Pizza Tour 2016 Results

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

2016 Pizza Tour Details

Starting Point: North Wildwood, Little Nicky's Pizza
Pizza Places Reviewed: 23
Average Price Per Slice: $2.49 (Up 12 cents)
Most Expensive Slice: Jumbo's -- $3.54
Least Expensive Slice: Fredo's Pizza -- $1.00
Overall Average of All Slices: 2.4 out 5 (Up .24)
Time Spent: 3.75 hours (Starting time: 6:15 pm End time: 10:00 pm)
Reviewers: Chris, Brian, Mike, Frank, Tim

The Best Wildwood Slice 2016

1.) Olympic Flame - Avg: 4.2

Is Olympic Flame an underdog? A dark horse? A surprise? To most folks, we suppose the answer is a yes. Sure, they might not have the reputation of some Wildwood pizzerias, but they’re no strangers to making great pizza — Olympic Flame has been consistent, clocking in at 2nd place on the Wildwood Pizza Tour for the past 3 years. This year was an extremely tight competition and Olympic Flame won the Best Slice award with a 4.2 rating, edging out Franconi’s Pizza and Joe’s Pizzeria by just 0.1.

What makes the slice great? Like all pizza tour winners, our slice from Olympic Flame was a crowd pleaser, rated well by all 5 raters. The medium thick crust was light and crispy thanks to the pan-baking process. The cheese was plentiful and flavorful, lightly and perfectly seasoned with a touch of garlic. The sauce on our slice was sweet and minimal, but it surely didn’t detract from the overall deliciousness. If you like a little dough on your slice and a great cheese, we can’t recommend this slice enough — every bite hit the spot.

Overall Rating: 4.2 out of 5
Chris: 4.5 Brian: 4.0 Frank: 4.5 Mike: 3.5 Tim: 4.5
Slice Price: $2.50
Slice Size: 8.00 x 6.5 -- 26.0 square inches

2.) Franconi's Pizza - Avg: 4.1

We’re running out of ways to compliment Franconi’s Pizza — they’ve won the tour the 2 out of the past 3 years and have one of the best deals (and largest slices) on the boards. We think of Franconi’s as a slice that will make just about anyone happy — just the right amount of a crust, good cheese, good sauce — how can you go wrong?

Overall Rating: 4.1 out of 5
Chris: 3.5 Brian: 4.5 Frank: 4.0 Mike: 4.0 Tim: 4.5
Slice Price: $2.00
Slice Size: 10.00 x 7.5 -- 37.50 square inches

3.) Joe's Pizzeria - Avg: 4.1

Joe’s Pizzeria surely has a reputation for being largest slice on the Wildwood boardwalk — but at the end of this year’s tour, the flavor of Joe’s slice really stood out in our memory. Bursting with flavor, our slice was well-seasoned and the sauce was plentiful and delicious. Rating-wise, Joe’s tied Franconi’s Pizza for 2nd place and only ranks at 3rd due to being a more expensive slice (however, it should be noted, it is the largest slice on the boards, so the cost can indeed be justified).

Overall Rating: 4.1 out of 5
Chris: 4.0 Brian: 4.0 Frank: 4.5 Mike: 3.5 Tim: 4.5
Slice Price: $3.50
Slice Size: 14.50 x 7.0 -- 50.75 square inches

4: Fisher's - 3.9
5: Mack's Pizza - 3.6

Best Bang for Your Buck (Taste, Value & Size)

P3R (Pizza to Price to Points Ratio) = Slice Area * (Points / Price)

1. Fredo's Pizza - Value Rating (P3R) = 83.09

At $1.00, Fredo’s Pizza wins the Best Value slice of 2016. The overall ranking for Fredo's was a remarkable 10 places higher than 2015 (21st place in 2015 to 11th place in 2016). With the average slice of pizza costing $2.49, our slice of Fredo’s was decent for the $1.00 price tag. Honorable mention goes to Franconi’s Pizza and Fisher’s.

2: Franconi's Pizza - P3R: 76.88
3: Fisher's - P3R: 61.43
4: Joe's Pizzeria - P3R: 59.45
5: 3 Brother's Pizza- P3R: 49.00

Largest Wildwood Slice

1. Joe's Pizzeria - 50.75 sq. inches

Is there anything better than a good tasting slice that is also HUGE? Joe's Pizzeria has held the "Largest Slice" title since we started measuring Wildwood pizza in 2012. They also deserve an honorable mention because they tend to rank well from a taste perspective (they were a commendable Bronze Medal winner this year). Their enormous brick-oven pizzas are notably served with swirls of cheese and nicely seasoned sauce, which apparently we find very enjoyable. Jumbo's pizza, the 2nd largest slice on the boards, is right on their tails from a size and taste perspective -- They ranked 5th in the best slice category. If you typically order two (or more slices) when you go out, you might want to start with just 1 slice and go from there...

Slice Size: 14.5 x 7.0 inches - 50.75 square inches
Chris: 4.0 Brian: 4.0 Frank: 4.5 Mike: 3.5 Tim: 4.5

 

2: Original Hot Spot - 45.00 sq. inches
3: La Cava's - 45.00 sq. inches
4: Jumbo's Pizza - 40.25 sq. inches
5: Sam's Pizza Palace - 40.0 sq. inches

Most Improved Slice (from 2015 to 2016)

1. Fisher's - improved 2.2 points - final score 3.9

Overall Rating: 3.9 out of 5 (improved 2.2 points from 2015)
Chris: 4.0 Brian: 3.0 Frank: 4.0 Mike: 4.5 Tim: 4.0

No one saw this coming. I mean, no one. Fisher’s shocked all 5 raters with a slice that looked as good as it tasted. We’re not sure who is making the pizza at Fisher’s this year, but he or she deserves a raise. Fisher’s jumped 10 spots to number 4 overall pizza slice. We’re still not sure what happened, but we’re happy to be a part of it.