September 1st, 2018
Ridgewood, NJ
I grew up in Ridgewood, NJ, but I had never heard of A Mano pizza until this past year. Of course, the pizzeria opened in 2007, which was about ten years after I moved away, and many years before we became truly pizza-obsessed. The pizza at A Mano has always been real, authentic, Neapolitan pizza. We took a trip up to Ridgewood a few weeks ago to try it with James, before this year’s list was even announced.
As I said, this is true Neapolitan pizza. When it opened, it was one of only three pizza places in the US that is certified by the VPN AND the APN. The pizzaiolo here back in 2007 was Robert Caporuscio, which, if you are familiar with the pizza world, should mean something to you. (If it doesn’t, he’s the man behind one of our other favorite Neapolitan pizzas in NYC, Kesté). He’s also the president of the APN. I’m taking a wild guess that the other pizzerias currently holding both certifications are his more recent ventures: Kesté and Don Antonio, although I couldn’t find stats on this.
If you are interested in reading about the difference between the VPN and the APN, this is a good article. Basically, to become APN certified, you have to spend many days at Robert’s side (or at the side of another APN board member), learning the “true Italian” standards of making pizza. He’s basically said that he makes the best pizza in the US, and so this is the only way to ensure quality. I mean, I agree that his pizzas are amazing, but having a special certification to say that you’ve learned from him and worked along side him seems a little ego-centric, to me.
But anyway, back to A Mano. We ordered a Margherita pizza, and one with pistachio and pesto. They were both bigger than a usual Neapolitan pie, but we were not complaining. The pizzas were excellent. We wondered how this place hadn’t made it on to the list. Just look at how James stares at it!
We were very pleased to see A Mano make the new 2018 list. It ranks in at #81, probably because it is located in the NYC ‘burbs of North Jersey, and a lot of people probably haven’t made the trip out to try it. We think it should climb the ranks next year.
Now that it’s officially on the list, we will have to go back! We love it when a new place in NJ makes the list – we don’t have to travel so far to enjoy it.
To visit:
A Mano
24 Franklin Ave
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
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