Forget Super Bowl LVIII, Jersey pizza lovers want to know who won Pizza Bowl IV.
And we have a winner: Vinnies’ Mootz of Lyndhurst, whose thin and crisp grandma pie topped with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes took home the prize on Saturday, Feb. 3, at Redd’s Restaurant in Carlstadt.
Jersey Pizza Joints, a Facebook group with 100,000 members, sponsors the event. Its members act as judges and whittled down hundreds of pizzerias to the “delicious dozen.”
New to North Jersey’s pizza scene, Vinnies’ Mootz will celebrate its first anniversary in April. The winning pie is a collaboration between restaurant owner Vinnie Morelli and his pizza maker, Angelo Dalia.
Dalia, who owned Charlie’s Pizza in East Rutherford, which was opened by his parents 40 years ago, initially hired Morelli. Then Morelli, who specializes in making fresh mozzarella, hired him to make the pies.
In the first three rounds, pizza makers from each of the three regions, North, Central and South Jersey, were judged. A winner from each region advanced to the final round.