A Seaside Heights, NJ Pizzeria Takes Top Prize at Jersey Pizza Bowl

Over the weekend, 16 New Jersey pizzerias went head-to-head to fight for the title "Best Pizza in New Jersey" at The 2nd Annual Jersey Pizza Bowl!

Over the weekend, the creator of the Facebook Group Jersey Pizza Joints, Guy Madsen hosted this delicious yet charitable event where over 220 judges blindly rated pizza for at least six rounds worth of eating!

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And yes...a Jersey Shore pizzeria ended up winning 1st place...

Here were the Jersey Shore Pizzeria finalists in case you forgot:

Before anyone cries that votes were biased or people were playing favorites, judges couldn't even if they wanted to.

Judges were separated into groups of 48 each with colors: blue, red, yellow, green, and purple.

Pizza was given to each "color" of judges separately so those trying pizza in the red group had no idea which pizza the green group was trying or what they thought of it.

In addition, judges have not told which pizzeria each slice came from or which region of New Jersey the pizzeria was located in.

Judges were solely ranking based on taste and nothing else.

Quick pause.

I want to give props where they are due: Guy Madsen donated 20% of ticket sales from the event to The Tunnels To Towers Foundation. That ended up being just over $2,000!

Did you miss the event?

Let's take a sneak peek at what went down:

Just in that gallery alone, there clearly were quite a few Pizzeria finalists competing, but only one could take home the gold and be given the label: The Best Pizza in New Jersey!

So who won?

I am proud to say that yes, it was a Jersey Shore pizzeria that took home 1st place!

Congratulations to the Best Pizzeria in New Jersey:

Maruca's Tomato Pies!!

Maruca's was also inducted in the New Jersey Pizza Hall of Fame which is well deserved because they have been serving slices for over 50 years!

Plus, who doesn't know about that beautiful tomato sauce spiral?

If you have not had a chance to try them yet, here are there two locations:

601 Ocean Terrace, Seaside Heights

1050 N Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park

I was very lucky to have Maruca's owner, Domenic A Maruca on my show to talk about the win!

Here he is in case you missed it:

Do you want to see some footage of Maruca's and other competitors in action? All video was provided by Johnny C. the Pizza Guy as well!

Then let's take a look...

Here is Maruca's owner, Domenic A. Maruca, doing what he does best:

Here is Rob Brooklyn of Zoni's Coal Fired Pizza in Red Bank who took home 2nd place among the Jersey Shore finalists!

Let's see you FLEX:

It may have been a competition, but there was nothing but love in that kitchen:

Seriously, if you have not tried Maruca's or Zoni's yet, put them on your to do list NOW! They are now considered the two top pizzerias at the Jersey Shore so you won't regret it.

Thank you to Guy Madsen and Johnny C for all the photos and videos!

In the mood for pizza now? Here are some other solid Jersey Shore options: