I'm a southside pizza guy. I grew up with crispy square cut "tavern" style pies and pan style. I also dig traditional wood fired or coal fired pies. The foldable, chewy crust thing has never been my ideal pizza. When I think of that style it recalls the rubbery, corporate junk that I ate at childhood sleepovers. I've had some pretty great pies in the charred, high heat fashion out east, but the whole slice thing is lost on me, I want my pizza cooked fresh, thank you. The very fine pizza at Dante's just might have convinced me of the beauty of the East Coast chewy crust style.
One of the owners of Dante's is an old buddy of mine and I was thrilled when they opened up shop this year. I'd never had Jersey style pie, but my Brooklyn native buddy had declared their pizza as the best NY style slices in the city. So, it was high time to pay Dante's a visit for take out this evening.
My girlfriend's favorite food is pizza and I'm not sure if it was the hunger talking, but she actually proclaimed that this was the best pizza she'd ever had. It was pretty damned good. The sauce was bright and pronounced, the cheese was definitely high quality, stringy and salty. The crust was fantastic with crunch on the bottom and edges, yielding a toothsome chew with the occasional bubble. The edges seemed to be brushed with oil or butter and a sprinkle of parmesan and dried herbs. Other toppings were applied with a judicious hand, which I appreciate. We had a house salad too, which was not much to mention. The pie, alone, will have us returning pretty soon I imagine. Worth noting is that they only serve in one size 20", cut into 8 quite large slices. After two slices each we were plenty full, but it was so delicious that we had to split a third piece. These pies will feed three to four.