Date: 01/16/2017
Location: Hillsborough, NJ
Pizza Ordered: Plain and Chicken, Bacon, Ranch
Website: ​http://www.romangourmetnj.com/

Roman Gourmet is located in the corner of a busy shopping center in Hillsborough, NJ. There is decent parking, though crossing the lot can be a challenge sometimes with the amount of people and traffic in this strip mall. Once inside, one finds an ample amount of seating, as well as a pleasant atmosphere with cozy lighting. Another plus is the vast drink options this place offers, including Boylan Sodas, one of my favorites for birch beer.

This establishment has gone through several changes in the past few years to become what it is today. The first time I ate pizza from this restaurant was when I was a child and it was called "Franks Pizza." This eventually moved on to "G&M Pizza," and then "Nelson's Corner Pizza," before finally becoming the "Roman Gourmet" it is today. Initially, I was upset with the change as I had enjoyed the pizza prior to the change because it was rich with garlic flavor and Roman Gourmet is not. After revisiting, however, I realize that the quality here is really good. The crust has not changed much over the years and remains fluffy and delicious. The cheese is fresh and has a long stretch factor. The sauce is also quite rich and flavorful. The chicken, bacon, ranch slice was much more enjoyable than the college town slices I'm used to. The chicken was cooked well and full of flavor and the bacon was crispy. There wasn't an overuse of the ranch sauce either, which is one of the key flaws with these specialty slices. I'm glad this place got the ratio right. 

Date: 01/05/2017
Location: Elmwood Park, NJ
Pizza Ordered: Plain
Website: [None Available] 
Phone: (201) 797-6172

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Pizza Town USA is a retro pizzeria on the side of Route 46. It's a pizza landmark in the state of New Jersey that I first found out about in Pete Genovese's book, "Slice of Jersey." This iconic pizzeria is cash only and has a few separate windows depending on if you're getting slices, a whole pie, subs, zeppolis, etc. The look and atmosphere of this establishment is reminiscent of a classic boardwalk pizzeria, featuring indoor wooden picnic tables for seating and a retro paint job. The prices are worked out perfectly accounting for New Jersey tax to come out to the whole dollar. The slices especially are among the most affordable I've ever eaten. The plain slices were absolutely tremendous. The cheese is amazingly fresh and the sauce is rich and delicious. The crust in incredibly crispy with a good crunch. The slices I ate easily are among the best plain slices I've ever had the privilege to enjoy. I really look forward to my next visit. 

Date: 01/04/2017
Location: Sparta, NJ
Pizza Ordered: Plain and Chicken Francaise
Website: ​http://www.spartapizzabistro.com/

Pizza Bistro in Sparta serves a decent specialty slice. There is a small parking lot on the side of this pizzeria that is shared with one or two other businesses. There is seating inside and it can be a little tight at times, but there is also a tremendous selection of specialty slices available to the consumer. Personally, it was hard to decide what to try with so many good looking slices, but I ended up going with the Chicken Francaise slice as my wildcard. The plain slice was pretty run of the mill. Good enough cheese and sauce with a nice crispy bottom and a relatively thin and crispy crust. The Chicken Francaise slice was tremendous. The chicken was flavorful and the cheese/sauce that was included in addition the mozzarella cheese was such a great pair to the rest of the slice. If I lived in Sparta, I would quickly become a regular and cycle through the different specialty slices until I found the holy grail. 

Date: 01/02/2016
Location: New Brunswick, NJ
Pizza Ordered: Plain, Peppers and Onions
Website: ​http://www.pauliespizzanb.com/index.html

Paulie's Pizza is located near the intersection of Easton Avenue and Somerset Street. There is on-street parking, but no parking lot. I had not heard much about this establishment prior to eating here and I wish I had. The pizza here was pretty good! The plain slice had a good cheese to sauce ratio, sporting fresh cheese and quality sauce. The cheese on this pizza was especially stringy and stretchy. The slices are perfectly sized to fold in half for convenient eating. This is the recommended way for eating this slice, as the bottom of the pizza has a tendency to bend easily and dip under the pressure of the sauce and the cheese. The peppers and onions slice was also quite good. Instead of just throwing the toppings on a plain slice, extra cheese was added to the slice to hold on the toppings better. The extra cheese not only changed the appearance of the slice, but really helped increase the flavor. This place serves a good slice for New Brunswick and should definitely look into doing some more advertising. 

