Dave Portnoy of Barstool visited Vinnie’s Mootz, a Bergen County pizzeria, in May. He gave high marks to two pizzas.
Vinnie’s Mootz mozzarella cheese making process: Video
Vincent Morelli’s step-by-step process of making mozzarella cheese at Vinnie’s Mootz in Lyndhurst on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024
- Owner Vincent Morelli has won local competitions for his mozzarella and pizza.
- Portnoy’s One Bite Pizza Review’s are massively popular, and a visit from the Barstool founder tends to boost business.
- Portnoy tried a circle margherita pie and a square pie at Vinnie’s Mootz.
Barstool’s Dave Portnoy visited Vinnie’s Mootz in Lyndhurst on May 14 to film the latest of his uber-popular One Bite Pizza Reviews and rate the local pizzeria’s slices.
Portnoy brought two pies out of the shop — a circular margherita pie and a square one. After chomping a few bites of each (and handing a slice to a passerby on a mobility scooter), he gave the circle slice a 7.8 and the square one a 7.9. Good scores, generally speaking.
Portnoy appreciated the pies’ “good undercarriage” and crispiness and likened it to a Shore-style pizza, citing the sauce’s foundation of uncooked tomatoes.
Portnoy also appeared smitten with owner Vincent Morelli’s story. He entered the food world by entering Hoboken MutzFest in 2015 and taking home honors for best homemade mozzarella. He then made small batches, which turned into a cottage business, then a slightly larger brick-and-mortar operation where he added pizzas with his homemade mozzarella to the menu in 2022.
In fall 2023, Vinnie’s Mootz won best pie at Pizza Bowl IV by Jersey Pizza Joints — a Facebook group with more than 100,000 members — beating out a number of well-regarded pizza makers.
All the while, Morelli has maintained his day job selling insurance, a situation Portnoy seemed hopeful to resolve.
“Great guy, great story,” Portnoy says in the clip, before turning to Morelli and asking, “There’s no number on how many pizzas we have to sell so you don’t have to do insurance anymore?”
Portnoy has visited several North Jersey pizzerias
Portnoy has visited more than 120 pizzerias in New Jersey over the years. His highest-rated pies are DeLucia’s in Raritan (9.4) and DeLorenzo’s in Robbinsville (9.2). Out of the hundreds of pizzerias Portnoy has reviewed nationally, DeLucia’s and DeLorenzo’s are ranked second and 11th overall.
His lowest rated New Jersey pizzerias, for the record, are Pizza Hut in North Bergen (3.8) and Costco in Clifton (1.9).
In North Jersey, Portnoy gave high marks to Ralph’s in Nutley (8.9), Calabria Pizzeria in Livingston (8.9), Angeloni’s in Caldwell (8.9) and Columbia Inn in Montville (8.8).
I asked Morelli last year about his thoughts on Portnoy and the prospects of him one day visiting. Morelli told me he appreciated the Barstool founder’s iconoclasm and entrepreneurship, and that he’d approach a visit from Portnoy as he’d approach anyone coming into his shop.
“You know what? I would treat him like a normal customer,” he says. “If he comes, he comes. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. It’s his opinion, it’s his pizza. You like it a different way, I like it a different way. My wife is like, ‘He’s going to come, give you a 6.5, and then what?’ I really don’t give a s—.”
Portnoy’s taste tends toward a thin, crackly crust (he’ll often hold a slice up and check to see if it maintains its rigidity toward the point), better if it’s a little charred (and better yet if that char comes from a coal-fired oven), with a flavorful, well-apportioned sauce and cheese that might be a little browned on top.
Portnoy said in the video that his 7.8 score on the circle pie is “almost as high as you can get on this style of pizza for me, really good,” and after trying the square pie, said that would be his go-to at Vinnie’s Mootz.
Matt Cortina is a food reporter for NorthJersey.com/The Record. Reach him at mcortina@gannett.com.
