Serving 'old school' pies, Zoni's Pizzeria in Middletown expanding kitchen
Big things are happening at this small Jersey Shore pizza shop.
Since Zoni's Brooklyn Brick Coal Oven Pizzeria in Middletown was purchased by Robert Tarzia in 2019, business has nearly doubled. Just outside Red Bank's downtown hub, Tarzia said the pizzeria needs to expand.
"We outgrew the spot," he said. "On Friday nights, you could call me to pick up [a pie] and it'll be a 90-minute wait, with all the orders that are coming in."
To cut down wait times, he will be doing renovations through May that will expand the size of the prep kitchen, as well as add an additional bathroom.
"We're going to utilize the pizza prep station more to bang out more pizzas," Tarzia said.
These coal-fired pizzas are worth the wait. Every morning, Tarzia and his staff shovel fresh coal into the oven to start a fire, which they have to stoke (add more coal to) every day at 4 p.m.
This results in a well-done pie that Tarzia describes as "not crispy like a cracker, but chewy, like a fresh loaf of bread.
"... My oven was built the way the old baker's ovens, and there's only a few in the state ... It takes about 45 minutes for the oven to reach 1000 degrees."
Some of the most popular pies at Zoni's, which originally opened in 2010, are the classic Americana with mozzarella; the Margherita with mozzarella, rustic tomato sauce and fresh basil; and the ricotta-packed white pie with mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil. Pies take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook, Tarzia said.
The Meat Supreme, a Margherita pie with sausage, meatballs and pepperoni, is also popular. It was named as an ode to the famous Brooklyn butcher shop, Meats Supreme, just minutes from where Tarzia got his big break.
He spent years making pies at the famous Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn, which is owned by his friends. But once the opportunity in Middletown presented itself, he knew he needed to bring his expertise to a new community.
"Our pizza is old school pizza, like the legends — Totonno's in Coney Island, Patsy's Pizzeria in Harlem, or Sally's and Pepe's in New Haven, (Connecticut)," he said. "They all have true coal fire brick ovens. ... We're old school and we're keeping it old school, just the way it is because it's perfect."
Tarzia inherited a passion for cooking from his family, who originated from Calabria, Italy.
Enzo Ferrante, a certified Italian Master Pizzaiolo — and member of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (the True Neapolitan Pizza Association), a nonprofit organization that promotes and protect true Neapolitan pizza —, recently stopped by Zoni's.
Ferrante is a guest chef judge of this year's Jersey Shore Pizza War, which takes place on April 8 at the Clarion Hotel in Toms River. Among 15 other local pizzerias, Zoni's is a contestant in the contest hosted by longtime restaurant owner and chef Umberto Turelli.
"[Rob] makes an artisan American-Neapolitan-style pizza ... that's been cooked in a coal oven, which is one of the best in the business," Ferrante said. "It's one of the most phenomenal pizzas in Monmouth County, and his business is authentic, like the old-timers."
Go: 287 Route 35, Middletown; 732-219-8800, zoniscoalfiredpizza.net.
Gabriela L. Laracca joined the USA Today Network New Jersey in 2021 and eagerly brings her passion for cuisine and culture to our readers. Send restaurant tips to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Zoni's Pizzeria to expand and compete in Jersey Shore Pizza War
