Maruca's Crowned NJ's Best In Pizza Group's Pizza Bowl 2

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ — Who makes the best pizza in New Jersey? That's a daily (sometimes hourly) debate in the Facebook group Jersey Pizza Joints. From grandma pizza to Sicilian to thin crust to specialty offerings, the debates are as robust as the sauce.

The debates can be endless, but last weekend, pizzerias had the chance to put their best pies forward for a crowd of judges at Redd's Biergarten at the Meadowlands. At the end of the day, it was Maruca's Tomato Pies of Seaside Heights that came out on top, taking home the trophy as Pizza Bowl 2 champions.

Jersey Pizza Joints was the brainchild of Guy Madsen, who started the Facebook group in the early days of the pandemic in March 2020. He did it in part because he was sick of the abundance of political debates he was seeing on Facebook.

But he had a bigger reason: to help promote small businesses.

"I grew up in the restaurant business," said Madsen, who lives in North Jersey and has a summer home in South Seaside Park. "I know how hard it is to make a living in a good time."

It started as just a few friends but has since grown to more than 55,000 members and no matter what time of the day or night, you can be sure to see a pizza posted to the group. With that many members, the agreements are rare, and the arguments can get heated. North Jersey vs. South Jersey, what constitutes a "well-done" pizza and what constitutes the best sauce and cheese portions are all up for debate.

If you mention frozen pizza, you better be prepared for a verbal beatdown. And whatever you do, don't suggest pineapple is an acceptable topping. It's almost as forbidden as discussing politics in the group. That's the one hard-and-fast rule that if you break it, will get you removed.

"I made it a totally politics-free zone," Madsen said. "Make a political comment? I whack you. Keep it nice."

The endless debates about who had the best pizza spawned the first Pizza Bowl, which was held the weekend before the Super Bowl last year at Redd's Biergarten in New Brunswick. The success of that event led to Pizza Bowl 2 at Redd's Biergarten at the Meadowlands.

Jersey Pizza Joints members nominated pizzerias from around the state and voting took place online starting in the fall, narrowing the field to four in each region — North Jersey, Central Jersey, South Jersey, and the Jersey Shore.

While the first Pizza Bowl was a quiet affair because of pandemic restrictions — "We had 53 people last year," Madsen said — last weekend was a celebration, complete with ice sculptures, politicians, a band and DJs, and more than 400 participants.

It lasted more than six hours and involved 220 judges over five rounds of pizza consumption.

In addition to crowning Maruca's as the Pizza Bowl 2 champion, the group also selected the best meatballs in New Jersey. That trophy went to Pizza Amore of Carlstadt. Maruca's was also inducted into the Jersey Pizza Joints' inaugural Hall of Fame.

"The Maruca family has been making some of Jersey's best tomato pies for 72 years," Madsen said in a Jersey Pizza Joints post announcing the Hall of Fame selection. Let's all send congratulations to the Maruca family!"

"We are so honored to be the PizzaBowl2 champs!!!" the Maruca family said in a post Sunday. "We had a great time at the event yesterday and enjoyed meeting other small business owners! Thank you Guy Madsen and Jersey Pizza Joints for putting together this great event! What a fun day!"

Jersey Pizza Joints has done more than just provide a fun outlet and exposure for small businesses; the group has raised more than $11,000 for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which assists families of first responders and the military. It was created in memory of Stephen Siller, a firefighter who ran from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, to try to help with rescue efforts. Siller was among the 343 firefighters who died that day.

Of the $11,501 raised in the last five months, $5,500 was raised during the Jersey Pizza Joints Pizza Crawl on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights last fall, on Sept. 11. Madsen said the group will have a second Pizza Crawl the weekend after Labor Day in September 2022.

"PizzaBowl2 was an amazing experience," Madsen wrote in the group. "Every finalist was so deserving to be competing for the Pizzabowl Trophy."

With PizzaBowl2 complete, the debates about who's got the best pizza in the state will resume. And you can be sure the opinions will be as strong as ever.

Just don't suggest pineapple and you'll be fine.