Sometimes the Pizza Snob just can’t get away from eating pizza. Let family or friends make the plans for dining out, and they often feel obligated to put pizza on the agenda. Case in point was a Sunday afternoon family lunch outing in my brother’s hometown of Edison in the Pizza State. The destination he picked was his hometown go-to pizza joint, Attilio’s Pizza & Restaurant.
Attilio’s has been around for over 20 years, and is your typical Jersey casual-dining Italian restaurant with a wide menu, but with a focus on pizza: mostly slices in and whole pies to takeaway. Their storefront is in the middle of a shopping center that carries the address of busy Route 1 although you are far from the highway gas fumes. As the name implies, this is restaurant space and there’s plenty of room inside to sit and dine.
We were all quite hungry and ordered meals in addition to our starting slices. Overall, I thought Attilio’s food was fabulous. But, this is supposed to be about pizza and all I can say is that theirs was fabulous as well.
When they delivered my slice, I could not help but notice just how beautiful it looked. It was expertly styled and carried a beautiful bright red color from the sparkling tomato sauce. I also thought that they somehow may have just read my blog since they had toasted that thing to a perfect crisp—just the way I like it. It was hot and so not overdone with everything assembled just right with not too much of anything. The light oil on top coming from the cheese made for a smooth easy taste. It was nicely un-filling.
Coming here without any knowledge of this place nor any expectations, I found this slice to be so surprisingly good. I especially loved the dark rich tomato sauce. The end crust was tasty and crunchy and the bottom caught hold of a good char. Although maybe a bit smaller than usual, this is how you make a slice of pizza!
As long as my brother lives in Edison, I think I will be finding my way back to Attilio’s. For you, it’s a quick and easy stop if you are driving past Edison or stuck in traffic on Route 1.
PIZZA SNOB RATING ****1/2 Nearer Perfection
Attilio’s Pizza & Restaurant
561 U.S. Route 1 South
Edison, NJ 08817
732-985-3111
www.attliospizzaedison.com