of mozz thrown on top.  The crown jewel was the alfredo sauce.  Holy hell it was some of the best of alfredo I've had.  Alfredo is a very simple recipe, but I've found that a lot of places don't use the right combination.  Some places it's way too rich.  Some places it's watery and lacks flavor.  Angelo's does it just right.  Big fan.

Oh, and yes, the guy who takes payment is a real ball ache.  He gave me a hard time when my card wouldn't swipe through his machine dismissing any chance that it was his machine's fault.  I assume he's the owner.  However, I urge all of you to grow some thicker skin.  A little attitude is the NJ way.  And besides, the food is the important thing.

I am in love with the Glen Ridge special.  It is a chicken parm sandwich with vodka sauce.  It just doesn't get any better than that.   The staff was friendly and the wait was normal.  Will be back.