Pizza Review
Founded by Anthony Mackrone in 1953, this is the original Mack’s location in Wildwood, NJ that spawned a pizza trilogy family tree with Mack & Manco (now Manco & Manco) in Ocean City, NJ and Mack’s Pizza of Stone Harbor, NJ. A boardwalk pizza pioneer, Tony Mack’s joint is old school, cash only, pizza only and no call-in orders. In 1960, you could get a slice here for 20 cents, now a large pie will run you $20. This pie is very similar to the other pizzas in the Mack Family Tree with a few slight differences. The dough is very thin, fairly floppy, no crisp, a little too soft and soggy, mostly from the landslide of grease weighing the entire pie down. The shredded cheese blend tastes like sharp cheddar mixed with mozzarella, especially the charred cheese on the edges that dripped off; mostly a salty taste, completely overwhelming and drowning in oil, stifling most of the flavor. The sauce is underwhelming, using the same family recipe they use at the Mack’s offshoots, a bitter, tangy sauce lacking in sweetness, dulled by a touch of oregano but mostly overcome by the heavy grease flow here. This is basically Philly pizza at the Jersey Shore. Some locals swear by it, but mostly “Bennys” & “Phillies” flock here in the summer and line up like tourists for pizza that’s a New York 6. While most of the higher ratings are nostalgia-driven, the reality is, this is pretty average pizza, even by boardwalk standards. Mack’s of Stone Harbor is definitely better, way less grease; and this pie is just a notch below Manco & Manco. I respect the history of this pizzeria but it’s not travel worthy and I’m not waiting in long lines to order. Overall, it’s not bad pizza but I expected more from a Jersey Shore landmark.