Howell Pizzaria Voted Among Top 8 Pizza Joints In Jersey Shore

HOWELL, NJ — Howell's own Capricci Pizzeria made it to the top eight pizza joints in a competition launched by Jersey Pizza Joints, a Facebook group with over 49.5 thousand members on Facebook.

Voting is open to the public until Dec. 15, when the top four restaurants (the "Fabulous 4 Top Pizza Joints") will move on to the next round and be invited to a live "bake-off" hosted by Redds Biergarten in the Meadowlands on Feb. 5.

"I'm just thankful that I'm competing with these great businesses that are up on the top eight. It's a big accomplishment," restaurant owner Anthony Anzivino told Patch. "Some of those guys have been around 20 years, 30 years. I've only been around for five."

Anzivino moved from corporate America into the restaurant world a few years ago.

He had a longtime connection with the industry, working at a pizzeria for his first job and for about 10 years helping manage a friend's place as a part-time, two nights a week. But there was still a big leap to be made.

"It was a big change but it was something that I always wanted to do," he said. "I wanted to do my own thing. All my life I worked for somebody. I'm not one of those kind of people that [say] 'could have, would have, should have.'"

Anzivino bought Capricci from the previous owner in 2016 and has been serving fresh, homemade Italian food ever since.

As to why Capricci was chosen as one of the top eight pizzerias in the area by popular vote, Anzivino said the quality of the food was the driving factor.

"We don't use anything cheap," he said. "I think just the combination of good quality and good customer service is driving people to return."

Some of the most popular dishes include the pizza San Marzano, the penne alla vodka and the chicken francese.

Anzivino said he's also a "big community guy."

"I probably couldn't have asked for a better place to be in than Howell. They're a very receptive community and they do the best they can to support all small businesses," he said.

To vote for the top pizza joints visit this post.

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