No matter where you go, you’ll always be able to find a pizza parlor. (I love that phrase. “Pizza parlor.” I don’t know why.)
With three pizzerias in a two-block radius, I had the Halsey Street Pizza Challenge with a couple co-workers. The mission: try one cheese slice from each restaurant to find the best.
Mama’s Pizza | 150 Halsey Street | (973) 642-6262
Restaurant: Adequate seating; unorganized, disheveled vibe to it (Maybe it’s the half-finished mural)
Service: 3 minutes to take my order. WAY too long. I used to sling pizza, and there’s no excuse to wait longer than 30 seconds to be served. Friendly cashier.
Pizza: Cheese is good, but not particularly outstanding. Perfectly thin, crispy crust that I could eat all day. Tasty sauce that’s not too sweet. Scalding hot.
Price: $1.98
Mama's Tasty Cheese Pizza
Jezif’s Fried Chicken & Pizza | 119 Halsey Street | (973) 643-1500
Restaurant: Jezif is not the name of anyone that makes pizza. That they also serve fried chicken makes me leery. Pictures of flowers in the dining room are weird. Smells like a funeral home.
Service: Quick, on the spot, but the guys behind the register are staring at us like we’re mythical beasts.
Pizza: Clearly, this is taco cheese, and my pizza looks like a Nickelodeon logo, but its surprisingly really good. Very gooey, too, a big plus. The crust is a little too thin, and I feel like the weight of the ingredients is going to shred it. The sauce is bland. Its also hotter than Hell.
Price: $1.55
Up next is Spongebob, followed by Salute Your Shorts, here on Nick!
Queen Pizza | 114 Halsey Street | (973) 624-7322
Restaurant: Flat screen TVs; Looks how a pizzeria should.
Service: Lights out. My order and money were taken before I even knew what was going on.
Pizza: All around, this was by far the most flavorful slice we’ve had. Everything was solid, like Mama’s, but the basil cooked into the sauce put this slice into a league of its own.
Price: $2.15
Edit: There’s no photo for this one because all of us inhaled our slices. It was that mesmerizing.
March 25th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Next time I’m going to a Devil’s game I’ll have to make it a point to go early enough to give Queen’s a shot. Thanks for the reviews Quade
March 25th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Totally agree Quade Queen’s is a great pizza place. Highly suggest it feels like a traditional NY style pizza parlor. Two thumbs up Quade!
March 25th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I think some Queen’s pizza is in order as well. Quade you feel like treatin’ anyone? haha
March 25th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
everything about queen’s is royal — try the sandwiches next!
March 25th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Mmmm i cant wait to try Queen’s. Def wanna go there before a game. Now I’m in the mood for pizza!
March 25th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
There’s also a Queen II Pizza on Commerce St 2 blocks from the arena – I guess its a sister store of Queen on Halsey ?? Haven’t been to the Halsey one myself, but Queen II is awesome – and definitely close enough to pick up a couple slices before a Devils game
March 25th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I’ve eaten at queens before and although the pizza’s are pricey they are comparable to none! thanks again quade you are the man
March 25th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Queen’s pizza must truly be wonderful, since you wolfed it down without taking a picture first. Can’t wait to try it!
March 25th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Queen’s is delish.
Mike P – I was under the impression Queen’s II closed down recently. I don’t usually walk around Clinton and Commerce, so I may be wrong. I’ll have to check it out again.
Sbeve, I will treat you to nothing. But I appreciate you wanting to hang out.
ELSIE, I’ll keep the sandwiches in mind next time. I’m big on meatballs, so is it safe to assume they’ve got a meatball parm?
March 25th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Queen II is still going strong – great slice……..the prices just last year used to be around 1.75 per slice, but as you can see, its shot up to 2.15, but still worth it.
March 25th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Now I’m in the mood for a pizza!! Jack and I will have to try Queen’s. Thanks for the review!
March 25th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Saturday nite before the game, Queen’s it is!!!!! Hope you are as good a food critic as you are a writer. Thanks Quade.
March 25th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Queen II -
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.736385,-74.169222&spn=0.001309,0.005472&z=18&layer=c&cbll=40.736383,-74.169223&panoid=yQzk27hG1RJipEz9KkFcIg&cbp=11,189.80847031067478,,0,2.2647058823529367
March 25th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I always try to access a pizza by thinness and level of oil that one can absorb off with a napkin. If it is a 2 napkin pizza, it’s too oily for me. Reviewing Pizza Parlors is an excellent and useful idea in this confusing pizza choice world. So let the slicing begin!!! Thanks for the info, I’ll set my GPS to Queens in Newark!!
March 25th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
How does Queens stack up against Robert’s on Washington Street?
Alas the best pizza I knew of in Newark was Guiliani Bros on the corner of Washington & Central. But it is now no more…
March 26th, 2009 at 12:05 am
I always thought the central vacuuming in your house was cool.
March 26th, 2009 at 5:32 am
Personally, I like Mama’s. never even heard of Jezif! KC, I work in the area but am not familiar with washington steet, or Roberts. Where is it exactly?
March 26th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Er…Washington Street is one block over from Halsey. Robert’s is across from Rutgers on the corner of New St & Washington St (right down the block from McGovern’s)
March 27th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Queens is pretty good. That pizzeria has been in that location as long as I can remember, which is late 80s. I haven’t tried slices from the other two. Does anyone remember a small pizzeria located in the old McCrorys store? That pizza was one of the best. Even better than queens. I wonder whatever happened to them. I used to call it McCorys pizza…Hopefully someone here remembers it.
March 30th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Queens and Queens II are the fastest pizza parlors that I have ever been in. Every restaurant should study their approach to fast service. I go there twice a week for lunch. Love em both!
May 9th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Quade, this is the second culinary review i’ve read by you on this site and i am smitten… we need to hang out! in my rutgers days (oh so many years yonder… not really), I went to Queen for lunch at least twice a week. everyone at school was about robert’s (across from mcgovern’s) and i said NO WAY. queen has great standard jersey pizzeria style pizza. unfortunately, while i now work close by enough to continue to go there, don’t have a long enough lunch break to truly sit and enjoy my pizza, which is something I just gotta do…
May 11th, 2009 at 7:23 am
raxxx, next time you feel like playing hooky from work, let me know. I’m getting ready to roll up my sleeves, crack my knuckles and dig into the Ironbound’s world of restaurants. You’re more than welcome to tag along.
July 11th, 2009 at 12:26 am
Tony’s Pizza, so far, is my favorite… but it’s way down the Ironbound somewhere. I’ve only ordered delivery. For me, a good test is whether or not they can handle margarita pizza.
January 22nd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
jezif is ok. never had mama’s and queen? please
why pay 2.15 wen you can pay 2.00 @ Roberts on university. best pizza in the bricks hands down
January 22nd, 2010 at 2:51 pm
** washington – not university
February 15th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
God, I read this and get jealous that my wife insist on ordering from Brazilian pizza (its like the salad I never wanted on top of a mediocre slice of pizza).
March 10th, 2010 at 10:42 am
thanks for that