Brazzi Wood-Fired Pizza & Trattoria

Brazzi is conveniently located right on New Jersey State Route 72, before the bridge to Long Beach Island (that being the Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge, of course). Brazzi produces a variety pizza styles, utilizing both a wood-fired oven (imported from Italy) and a standard gas oven. We stopped here for “a snack” and opted to compare/contrast a couple squares: a thin grandma slice and a thick Sicilian slice.

In the Jersey style, this Sicilian slice had a generous allotment of sauce. It also had a thick crust with pillowy, doughy texture with a slightly fried exterior (from a well-oiled square pan) with some browning. The sauce was on top, creating your classic “upside down slice” (good sauce can be an excellent topping, in my opinion). It was a hearty and filling slice, although I think the crust itself could have been more flavorful.

Grandma square slices are usually thinner than Sicilian, but thicker than typical New York-style pizza. Here, the grandma slice was as thin as the latter. Also cooked in a well-oiled pan, this fully browned slice was nice and crispy. Indeed, it was crispier than usually for such a slice, with a quite well-done exterior. So, not really a traditional grandma slice but also not bad at all and quite flavorful with the oil-soaked crust.

If you’re looking for a road-side snack on a longer Garden State drive, I would happily recommend @brazzitrattoria to you.