Pizza Tour 2023 Results

Every year, our group of five (though just four for 2023) spends one entire evening tasting, reviewing and rating a slice of pizza from every ”legitimate” pizzeria on the Wildwood boardwalk, in search of our favorite slice. Here, we reveal our findings… For more info, read the 'About the Pizza Tour' page!

2023 Pizza Tour Details

1st Place: Olympic Pizza - Avg: 4.0

It was a CLOSE race for best slice this year  — the top 3 favorite slices were all within 0.25 points of one another. And the top 6 were within 0.5 points of one another!

 

In other words, the good slices this year were all very good…And, ultimately, it came down to the minor details to separate this race.

 

By the time we got to Olympic Flame, it was our 18th slice of the night. But it tasted so fresh and flavorful, you could have convinced us we hadn’t eaten in days.

 

 

This slice is different than any others on the boardwalk, particularly due to its pan cooked medium-thick crust that is still somehow light and easy. On top of that,  a touch of sauce and plenty of cheese combine with a perfect blend of seasonings result in a well-rounded experience all the way through. If you default to adding spices to a slice, you might want to try a plain bite first and season accordingly from there! This slice is pretty self sufficient without any doctoring in our experience!

 

We have come to expect a great slice from Olympic Flame each year — they’ve been a top contender for more than a decade — and we are super happy to award this slice as our favorite for 2023 and recommend it to anyone on the hunt for a great Wildwood boardwalk slice.

 

We'd love to know your review of this slice -- click here to submit a quick review of Olympic Flame.

 

 

 

Overall Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Despite a lot of high quality pizza on the North Wildwood section of boardwalk in recent years, Steak 'Em Up’s slice managed to not only be the best slice in the area, but also a top slice on the boardwalk as a whole.

 

For 2023, the slice was the best work they’ve done to date, ranking 2nd place overall at 3.88 out of 5 stars...just barely behind Olympic Flame's first place slice by 0.12!

 

We really liked how well-rounded the slice was as a whole, from the cheese to the sauce, and, even though it came out of the oven looking a bit charred, it was a non-issue -- it was, by all means, a crispy and crunchy crust we all enjoyed. Superb overall -- try this slice!

 

 

We should also mention that this delectable slice costs just $2.67, making it the 2nd least expensive slice on the boardwalk, only beat by Kono Pizza ($2.50) who just began serving slices for the 2023 season. Talk about value! This will surely be reflected in our "Best Value Slice" ranking below.

 

 

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3rd Place: Mack's Pizza - Avg: 3.75

It’s no secret that Mack’s Pizza is a longtime favorite of Wildwood visitors for generations. When we set out on the first pizza tour in 2005, our goal was to avoid a popularity contest and any preconceived notions. In fact, we were certainly non-biased and open-minded, but we actually hoped lesser known pizza shops would shake up the boardwalk pizza scene and reveal themselves as better slices than popular favorites like Mack’s and Sam’s. We wanted to be surprised. We had no plans to ever share our findings publicly. The pizza tour was for us. 

 

All that considered, it has actually been quite eye opening that Mack’s has consistently been a top slice for us. This thin and crispy slice seems to always be flavorful and juicy, hitting the spot, and validating what decades and decades of people have been saying all along. Even after giving 20+ other pizza shops a chance to out-do Mack’s, this slice tends to deliver on its promise and certainly did for 2023 with a 3.75 out of 5 overall rating. This pretty slice tasted just as good as it looked.

 

 

Overall Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Brian: 4.0 Chris: 4.0 Mike: 3.0 Tim: 4.0
Slice Price: $3.00
Slice Size: 9.0 x 8.0 -- 36.0 square inches
 

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4th Place: Franconi's - Avg: 3.63

As our fourth favorite slice of 2023, Franconi’s remains a top slice for a second straight year in a row. 3 out of 4 reviewers rated this slice a highly admirable 4 out of 5 stars — not an easy accomplishment by any means. Over the years, Franconi’s has often been a highly rated slice for it's well-rounded blend of ingredients and we were extremely happy to receive another good slice this year from this centrally located pizzeria.

