Sunday, April 19, 2009

Wanted: The Perfect Pizza!

We've been continuing our search for the perfect pizza.
Recently, we stopped at an old standby - Vitarelli's on Kings Highway in Cherry Hill.
Vitarelli's has grown over the years to the point where it inhabits the entire property of what used to be a mini strip mall set back from the highway near the Cherry Hill Public Library.
We sat in a large, airy sun room at the corner of the restaurant.
We always order our pizza "well done." At Vitarelli's we found a large, crispy, tasty, thin-crusted pizza.
The sauce was excellent and the crust seemed just right. The pizza did not fall apart. It was not soggy and the cheese clung the pie nicely.
But the pizza suffered from too much oil. We don't like it when the pizza leaves a greasy residue.
Later in the week we headed over to Villa Rosa, also on Kings Highway but this time in the charming town of Haddonfield.
Villa Rosa sits at the end of the business district in Haddonfield. This place has been a popular gathering spot for years and it attracts its share of loyal customers.
Once again we ordered a "large regular, well-done."
Just as the real test of ice cream is vanilla, the real test of a pizza is simply a regular cheese pie with marinara sauce.
At Villa Rosa the crust was wonderful - thin, fresh and crisp. And the pizza wasn't oily. There was no greasy residue.
But the sauce and the cheese lacked that certain zing - that certain zestiness. The sauce was just this side of bland.
Both Vitarelli's and Villa Rosa have earned their loyal followings.
Both pizzas were certainly above average.
But the search for the perfect pizza continues.

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