Tale of the Pie: Mack's Pizza (Wildwood)

Now this is Boardwalk pizza.

Recently, the wife and I were heading home from Wildwood when we realized that during our two days in the shore town we had failed to have one slice of pizza. This was a wrong that needed immediate correction, so we decided to partake in a slice of Mack's Pizza before we departed. As we headed up to the boards and got hold of the extremely pleasing aroma escaping from the shop, we quickly decided that we would get a full pie instead of a mere segment.

If we went down in the midst of the busy season, I am sure we would not have gotten the terrific service that we received. This would be excusable because the place would have been crawling with teenagers and tourists. But as it was, we were some of the only people in the shop and the people operating the place treated us like V.I.P.'s. The guy behind the counter making the pies pointed us to our seats. The gent who served us was particularly awesome, taking our drink and food orders within minutes and getting crayons for Saucy Jr. without provocation. A master in rewarding kindness with scorn, Little Man quickly used them to paint the establishment's walls. Everything was topnotch service-wise and it made us feel right at home.


All I can say about the pizza is "Wow." Ok, so the large pepperoni we received was more than a little greasy (probably one of the greasiest I have ever seen), but that inconvenience was quickly remedied with a slight downward tilt. The grease in no way affected the crust, which was thin and crisp throughout. The cheese and sauce mixed perfectly, with neither one being too overwhelming. Special points for even distribution of the sauce, which resulted in my never taking a bite that wasn't properly accompanied by tomato flavor.

A lot of Boardwalk pies (sorry, Mack & Manco's) like to leave a substantial part of the crust's perimeter uncovered. I have heard that this is for easier carrying as you walk from shop to shop and ride to ride. This doesn't play for me. I find it stingy. Well, don't worry about that with Mack's. Their fine ingredients, including the sharp, slightly smoky pepperoni, fill out the whole pie, never leaving you feeling as if you have been cheated. Add in optimal foldability and the fact that the slices seem especially huge (we ate to our fill and still had two slices to take back to good ol' Norristown) and you are talking about a pie that makes it difficult to say a negative word.

Hell, I'm not even going to complain about the fact that a demented grandmom came up to our table mid-meal and began kvetching about how empty the Boardwalk was on the occasion of our visit. Partly because I am a nice guy (Spicy not so much), but mostly because I was having too much fun scarfing Mack's Pizza's delectable offering.

Pros: Huge slices, perfect sauce and cheese distribution, liberal use of ingredients, thin and crispy crust
Cons: A little greasier than most pies

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Mack's Pizza
3218 Boardwalk
Wildwood, NJ 08260