Review: Bricco Coal Fired Pizza- Westmont (Haddon Twp) NJ

Food writers often overlook the very fertile turf between the great pizza cities of New York and Philly: New Jersey. Jersey is where I learned to love old-school thin-crust pies; it's the home of my still-favorite Trenton tomato pie at DeLorenzo's; and it has what one critic called the "best pizza in New York" at Razza in Jersey City.

When I have occasion to travel to Jersey, pizza is on my mind. Happily, NJ has its own impeccably qualified pizza expert - Peter Genovese. He does an annual Ten Best Pizzas in NJ, and also has written about the best pizza in each of NJ's 21 counties. He's covered the ancient square slice joints at Kate and Al's in the Columbus Market, a unique Sicilian-style pie in Trenton's suburbs, and pies all over the state. He has never steered me wrong. 

There are fewer great pies south of Trenton, but recently Pete wrote about Bricco in Westmont, Camden County. Bricco also won the endorsement of James Oley, esteemed pizzaiolo at Binge House Pizza.

Four lifelong friends (and Jersey residents) were able to join us for lunch. Bricco has a warm and attractive dining space with the kitchen in full view near the entrance. We skipped the interesting choices for salads and antipasti and went directly to the pizza.

The Short Rib

The pizza, as we discovered, is a Neapolitan hybrid with a typical charred and puffy cornicione. Most Neapolitans (hybrid or not) are offered only in a small personal size, due to the delicate nature of the crust, especially in the center of the pie. But here you can choose the 12" personal pie ($11 - $19) or a 16" version ($15 - $25) suitable for sharing.

The Vanti

Our group of six opted to share four different types of the 16" pies, two red and two white. We ordered:

• The Short Rib ($22) a white pie featuring beef short ribs, caramelized onions, fontina cheese, and arugula
• The Vanti ($20) with meatballs, fresh mozz, ricotta, and san marzano tomatoes
• The Stinger ($24) with buffalo mozzarella, tomato sauce, spicy soppressata, honey, basil, and mint
• The Sailor ($24), a white pie with spinach, roasted garlic, gruyere, pecorino, and mozzarella

The Stinger

The Short Rib pie came out first, and it was a masterpiece. The ingredients were perfectly proportioned, and the rich savory rib meat blended perfectly with the caramelized onions and fontina cheese. The slight edge of the arugula garnish served to balance the sweetness of the onions.

The Sailor

As with every pizza, the crust is the key component. This is masterful stuff here. Not as pale as a typical Neapolitan, this golden crust sported a bit more crunch all around. There may have been a bit of olive oil in the dough that gave it the crispy sturdiness that Neapolitans typically lack. Beyond its ideal texture, the crust had its own rich flavor, too.

A Short Rib slice

Next up came the Vanti, to which we had requested sweet red peppers as an additional topping. It featured the same wonderful crust, and all of the toppings were first rate. However, this pie was overloaded. 

The coal-fired oven

Along with the moisture from the red sauce, the meatballs and the ricotta and the peppers contributed too much weight and wetness. So even though every bite was bursting with good flavors, half of each slice had a soft and soggy crust. Still a great pizza, but not at the perfection level of the short rib pie.

A slice of the Vanti

Next came the Stinger, and this was perhaps the most flavorful of all four. Riding on that great crust was some wonderfully spicy soppressata, beautifully offset by a touch of sweet honey. But this pie was downright soupy in the center, and all the toppings were sliding off even though there did not seem to be an excess of red sauce. I was fortunate to have a slice of this as a leftover the next day; heated for 15 minutes at 325 degrees, it had a chance to dry out and meld - the texture was much improved.

Soupy center on the Stinger

The last pie was the Sailor, a wonderful way to finish. The blend of cheeses worked to create great flavor and texture, and there was an ideal amount of spinach. The calling card here, though, was the roasted garlic. Each bite had the tang of fresh garlic which was ideal to accompany the cheese and spinach. Without red sauce, the crust did not suffer from any soggy spots.

Magnificent char underneath

All told, we had four pies with a wonderful variety of well-balanced flavors. Two had ideal textures, two were soft and wet in the middle. My guess is that those two red pies would have worked a lot better in the 11" personal size; there was just too much payload for a 15" expanse of thin Neapolitan crust.

Lovely rigid slice from the Short Rib

Without question, Bricco is great pizza - destination pizza that is worth the trip. It's much better than a typical Neapolitan due to that superb hybrid crust. 

Next time back I'm going to experiment with the smaller pies and also the intriguing salads and antipasti offerings. Bricco was pretty packed during our visit and there's no mystery why.