Guess what? I found another pizza joint in Bayonne. Driving back home along First Street after picking up my amazing bar pie from The Starting Point, I spotted a storefront that I had never before noticed: Bayview Pizzeria. In the nightly mode of bringing home dinners while taking care of my folks, the next evening I thought I’d grab a quick slice and bring home a big juicy meatball sandwich to split with my Dad.
It was about 7pm on a Saturday when I parked along the bay (the Kill van Kull) that separates our fair city from the New York City borough of Staten Island. Crossing the street, I found Bayview looking so dark and empty that I wasn’t even sure it was open.
Making my way inside, I discovered that those lights were off to help keep it cool inside. The room was a bit uncomfortable with a large fan was doing its best to overcome an apparent broken air conditioner. I ordered as planned at the counter and sat at a table in the sparse and unkempt room with my attention wavering between my phone and the television on the back wall.
Just before I ordered, I watched the woman behind the counter make a pizza. Since there was nothing out on the counter, I surmised that I would be waiting for my slices to come from this new in-process pie.
My two slices ordered to go were ready before my meatball sandwich (which was good, but quite salty), so I ate one while I waited. This resulted in the sauna-like experience of eating a piping hot slice in a hot muggy room. Eating it so fast to prevent burning my mouth, I barely tasted what I was eating. While, not overly enamored by what I just scarfed down, I would wait until I finished my second slice at home before passing my final judgement.
As presented, the slice didn’t look quite right. On the top it was much more yellow in color than red—a usual foreshadowing to disappointment. On the bottom, the crust looked more like a pastry than a pizza. Eating through such a hot slice also made me lose some cheese along on the way. Surprisingly, it wasn’t all that bad tasting as its looks may have presented. On the plus side, it was toasted to a solid charred bottom.
None of the individual tastes were bad, but were just slightly off of the norm for a Bayonne slice. The light color from being light on the tomato sauce made it lag in flavor from the lack of the accompanying seasoning. The cheese was OK.
At home for the second slice, I noticed that it carried much more dough than I cared for. In fact, the more I dwelled on this slice, it reminded me of those rare times when I broke down and tried a Papa John’s or Domino’s slice at a pot luck spread. Just nothing special.
Bayview isn’t a place I’d return to in this city full of great pizza. It’s a place that I would recommend only out of the convenience of its location and late hours.
PIZZA SNOB RATING *** Better Than Dominos
Bayview Pizzeria
35 West 1st Street
[between Avenue C and Kelly Parkway]
Bayonne, NJ 07002
201-535-5552
www.bayviewpizzabayonne.com
