Along with locations in Red Bank and their newest spot in Colts Neck, Via Sposito in Old Bridge serves well done coal-fired pizzas, also known as a “Dave Portnoy Special.” Razor thin, ultra crispy, with more cheese bubbles than a zit-faced teenager, the texture of this pie is right up Portnoy’s alley. I’ve never seen this many cheese bubbles on a pizza in my life; usually you get 1 or 2, maybe 3, but this is completely bubbalicious. The dough is paper thin, with a well done char, bordering on the brink of burnt, along with outrageous crunch and crisp. If you’re judging on texture alone, this pie rates in the 9s; however, taste is equally important to me, and that’s where the score comes back down to Earth. The sauce lacks sweetness; it’s more of a bitter oregano flavor and the overall quantity leaves the pie a little dry. I’d prefer a sweeter sauce with a bit more spice to match the exquisite crisp. The cheese is also a tad too tight and rigid, with way too many air bubbles, robbing the pie of creaminess. All in all, the taste isn’t bad; rating on taste alone, it’s in the 7s, but the off-the-charts texture makes this pie worth traveling for and bolstering the total score into the 8s. In a classic battle of texture vs taste, the texture gets the win here, while I think there’s room to improve the overall flavor of the other ingredients. An absolute must-try for Portnoy and fans of crispy thin coal-fired pizza.
