a pizza history

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. 

a dairy delicious dream

I guess it’s a safe thing to say that dairy is one of my favorite food groups. Not necessarily because of milk but because of what milk can become- cheese, ice cream, whipped cream, even yogurt sometimes. YUM!

I didn’t realize that dairy had hypnotized and lured me into a place of no return until I really thought about the dinner I ate last Tuesday- that I’m still dreaming about. That I wish I could have again, right now.

This dream-like meal took place at Chimney Rock Inn in Bound Brook. Now when I tell you I used to eat mozzarella sticks like it was my job when I was younger, I’m not lying. Maybe if I a got a quarter for every mozzarella stick I ever ate I wouldn’t be so stressed about finances and where my future is headed. But unfortunately, that salary never came through and I realized that mozzarella sticks aren’t really good for the figure either. So, I hardly ever have mozzarella sticks. Until I do. And I am hooked on the homemade mozzarella sticks from Chimney Rock. Yes, homemade. Fresh mozzarella is breaded and fried to a crunchy perfection. The cheese is stringy, warm, and super satisfying. Topped off with some tomato marinara and it’s like when you’re head hits the pillow after a long day and you take that first relaxing sigh of relief. Ahhhhh…

Alright, so now I feel like life can’t get any better. But it does- good things are always coming my way. This was brought to the table…

pizza fri-yay!

Ever since I can remember my family would always resort to pizza for Friday night dinner. I actually believed at one point that all families have pizza on Fridays. Turns out, they don’t. Some actually have pizza on Tuesday nights. Which is totally cool but if you know me, I like consistency and pizza on a Friday evening is something I look forward to every week.

I mean I do change up my order from week to week. I’m not exactly like Sheldon Cooper ordering the same exact take out meal prepared exactly the same way every time. I do like variety.

If we’re lucky, sometimes we order pizza from a special place. A place that is extremely delicious but just a little bit out of reach for a rush hour Friday drive. We heard of Sciortino’s in South Amboy from a family friend. They told us that it is their FAVORITE pizza. So, we had to give it a try.

meal for a deal

“Want to go to that 1000 degrees pizza place for lunch?” Of course I replied with a “Heck yes”! Can anyone ever really turn down pizza? I know I can’t. Even when I smell pizza in my surrounding area, the cravings just consume my every sense.