Coppola’s will forever be Villascotta’s in my mind, the pizzeria at the end of a small strip mall where teams went after soccer matches to get tall sodas and huge pizzas dripping with oil and hot cheese. It’s busy for lunch and busy for dinner, even when the tiny town had one or two other pizzerias. Villascotta’s had the pizza to which all other pizzas were compared. But times change, and the pizzeria expanded and morphed into Coppola’s – pizzeria on one side, and nice sit-down Italian restaurant on the other side that’s often used for high school graduation dinners or a nice dinner out. It was a good renovation.
My husband is puzzled as to why I like NJ pizza so much. It’s not gourmet pizza, so what’s the big deal? I answer thusly: A good pizza is a combination of many factors. Coppola’s crust is thin, chewy, and firm and still soft enough to chew. The crust is never greasy or burned or soggy. The sauce is tasty, of the right quantity, and is spread to a good part of the crust. Next comes just the right amount of flavorful cheese, then generous toppings. When it comes out of the oven, the cheese is hot and stringy and the huge slices have to be at least half folded to keep the cheese from sliding off. Some pat their slices with paper napkins, or fold their slices completely in half to create a calzone, but I say that the oils are meant to be savored and if I wanted a calzone, I’d have ordered one.
And that is why NJ has the best pizzeria pizza.
590 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ 07974, USA
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