 

 

Overall Rating: 3.63 out of 5

Brian: 2.5 Chris: 4.0 Mike: 4.0 Tim: 4.0

Slice Price: $3.00
Slice Size: 10.0 x 6.5 -- 32.5 square inches

 

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5th Place: Little Angelo's Pizza Spot - Avg: 3.5

Little Angelo’s Pizza Spot surprised us immensely in 2022 with a top 5 slice and kept the good pizza going for 2023. One reviewer (an easy guess if you watched the video) gave this a 4.5 star rating, which is a rare achievement for any pizzeria. This cheesy slice hit the spot in the middle of the boardwalk.

☛ The article continues below!
 

Best Value Slice (Taste, Price & Size)

In addition to our taste rating, we also record price and slice measurements to determine the best value slice. We have a special in-house formula to determine best value called P3R (Pizza to Price to Points Ratio) = Slice Area * (Points / Price).

1. Steak 'Em Up - Value Rating (P3R) = 45.72

Overall Rating: 3.88 out of 5

Brian: 4.5 Chris: 3.5 Mike: 4.0 Tim: 3.5

Slice Price: $2.67
Slice Size: 9.0 x 7.0 -- 31.5 square inches

Value (P3R) Rating: 45.72
 

 

2: Mack's Pizza - P3R: 45.0
3: Olympic Flame - P3R: 42.67
4: Original Hot Spot - P3R: 41.17
5: Franconi's - P3R: 39.27
 

Largest Wildwood Pizza Slices

Some days, you spend so much time walking the boards, catching waves, and having fun in the Wildwoods, that you're starving and just want to get your hands on the biggest slice you can possibly find. We know exactly what it's like and we've got you -- these are the largest slices we found on the boardwalk for 2023! If you normally order two slices, maybe start with one and go from there with these pizzerias!

1. Joe's Pizzeria - 13.0 x 8.0 in. (52.0 sq. in.)

2: Founders Grub & Pub - 11.5 x 8.0 in. (46.0 sq. in.)
3: TIE: 3 Brothers / Crazy Junkie - 10.0 x 8.0 in. (40.0 sq. in.)
4: TIE: Little Angelo's / Original Hot Spot - 9.5 x 8.0 in. (38 sq. in.)

 

We were delighted to see a huge improvement from Snow White’s slice, jumping from 18th place in 2022 (0.9 out of 5) to 12th place in 2023 (2.88 out of 5 stars).

 

Improvements like this are truly what we always hope to see from pizzerias on the boards and why we highlight this is as a category!

 

There were clearly wholesale changes to the ingredients and preparation of this slice for the 2023 season and the whole group was in agreement with this positive review. Shout out to Snow White this year, for sure! 

 

 

Most Controversial Slices

While some slices garner general agreement among the Pizza Tour reviewers, there are certainly some that result in mixed opinions. So, which slices were the most controversial this year?

Hot Spot Cafe, Original Hot Spot, Wally's, Founders

Our “most controversial” metric looks at which slices had the greatest range of ratings from the group. That is, what slices did we have most trouble all agreeing on?

This year, the center of the boardwalk, near Mariner’s Pier, was particularly controversial. 

The Original Hot Spot (3.25 overall rating, 2.5 range) and Founders Grub & Pub (3.25 overall rating, 2.0 range) both received very positive ratings from 3 out of 4 members of the group…but in each case, 1 reviewer was not a fan.

This is interesting. Since most of the group liked these slices, you might want to try these two slices and see for yourself…

Other notable controversial slices were Wally’s (2.0 range) and Hot Spot Cafe (2.5 range).

There was only one new slice on the boardwalk for 2023 — and that was at Kono Pizza. This shop, of course, has been around for a few years but previously only served “pizza cones”.

 

Needless to say, we were excited to try out their new slice and are happy to report it rated a solid 2.75 out of 5 stars, ranking in at 13th place. 

 

While it was the second smallest slice on the boardwalk, it was also the #1 least expensive overall at just $2.50.