***3 1/2 stars***
Maybe it lost something in transit or I didn't get the right pie, but I wasn't blown away by this place. I've had Tony D's on my list for a while, knowing it had a solid reputation amongst the North Jersey Italians (and what better demo to have it from?). Yesterday was a perfect opportunity to order/grab some pizza and bring it over to my top-tier chum in nearby Montclair for lunch. I didn't do a ton of recon so maybe there was a more obvious/modern method to ordering, but from what I could tell, this place was pretty old school and I just picked up the phone and called over - honestly can't remember the last time I did that, but it brought a nice whiff of nostalgia for me after years of ordering on apps.
Didn't realize that Tony D's is literally right around the corner from my BFF Cloverleaf, so the location is pretty convenient if you're in the area. The parking in Caldwell can be pretty annoying, and even though I'm sure I could have rolled the dice I paid a little less than a dollar to park up the street further into a residential neighborhood. Given that Tony D's is exclusively delivery/pickup joint, I think they should pay for the spots right in front as a courtesy to their customers coming in and out; maybe they do and I missed it but if not... Anyway. The guy behind the counter was VERY nice/friendly, and even though I was a few minutes early based on the estimated ETA off my phone call, the pizza literally had just come out of the oven and was ready to rock. From that vantage point, top-notch service.
The specific pie that seemed to be their go-to was the Drunken Grandma, which is usually one of my favorites (vodka sauce on pizza should be much more prevalent in my opinion) but I wasn't crazy about the chunks of tomato on it. In hindsight, would have been easy to pick off or even to request that they not be included to begin with, so that would be my recommendation based on this experience. I opted for a square plain pie, especially since I knew that a few young pups would likely be sampling the wares; seemed like an overall safe bet. Optics-wise, I thought it looked very good, and I don't regret going square here. The crust for me was probably the best part, and I made sure to strategically grab all of the corner pieces once we started eating. Nice crisp to it for sure.
The overall taste of the pie just wasn't my thing. I wasn't crazy about the sauce (maybe another argument for the vodka sauce, right?) and the cheese was just okay. Tasted to me more like generic by the slice pizza, which isn't my preference. My top-tier chum liked it more than I did, so definitely could just be an issue with palate preference here but this might have suffered from inflated expectations.
I'd give them another shot if a similar circumstance presented itself, but I'd go with the pie it's known for - there's a reason the Drunken Grandma is front and center in almost every review. Learn from me. read more