Pizza Bowl 3: Newcomer takes top honors in Jersey Pizza Joints annual contest

Matt Fagan, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read
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The newcomer takes it.

Coniglio's Old Fashioned of Morristown, whose owner Nino Coniglio — a Las Vegas pizza champ as well as a "Chopped" champion — has been named the winner of Pizza Bowl 3.

"Rest assured that we will keep working hard to make great pizza," Coniglio said.

Saturday's annual competition, arranged by Jersey Pizza Joints — a Facebook group with 68,000 members founded by Guy Madsen of Clifton — pitted more than 3,100 restaurants against one another in a March Madness-style bracket voting matchup.

The final nominees — from four New Jersey regions, North, Central, South and the Shore — met at Redd's Bar and Restaurant in Carlstadt for a live cook-off, judged by Madsen and others, including Garfield native Eddie Brigati, formerly of the late-1960s band The Young Rascals.

John Speciale celebrates in his repeat win as New Jersey's best meatball maker.
John Speciale celebrates in his repeat win as New Jersey's best meatball maker.

Brigati said that given how tasty Jersey pizza is, being in a position to choose a favorite posed a challenge.

"It’s awkward,” he said. “All these places have put in so much effort.”

Nino Coniglio, owner of Coniglio's Old Fashined in Morristown, on Saturday, with his family right after being crowned NJ's premier pizza maker in Pizza Bowl 3.
Nino Coniglio, owner of Coniglio's Old Fashined in Morristown, on Saturday, with his family right after being crowned NJ's premier pizza maker in Pizza Bowl 3.

Before the competition, there were expected favorites, including the North region's Star Tavern of Orange and Patsy's in Paterson, top vote-getter in the North; the Shore's Zoni's of Red Bank, which received the most votes statewide; Central Jersey's DeLucia's in Raritan; and South Jersey's Kate & Al's in Columbus.

Among the celebrity Judges, at Saturday's Pizza Bowl 3 held in Carlstadt, was former Giant, Stephen Baker, touchdown maker. Baker said picking a winner is hard. It really up to one's personal preferences," Baker said.
Among the celebrity Judges, at Saturday's Pizza Bowl 3 held in Carlstadt, was former Giant, Stephen Baker, touchdown maker. Baker said picking a winner is hard. It really up to one's personal preferences," Baker said.

By region, those who advanced to the final round were: North, Coniglio's of Morristown; Central, Jersey Pizza Boys of Avenel; the Shore, Capone's of Toms River; and South, Brooklyn Original of Haddon Heights.

"The others tried too hard," said judge Chris Barba of Secaucus. "All were good, but if you are going to be best in New Jersey, there has to be standards."

In addition to choosing a pizza champion, Jersey Pizza Joints crowned a meatball maker.

John Speciale's PizzAmore in Carlstadt once again took top honors.

"I got up this morning and put heart into making these," Speciale said. "I cook with love."

Money raised by the event, through a portion of admission plus donations from a good number of pizza places that participated, should total about $20,000, which Jersey Pizza Joints donated to Tunnel to Towers, an organization that builds homes for Gold Star and first responder families, among other programs.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Pizza Bowl: Jersey Pizza Joints Facebook group crowns a champ