The 9th Annual Wildwood Pizza Tour Is Coming!
The Wildwood Pizza Tour is making it’s way to Wildwood again for it’s 9th year. This year is going to be better then ever.
The Wildwood Pizza Tour is going to be held on Friday, August 7th . If you want to be apart of the fun but you can’t make it to Wildwood then do not worry. You will be able to get live updates in real time. The Wildwood Pizza Tour will be live Tweeting the event on Twitter and giving updates on Facebook. After the event is over they will be posting a video online for all to see.
We, here at The Wildwood Video Archive, wanted to find out more information about The Wildwood Pizza Tour. We reached out to The Wildwood Pizza Tour’s creator, Chris, and asked him to answer a few questions. This is what we got.
Question One: What made you want to start The Wildwood Pizza Tour?
Chris: “Every August, a huge amount of my relatives gather for a week long reunion in Wildwood. I’ve been going since I was a month old. The idea for the tour emerged during one of these sunny days on the beach in Wildwood in 2005. After walking the two mile boardwalk countless times, I started thinking about the many pizza places along the way. Pizza on the Wildwood boardwalk is so unique. There are so many pizzerias in such a short distance. Sometimes you eat at a particular pizzeria just because it’s the closest one. Other times, you have inherited your “go-to” pizzeria from the traditions of your family or friends. The Mack’s vs. Sam’s debate is fierce and the loyalties are intense. All of these thoughts were going through my mind and I suddenly had a desire to find out for myself. I realized the only way to do that was to literally try them all.
The conversation came up on the beach with 4 of my close friends (Brian, Frank, Mike, Tim) and we somehow convinced ourselves that it would be a good idea to visit every “legitimate” pizzeria on the Wildwood boardwalk in a one-night marathon, buying a slice and rating each one. On that warm August night in 2005, we set out, unsure how many pizzerias there would be, how much it would cost and if we could even eat that much pizza. The only thing that was certain was that we would likely be incredibly full…and perhaps sick of pizza…by the end.
That night we ended up visiting 20 pizza places and Sorrento won as the best slice of the inaugural 2005 Wildwood Pizza Tour. We had a blast and have made an annual tradition of this pizza eating marathon ever since.”
Question Two : How are you able to eat all the different kinds of pizza offered at many different locations on the boardwalk?
Chris: “We do have some tricks to the process. To save our stomachs and wallets, we order just one slice of pizza at each pizzeria. We cut that slice into 5 smaller slices (long ways) so each person experiences the entire pizza from the tip to the crust. We then confidentially record our scores.”
Question Three : What do you look for in a “perfect” slice of pizza?
Chris: One of the best things about the tour is that every reviewer is different. For Mike, the sauce is the most important ingredient. For me, I really like crust and when a slice is well seasoned right out of the oven. Pizza is so simple yet so complex. Sauce, cheese, crust, crispiness, spices, and the amount of each all factor in. The temperature of the slice matters a lot and whether or not the slice is fresh from the oven or reheated also changes things. The person making that specific pizza will further impact a pizza’s outcome.
Question: What have you learned from doing The Wildwood Pizza Tour?
Chris: “Over the years, we’ve learned a lot. Mack’s and Sam’s receive most of the fanfare when it comes to pizza in Wildwood. To many people, the idea of another pizzeria having a better slice is treason and lunacy. While Mack’s and Sam’s are popular for a reason, we’ve discovered first-hand that they’re not the only ones who know how to make a good slice.”
Here is a list of the past winners:
2005: Sorrento
2006: Sorrento
2009: Santino’s
2010: Franconi’s
2011: Mack’s
2012: Olympic Flame
2013: Franconi’s
2014: Mack’s
Thank you to Chris from The Wildwood Pizza Tour for taking the time to answer our questions. We are super excited for this event and will make sure to post the results and the video once they crown a winner!
For more information on The Wildwood Pizza Tour, jump on their website wildwoodpizzatour.com
Once again, here is the link to their Facebook page and Twitter page.