As many as eight area restaurants are set to compete for the title of King of Pizza at the third annual Pizza Fest, scheduled to be held at the Bordentown Elks Lodge on Thursday, Nov. 7.
The Burlington Mercer Chamber of Commerce will host the pizza-tasting event in the upper ballroom of the lodge from 5 to 8 p.m.
Attendees will have a chance to to taste the pizza from all participating restaurants and vote on their favorites, with the winner being crowned the King of Pizza. The taste test is blind and open to people of all ages.
Pizza Fest will also have a cash bar and a DJ. Tickets are $15 and must be purchased in advance. They are available on the Burlington Mercer Chamber website.
Six pizzerias have been announced as participants thus far. Five would be returning from last year’s competition: Villa Mannino, Palermo’s, Sfizio Pizza, Mario and Franks II and Mangia. Joining them this year is Spatola’s, which opened last year in the former Rosario’s Pizzeria.
Marcello’s, a participant in last year’s Pizza Fest, is not currently listed as one of the competitors for this year.
Mario and Frank’s II won last year’s event, with Palermo’s taking second place and Villa Mannino third place. At the first Pizza Fest in 2022, Palermo’s took the top prize, with Sfizio the runner up.
In past years, tasters were asked to rate each pizza for its appearance, crust, sauce, cheese and flavor. Pizzas are served on colored plates and not identified in any other way to the tasters.
Steve Benowitz, who was mayor at the time and who died in January, was on hand to serve pizza at last year’s fest. He addressed the crowd briefly before the winners were announced.
“I say to you all, any time you buy pizza, keep it local, whether its Fieldsboro, Bordentown City, but mainly Bordentown Township,” Benowitz said at last year’s Pizza Fest. “Keep it local, seriously. And again we make some of the best pizza. When it comes to tomato pies, forget about Trenton. Bordentown, Fieldsboro, Bordentown City.”
Representatives from Mangia, Mario and Frank’s II and Palermo’s at the 2023 Bordentown Pizza Fest, with emcee Johnny C and the late Bordentown Mayor Steve Benowitz, who was on hand to serve pizza.,
