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Wildwood Pizza Tour featured in Ricardo Magazine

Wildwood Pizza Tour featured in Ricardo Magazine Summer 2019 edition

For the Summer 2019 issue of Ricardo Magazine, Canada's popular food publication, Chris from the Wildwood Pizza Tour and several members of the popular Candaian food publication visit three of the best pizzerias on the Wildwood boardwalk: Mack's Pizza, Sam's Pizza and Franconi's Pizza.

PIZZAMANIA in Wildwood by Carolyne Ann Boileau

Along the beach, the boardwalk stretches for nearly 3 km. There are about twenty restaurants and
counters specializing in pizza. But where do we eat the best pizza? This is the question that Chris
Martin, the founder of WildwoodPizzaTour.com, and four of his friends have been asking themselves
every year since 2005. Every summer the quintet buys a slice of pizza in every restaurant and cuts it
into 5 pieces, and analyses it according to a scale of values. At the end of the tour, an establishment
is crowned.
 
The discussion with Chris made our trio, consisting of our development leader Nicolas, our
photographer Michael and myself, very hungry. Chris then leads us to three of the top pizza outlets.
 
We're stopping at Franconi's Pizza. Owner Tony has been making his pizzas according to family
recipes for 40 years. With his daughter Amanda and son Tony Junior, he makes hundreds of pounds
of pizza dough every day. What's his secret? He uses the best ingredients and no shortcuts. In
addition, Chris whispers to me that this is where the piece of pizza is the most generous... Sitting in
front of a window displaying the classics, we raise your eyebrows in amazement at the ultra-creative
toppings: pepperoni, fries, chicken barbecue sauce or Buffalo style, i. e. with bacon and a drizzle of
ranch sauce.
 
Franconi's Pizza - Ricardo Magazine - Behind the Scenes
 
Your taste buds are always on alert when you enter Sam's Pizza Palace, which has been open since
1957. Co-owners Anthony Zuccarello and Tony Spera tell us with emotion about their relationship with
Canadian customers. Among other things, they tell us about a family that, every year, goes home with
eight pizzas that it freezes to eat "Sam's" at home. They will also never forget this other family whose
patriarch's ashes were spread on the beach outside their restaurant. This goes to show us that the
landmarks of summer holidays live on. It is in these particular places that the word vintage takes all its
strength.
 
Our trio is quite moved by these stories and at the same time captivated by the pizzas that are made
before our eyes. The plain pizza gets my favor, while Nicolas is leaning towards the one with garlic
and broccoli. If you choose to eat Sam's magpie, better take the time to eat it in a restaurant than on
the run. The experience will be quite different!
 
Sam's Pizza - Ricardo Magazine - Behind the Scenes
 
Chris then leads us to the winner of the Wildwood Pizza Tour 2018, Macks, who has been on the trail
since 1953. We are welcomed by Barbara, who has been working there for 40 years. She
immediately tells us that people come here for the classic combo, a slice of plain and a birch beer (a
soft drink similar to root beer, but reddish). Macks' plain pizza is characterized by a thin crust, a row of
cheese, tomato sauce - which comes out of a gun - and another row of cheese. Very cheesy!
 
Translation courtesy of Cape May County Department of Tourism. Photographs courtesy of Ricardo Magazine and Christopher Martin (Wildwood Pizza Tour).