See Pizza, Eat Pizza

Today at lunch, we decided it was a good time to try a new pizza place. Of course, it’s always a good time to try a new pizza place, so that’s not exactly news. Since it’s only a few blocks away from my office, we decided to hit up Torna in Hoboken. I had heard enough about Torna to justify the 5 minute walk (such a schlepp!).

It is not unfair to say that Torna is a dive and half. Cheap linoleum flooring and crappy lighting make the cheap wood panelling seem even more so. You have two seating options: inside at the plastic veneered booths or outside stools sitting at the metal fence / bar table combo thing. The couple running the shop appear to have been working together for decades. They probably have. I didn’t ask them as they didn’t seem in the mood to chat (in English anyways - Italian may have been another story). They took our order for a slice each of regular and sicilian and that was that.

After a re-heat, we were handed two plates and we headed outside to enjoy a gorgeous day. I wish I could say that we enjoyed the pizza as much as the weather.

As I’ve furthered my pizza education, I’ve found so many delicious pizza places that I have started to have trouble finishing bad pizza (I may have to begin rethinking my “Even bad pizza is good” position). I am also find it hard to write at any length about bad pizza. I’ll try, though.

Torna’s regular slice was definitely over-cooked. I don’t know if this happened during re-heating or the original cooking. Either way, this was not a slice that any respectable pizzeria should have served a customer. The crust was dense and the cheese was blah. If there was sauce, I don’t recall. Their Sicilian was better. Barely. The crust was super thick and crispy, though it totally lacked any kind of defining flavor. Unlike the regular slice, the sauce was present, but it was certainly overshadowed by the lackluster cheese.

It’s funny how some slices can remind you of the good things you liked about the frozen or otherwise crappy pizza you ate when you were younger. Torna didn’t remind me of anything good - thought their sicilian definitely reminded me of a certain type of bad french bread pizza that used to be a staple of my diet.

So much for a good place only a quick walk away…

Rating: 1 slice

Torna’s Pizzeria‎
254 9th St
Hoboken, NJ
(201) 798-8873

I was feeling like pizza for lunch today so I decided to take a short walk to Mario’s. I keep an office in Hoboken and Mario’s is just seven short blocks away.

I had been here two other times and my first two trips were quite different. The first time, I was very unimpressed with my slice. It was plagued by all of the normal problems your average corner slice shop has (cheap cheese, uninspired crust, canned sauce). The second time, I had quite a tasty experience (maybe my pie was a little fresher or something).

I knew this time would be make or break for me and Mario’s. There are plenty of other pizza places in Hoboken and I don’t need to mess around with a shop that can’t get it done on a regular basis.

Just so we’re clear on my comparison, here are some notes about all three trips:

• I visited in early afternoon.
• Slices were reheats.
• The same counter guy served my slice each time (I never saw a pizza being made, so I don’t know if he also made the pizza).

Unfortunately, this visit was more like the first time. It’s an OK slice, but Mario’s and I will be parting ways. There are just too many fish in the sea to spend time with a slice that can’t decide what it wants to be.

Rating: 2 slices

Mario’s Classic Pizza
742 Garden Street
Hoboken, New Jersey
(201) 659-0808