Pizza Lovers Unite!

I don’t profess to be a food critic; I am just a girl who loves to eat. I never really had a passion for food until I met Greg (the husband). There is no food he won’t eat. Actually he won’t eat a hard-boiled egg but that’s about it.  Because he is so opinionated about every place we eat, it is very hard to make plans on a Saturday night.  He always has to “approve” the restaurant.  The best part of that though is we are always on the hunt for the newest and greatest restaurant. It doesn’t need to be fancy, it just needs to be a meal worth wanting to have again.  We eat out a lot!

We went Easter Sunday (yes it was open) to Arturo Osteria & Pizzeria in Maplewood.  I am a huge fan of brick oven pizza.  I am usually a regular at Pizza Vita in Summit….BUT OMG!

Arturo’s was phenomenal! So what makes their pizza so good?  Their pizza dough is fermented for over thirty hours with a wild yeast culture.  This creates an amazing taste. The outside of the crust is crispy and caramelized. The inside of the crust is light and delicate.

You can order a large pie and try two different kinds. For example we ordered half of the pie margarita: hand-made mozzarella , tomato sauce, sea salt from Sicily, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil from Southern Italy with fresh mushrooms and onions.  The other half we ordered plain (for the kids). They LOVED IT!

We also had their penne pesto – pesto is my favorite so we had to order it. So glad we did! The kids had the meatballs as well and didn’t leave anything in the bowl.

They have regular tables and communal tables. We wound up sitting at the communal because it would have been a 30 minute wait for a regular table. The people we shared a table with ordered the beet salad which looked amazing. It was made up of fire-roasted beets, goat cheese, red onion and balsamic vinaigrette.

Aside from the amazing food, the restaurant has that aura of hip yet approachable that is so hard to come by. The owner and brains behind the restaurant is Dan Richer. He believes that finding the best ingredients is what makes his food stand out next to the others.  All of his ingredients come from farms in the area.  He stands strong that it is our responsibility to support the growth of our local food ecosystem. Gotta love that!!

Arturo’s is now on my list of keeper’s.  A place I know Greg will give the thumbs up to on a Saturday night before a movie in Maplewood.

Arturo’s is located at 180 Maplewood Avenue on the corner of Baker Street. Also, check out his new restaurant, Razza, in Jersey City at 275 Grove Street.