Date: 12/18/2016 (and later: 12/31/2016)
Location: New Brunswick, NJ
Pizza Ordered: Plain and Chicken Bacon Ranch, then Plain and Buffalo Chicken
​Website: ​http://www.pjsgrill.com/

PJ's Grill is located on Easton Avenue in the epicenter of the Rutgers night-life. Sitting between College Avenue Campus and a large population of off-campus housing, this pizzeria is one of the most popular in the Rutgers are. I've had many friends express their opinions to me that PJ's Grill is among the best pizza in New Brunswick. There is more room for seating than most pizzerias in the area and there is usually a large selection to choose from when deciding on a slice to eat. While the establishment lacks in parking, there is some available on Easton Avenue and the nearby streets, though most of the customers are within walking distance to their house. 

Despite the praises by many, the pizza is pretty average. The plain slice is fairly decent with fresh cheese and good quality sauce. The crust is fluffy but not overly flavorful. The slice is on the greasier side, but not overly so. The chicken, bacon ranch and the buffalo chicken slices, some of the trending and popular picks among college students were both satisfactory. It is my personal opinion that Pizza City does a better Chicken, Bacon Ranch slice as PJ's wen't a little crazy with the ranch dressing. The ratio ended up being a bit off and the chicken wasn't as good as Pizza City's. The Buffalo Chicken, one of the most popular slices was adequate in my opinion, but didn't really stand out as deserving of so much praise. The buffalo sauce seemed old or stale and the chicken didn't have much flavor. Don't get me wrong, PJ's is a solid pick compared to some of the other options along Easton Avenue, but not the number one in my personal opinion. Final thoughts: an average pizzeria serving average slices. 

Date: 11/28/2016
Location: Bridgewater, NJ
Pizza Ordered: BBQ Chicken (and tried the plain pizza my girlfriend ordered).
​Website: ​http://www.cpk.com/

The California Pizza Kitchen is located on the ground floor of the Bridgewater Commons Mall. It's nearby one of the entrances, and thus close to a parking lot for easy access. This establishment, in addition to pizzas, has a variety of cocktails and a decent wine selection. The bread that came with the meal was soft and warm with a pleasant taste when dipped in the oil seasoning. The plain pizza was decent, featuring fresh cheese and pretty standard tomato sauce. The crust and bread used for the pizza didn't stand out too much and was relatively lacking in flavor. 

The BBQ Chicken Pizza, while not much of a pizza, was very good. There was a bit of cheese, though not much, and no tomato sauce. Instead of tomato sauce, a delicious barbeque sauce was used instead and onions and parsley were added in addition to the chicken for flavor. The chicken was tender and not dry in the slightest and the overall product was delicious. Overall, this establishment is a decent option for food if one finds them self famished after a long day of shopping. 

Date: 11/22/2016
Location: New Brunswick, NJ
Pizza Ordered: Plain and Chicken Caesar 
Website:  http://www.rugrillandpizzanj.com/

Another review for a Rutgers Pizzeria. This location is on Easton Avenue near Old Queens and the Scarlet Night Club. It's a tight little pizzeria with not much room for sitting in and eating. The slices remind me of frozen pizza I've eaten. The crust doesn't even seem like it should belong to a pizza. It's bready and like cardboard. The plain slice was totally unremarkable and lacked both flavor and sauce in general, practically. The chicken caesar slice only reminded me why I have never tried that combination before... IT DOESN'T WORK. The dressing tasted funny and I doubt I would have even enjoyed it on a salad. I couldn't even finish the slice. Clearly my fault for thinking this was a good idea. Overally, I'm honestly surprised this place is still in business considering the competition in New Brunswick. In conclusion, you can buy better pizza in the frozen isle at shopright. 

Date: 11/12/2016
Location: Bridgewater, NJ
Pizza Ordered: Tomato Pie (and I tried some of my girlfriend's plain pizza)
Website: http://www.1000degreespizza.com/

​1000 Degrees Pizza is located across from the Bridgewater Shopping Mall. They have a chipotle-style ordering bar where you can pick toppings if you'd like or you can order off the menu. There is ample seating and a warm atmosphere. The ingredients are incredibly fresh and the pizza is cooked to perfection in a quality oven. The only problem that I experienced with this establishment was the pitiful competency of the chef crafting the pizzas. This pizzeria has all the ingredients of success, yet the assembly was the fatal flaw. Perhaps it was just the time that we were there, or maybe the staff member was new, who knows? I can assure you that a tomato pie does NOT look like what I was served. Just putting four blobs of sauce on cheesy bread does not make a tomato pie. How foolish I was to think they could pull off a classic pie. The pizza even tasted halfway decent despite the shoddy construction. The sauce was good enough (though not enough was used for the plain pie in my personal opinion) and the cheese was fresh and tasted excellent. The crust was somewhat plain, but good enough for a "chain" pizzeria. Overall, the pie wasn't bad...though if it were crafted with more care, it could have been a serious contender. I have half a mind to return and hope that the next time I get a competent cook.