Chimney Rock Inn

Not exactly a chain, but they have 3 different locations, including this Bound Brook spot that supposedly dates back to 1863 when it was a bed and breakfast. That’s almost 160 years in the service industry, which is absolutely incredible. Evidently they’ve been making thin crust pizza here since 1955, which is the name of their standard cheese pie: “The Rock ‘55.” Their “large” pizza is actually a 14” bar pie. If you’re looking for something bigger, you can order the “Whopper” (18”) or for big parties you can get the “Epic” (28”). I opted for the large and upon first impression, it looked like, felt like, and tasted like generic frozen pizza. Miraculously, it grew on me with each bite, getting tastier and tastier, going from garbage to good after 2 slices. The sauce is actually sneaky delicious, not particularly sweet but seasoned well with a little kick, getting even better towards the remarkably crunchy crust. The cheese is pretty basic, a tad thickish for thin crust, fairly tight with a nice layer of char. The dough is razor thin, surprisingly tasty, decently crispy, with an outrageously crunchy cracker-like crust. Overall, this is a unique and somewhat polarizing pizza in both taste and texture. After a rough start, I really came around to enjoying this pie as a whole. While it might be everyone’s cup of tea, I think it’s very solid among bar pies.