Review: Tony Boloney's, Hoboken NJ

Because we at Pizza Quixote can't eat every pizza in America, we're glad to get guest reviews. Recently, a colleague visited Hoboken, ate some good pie, and brought some back to share. Let's get her thoughts first and then my perspective about the re-heated slices I was privileged to enjoy in my own kitchen.

"Arugula Smokeout" pie - click on this or any pic for full size resolution image

Sunny's Guest Review

"I was in Hoboken, NJ to see a family member few weeks ago. While I was in town, I decided to stop at Tony Boloney’s sub and pizza shop. Hoboken is their second location; the original shop is in Atlantic City, NJ. I have tried different subs and their Brussels sprouts pizza in the AC location and remembered it being good, so I decided to order one. 

Guest reviewer Sunny and husband Rob

"The Royal Balls pie has roasted Brussels sprouts on top of smoked mozzarella with truffle butter. I didn’t taste much of the smokiness of the mozzarella cheese, but there is definitely a dominant flavor of the truffle butter. It was as good as I remembered and I loved the roasted Brussels sprouts with crispy outer layers.

 

"Royal Balls" Brussels sprout pie

"After finishing the Brussels sprouts pizza, my husband and I decided to get a second pie and agreed on the Arugula Smokeout. Just like the name, the pizza had arugula topping all over it but the added lemon and Parmesan cheese made it even better. Obviously, this isn’t something you want to take to go because of the arugula. However because it was so good, we didn’t mind packing up what was leftover and eat it for late night snack. This is probably my favorite pizza from Tony Boloney’s.

 

The Gindolune

"Before heading back to Philly that weekend, I contacted my colleague who is a pizza fanatic to ask if he wanted to try any of the Tony Boloney’s pies. He chose to go with a Gindolune, a pie with fennel sausage and garlicky broccoli rabe with homemade mozzarella cheese toppings. 

"We split the pie and I tried it few hours after I picked it up. I loved the garlic flavor from broccoli rabe and the sausage was pretty tasty. I would like to get this again and try it fresh."

PQ Tasting Notes

This Gindolune pie was full of flavor. I could tell it was a high quality and savory sauce, and the cheese also gets high marks. Despite having eaten this pie on the re-heat several days after it had been baked, moisture from the generously-applied rabe had not soaked into the crust. 

A re-heated slice

On the perforated re-heating pan, post re-bake

The sausage seemed to be of good quality, but the pie would have been lots better if the sausage had been applied uncooked, instead of cooked and sliced. 

Underside of a reheated slice

The fundamental quality of any pie lies in the crust. From Sunny's pics, the crust looks superb. By the time I ate my re-heated slices, the taste was fine but the texture was unremarkable. I do suspect it is much better fresh out of the oven, and I hope to get there soon to verify.