La Rustique was named as the best margherita pizza in New Jersey... has anyone had it? thoughts??

CapnJon wrote:
our downtown friends recently introduced us to La Rustique - and it is hands down, the best margherita we've EVER had. it's wonderful!

(and they deliver to the Heights.... woot!)

La Rustique was named as the best margherita pizza in New Jersey... has anyone had it? thoughts??

mies wrote:
Pizza Patrol names best pizza in New Jersey
By Peter Genovese
January 29, 2010, 5:59AM
Finally. the winners.
After six months, 1,000 slices and 9,000 miles on the Munchmobile, the Pizza Patrol sat down and picked New Jersey's best pizza.
It wasn’t easy.
The Pizza Patrol sampled plenty of mediocre pizza during our three-season search, as the weekly reviews attest. We also enjoyed plenty of great pizza, which made the selection of winners difficult.

Our six overall winners span a range of looks and locales — from a tiny pizza parlor in Raritan Borough and a strip mall pizzeria in Lyndhurst to a no-bathroom, no credit-card legend in Trenton and a spacious sports bar/pizzeria in Orange.
Reactions from our winners ran from joy and jubilation to surprise and disbelief. Allie DeLucia, owner of DeLucia’s Brick Oven Pizza in Raritan, our plain pizza champion. kept repeating the same word — "Really?’’
Yes, Allie, really.

"I’m a true believer that anything can be improved,’’ said Charlie Wilson, owner of La Rustique Cafe in Jersey City, our pick for best margherita pizza in New Jersey.



http://www.nj.com/entertainment/dinin ... rol_names_best_pizza.html

UrbanRenewal wrote:
I finally stopped by the new Buon Appetito location on Grove Street today. I indulged in a slice of pizza topped with pepperoni and it was fantastic!

[...]

It turns out that, for the last couple of years, the brothers were working out at a place in Queens, but now they're quite happy to be back here as part of Buon Appetito's expansion from Bayonne into Jersey City.

In my opinion, Buon Appetito's pizza is a heck of a lot better than the handful of pizza places I've tried while living in Downtown Jersey City over the last 7 years.

I look forward to grabbing a slice from there again soon (and maybe a sandwich and a salad too).

YUM!

BrightMoment wrote:
Quote:

UrbanRenewal wrote:
I finally stopped by the new Buon Appetito location on Grove Street today. I indulged in a slice of pizza topped with pepperoni and it was fantastic!

[...]

It turns out that, for the last couple of years, the brothers were working out at a place in Queens, but now they're quite happy to be back here as part of Buon Appetito's expansion from Bayonne into Jersey City.

In my opinion, Buon Appetito's pizza is a heck of a lot better than the handful of pizza places I've tried while living in Downtown Jersey City over the last 7 years.

I look forward to grabbing a slice from there again soon (and maybe a sandwich and a salad too).

YUM!

+1 !

I like thin slice pizza, made fresh with lots of cheese and since Lombardi's closed downtown a few years ago, Buon Appetito's beats them all, including Larry & Joe's. However if you like mushy and bloated crust there are plenty of those in JC.

Buon Appetito!

Went back to Carmines - for awhile. I'd order, hang up the phone and "ding-dong", the doorbell would sound with delivery of those pies. Not really sure how they managed it though I suspect that they've outfitted the glove compartments of the delivery fleet with pizza ovens and simply troll around the neighborhood, awaiting an order. They are THAT fast.

Mike1443 wrote:
Would still put Pizza alla Gargiulo's 10" pie up against any of them. The 10" is better than their slices.

HamiltonParker wrote:
Full confession: I'm a pizzatarian and could eat the stuff 3x/day.

I live right by La Rustique and was ordering from them every Saturday night, without fail. Charlie, the owner, made a great pie and life was good. A few months ago he hired someone to make the pies and another to take phone orders. As other readers have already stated: things went downhill - the sauce was straight from a can, orders were mixed up. I had to break up with La Rustique.

Went back to Carmines - for awhile. I'd order, hang up the phone and "ding-dong", the doorbell would sound with delivery of those pies. Not really sure how they managed it though I suspect that they've outfitted the glove compartments of the delivery fleet with pizza ovens and simply troll around the neighborhood, awaiting an order. They are THAT fast.

At the urging of many here I caved and gave Larry & Joe's a jingle. Grabbed my friend and dove into a large, extra, cheese pie. Monsterously good - the sauce was flavorful, the crust medium thick and the toppings fresh. I'm embarrased for Charlie of La Rustique to see the Larry & Joe's delivery car pulling up but a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do.

heights wrote:
I hate there some time ago. The owner is Polish ...

Blackbird wrote:
Does anyone get this pizza? I wanted to like it so badly but the place is mad deprssing. Needs a fresh coat odf paint, some music, and if you wnat toppings they just put canned veggies on top before reheating your pizza... they need to make some FRESH.

I don't knwo how they make their money to pay their rent unless its some kind of money laudndering front for a latvian gang.

I'm generally not thrilled with the pizza around town. While I till think average pizza tastes good, it's hard for me to compare JC pizza to real wood fired pizza spots in across the river (Company, Motorino, etc). To me, the options here are about average for "slices joints", but not much beyond that.

ThirdGrove wrote:
Quote:

I'm generally not thrilled with the pizza around town. While I till think average pizza tastes good, it's hard for me to compare JC pizza to real wood fired pizza spots in across the river (Company, Motorino, etc). To me, the options here are about average for "slices joints", but not much beyond that.

So in a city of a quarter million, hugely impacted by Italian heritage and culture, there's no "comparable" pizza joints to those in Manhattan. I'm surprised that Carmines nor Pizza Masters nor La Rustique can provide a comparable or better alternative.

Italians culture left Manhattan a long time ago; they really don't have a monopoly on "good" pizza anymore. Manhattan has superior Dominican food, Chinese food, and can kick anywhere in America to the curb with the concept of brunch, but Italian, not so much.

heights wrote:
Quote:

Your posting seemed to travel from comparing pizza in Jersey City to Manhattan to just discussing the Italians in Nyc; you have somewhat of a point though. Manhattan was the first stop where Italians introduced pizza to the United States starting with Lombardi on Mullberry St. Most of the pizza parlors order their ingredients from Lisanti in Totowa, which seems to be the same supply place for all which results in a similar taste & quality. I do find that the brick oven joints have an edge because of the unique contents of their product. But stating that the Italians do not have a monopoly in Nyc or Jersey City anymore is a bit over the top. If this is the case then nowhere else in the U.S. will there be a monopoly. The N.Y. metropolitan area along with Rhode Island has the most Italians in the U.S.A. You may want to try John's Pizzeria in Downtown J.C. or Grimaldi's in Hoboken before you make any further thought to this delicate subject matter. At least with the brick oven method pizza will still be a nourishing lure.

Sutherland wrote:
It's important to note that Grimaldi's in Hoboken is owned and managed by an Irish immigrant. Still I think it's very good pizza, and by far better than any of the pizza I've had in Jersey City. Quote:

heights wrote:
Quote:

(From WIKI) [Patsy Grimaldi and his business partner, Sean McHugh, opened a second location in Hoboken, New Jersey.]
Interesting, I thought the owner might not be Italian wasn't sure though. La Rustique in Downtown J.C. is also Irish owned. I guess it proves that the recipe doesn't know which hands are sculpturing the masterpiece. I always said that the Italians and the Irish go together like milk & cookies; from the days of Kennedy & Sinatra it's been a love-hate relationship between the two ethnic sects.

Posted on: 4/12 8:48