September 12th, 2020
Princeton, NJ
When the new 101 best pizza places 2020 list came out, we immediately looked to see if any were within driving distance. We have been doing Saturday pizza drives to local NJ pizzerias for most of the summer, and we were happy to see Pizza Den was on the list at #64, and located nearby in Princeton, NJ.
Pizza Den opened in 2018, right on Nassau Street. It has small tables inside for dine-in, but it’s mostly take-out. That worked out just fine for us, as we’ve been doing take-out for all of our pizzas these days. It’s one of the new additions to the list that is partly woman-owned, as well as a family business, as it’s a wife-husband team.
We ordered two pizzas here, and took them down the street to a small park. Pizza Den said in an interview that their most popular pie is the Brooklyn-style margherita, so we ordered one of those (below). We also ordered one with ricotta and arugula (above). They have a red tomato pie and a white pie base also, and plenty of toppings for customization. The pizzas also come in three sizes, which we appreciate these days with a toddler who likes things “by his-self”.
Our thoughts on these pies were pretty mixed. We liked both pies, but neither of us was sure that they deserve to be on the 101 Best Pizzas list. There just wasn’t too much that was special about them. The crust wasn’t a stand-out, nor were the toppings. We’d expect a bit more at this point.
The motto of Pizza Den is “A good pie is personal”, which is why they don’t have any “specialty” pies on their menu and just have the basics, with optional toppings that you select yourself. That’s probably great for many people, but we like to try specialty pies more these days because they are what makes a pizzeria unique. Otherwise, we tend to forget them, especially after eating so many pizzas the last few years. If a pizzeria is going to stick to the basics, they have to be really good, and we don’t think this pizza is up to that standard.
We’ll never complain about having another option for pizza in NJ though, and it was a perfect Saturday for a picnic. James managed to eat most of the ricotta, although picked off most of the “leaves”.
To visit:
Pizza Den 242 1/2 Nassau St. Princeton, NJ 08542
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