It was thirteen years ago that I met one of my good friends and although I don’t see her often, when I do, it’s like nothing has ever really changed. In high school (Catholic high school), the teachers always sat us alphabetically which I believe is one of the main reasons we became friends. All I had to do was slightly turn around and we would crack jokes about how annoying school was, how this one teacher was WAY too into english, or even how the Chem teacher looked like a fairy from Sleeping Beauty. Although we don’t go to school anymore or even work together, one of our main common denominators is our love for good food.
One Friday, we decided to head over to Arturo’s in Middletown, NJ. As we navigated our way through some back roads, we ended up in a quaint little downtown and our destination awaited us on the corner full of food lovers alike waiting their turn for a seat. The wait was over an hour but there was no way we were turning back now. We were in it to win it. And that’s exactly what we did.
After waiting a bit, we were seated outside and we knew exactly what we wanted to eat. The menu is simple but everything sounded delicious. 
We first started off with the ricotta crostini and market salad (special). The ricotta crostini was made with slightly toasted bread, topped with fluffy whipped ricotta cheese, black sea salt, and drizzled with olive oil. The flavors blended so nicely to create a cloud of savoriness in your mouth.
The black sea salt was the perfect pinch of flavor while adding a really cool contrast to the whipped ricotta cheese color and toastiness of the bread.
Bite by bite. It was hard not to savor the moment. After a bite of the bread, it was refreshing to have a bite of the spicy arugula, goat cheese, and peach salad. The sweet and savoriness combination was awesome for a warm summer night.
After an almost impossible to top appetizer, the half and half pizza that we ordered was brought to the table. Yes, half and half. Usually speciality pizzas aren’t eligible for the half and half style but we were so glad that Arturo’s was willing to accommodate our need.
The side furtherest in the picture is the “Santo” pizza. This airy dough is topped with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, sausage, onion, and spicy chili oil. The side closest was the special “Zucca” pizza. It’s a white pizza with fresh mozzarella, ricotta, thinly slices heirloom squash, and garlic.
It’s so hard not to love everything about this pizza. The crust is napoleon style- light, and airy. Although it looks like it would be thick, it really wasn’t. The crust is lined with air filled bubbles. The toppings are full of flavor. The “Santo” is savory, a little bit spicy, but sweet from the cooked onions. The “Zucca” is refreshing, like straight out of a garden with PAPER THIN sliced squash. Either side, no matter what you were into at the moment, was a tour of Italy’s finest flavors.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to have squash any other way. The cheese was fresh but gave the pizza a little bit of bite. Again the ricotta was like a cloud in your mouth. Only a small hint of garlic but enough to add alot of flavor.
I think this may be my favorite specialty pizza I’ve ever had so far in my life. That’s why this one is one for the books. Definitely a good night.
For more information please visit: Arturo’s NJ
shut up and eat with me 