My trips back home now involve visiting my Dad and brother in their current residence of Edison, NJ. This neck of the woods is a mix of heavy suburban and light urban living that like most Jersey areas has quite a few family-owned pizza places. The cities also blend together, and you never really know where you are. Such was the case when I learned that our lunch time destination of Stelton Pizza and Restaurant was in the “say-it-five-times-fast” city of Piscataway.
Named for the street on which it is located, Stelton is in a small strip center next to a 7-Eleven and has been doing pizza and Italian food for over 25 years. My brother and I went there for a late Friday lunch and after ordering at the counter, we took a table in their big busy room. It was quite crowded at 2pm, and this seemed to have the folks working the desk a bit flustered.
While ordering, I could not help but laugh when I saw the counter adverts for “healthy” broccoli cheddar and cauliflower crusts. Both were said to have a “traditional-like crunch!” It reminded me how one of my Facebook friends recently made a post asking that we please kill him if he ever ordered a cauliflower crust pizza.
After getting our plain cheese slices, “not sturdy” were the first words my pizza-bred brother uttered. And I could do nothing but agree. The crust was far from crisp and the cheese had trouble finding a firm home on top of which to reside without sliding off. But, despite being soft and runny, the flavor of the Stelton slice was just fantastic. There’s really not much more to say about it other than these folks know how to season a slice with just the right combination of oregano and garlic.
Cook it better, keep it from being so mushy, and this slice would score much better. Still, Stelton is a great place with a wide Italian menu that’s worth giving a try. I did shed a tear when I learned that had run out of cannoli!
PIZZA SNOB RATING ***1/2 Working on a Good Thing
Stelton Pizza and Restaurant
1315 Stelton Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854
732-985-2626
www.steltonpizza.com