Receta {Review} Ah' Pizz in Denville, NJ
I feel like we are coming out of hibernation after this long, cold winter. As the days become longer and the weather improves, so does our spirits and our need to be more social. In the winter, it's much too easy to come home and huddle under a blanket after a long week.
When our friends asked if we were around to grab dinner over the weekend, we were happy that we could say 'YES'! They suggested a new (to us) place to try in a neighboring town called Ah' Pizz.
It's located in a strip mall next to a Starbucks and a few other small stores... but, then most of the places we enjoy tend to be in strip malls here in New Jersey. This does work out well because there is plenty of parking without having to circle the block to find a space. A bonus is that they don't have a liquor license, so it's a BYO which means grabbing a bottle of your favorite wine or other spirits to bring along for the meal.
The menu is varied, but I did notice no "kids meal" section... which typically is no issue, but sometimes the kids aren't in the mood for pizza or that big of a portion, so it's nice to have that as an option. Both of Our Boys opted for an appetizer as their meal... calamari. They serve it with a balsamic glaze - which I absolutely loved and thought was a fantastic way to take this familiar dish up a notch.
While the menu focus is primarily on pizza, they do include a selection of pasta and chicken dishes that are familiar to anyone who has ever been to an Italian restaurant. While we didn't try anything from this part of the menu, I'm tempted to go back and give them a try since they stress that their preparation is with great care and use of fresh ingredients.
Another note for those who have gluten sensitivities... they can prepare the pizza or the pasta as gluten-free for an additional charge.
I chose their Pizza di Montclair which included truffles, porcini mushrooms, grape tomatoes and wood fired mushrooms.
Ah' Pizz is one of very few restaurants that are certified to make traditional Neapolitan pizza. This means that they use only the specific ingredients allowed for this style of pizza and it must be no thicker than 1/8" inch thick when it's formed. This produces a thin style crust that is cooked in a wood fired oven for no more than 90 seconds (according to their website).
My friend created her own pizza with ingredients from their lengthy list of choices. Keep in mind these are considered "personal pizzas" that make 6 slices... I ended up bringing 4 slices home to enjoy for lunch the next day! Also, the calamari appetizer portion is huge! It could easily satisfy 6 people as an appetizer or 2 people as a main meal.
Overall, we enjoyed our time at Ah' Pizz and I imagine we'll go back to try some of their other options. The prices are a little bit higher than other pizzerias around the area, but the quality of their ingredients is what is driving that difference.
They have two locations - Denville & Montclair, New Jersey. We dined at the Denville location.
Ah' Pizz Denville
4 West Main Street
Denville, NJ 07834
973-625-6900
Note: This is not a sponsored post... we just happened to go out to dinner and had a nice experience at a local place that I wanted to share here.
Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.