Traveling 2 Hours to Try 2 Legendary Old Forge Pizzas!
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| Jim Mirabelli of NEPA Pizza Review and Mike Ingrassia of Philly Food and Beer stand by the “Pizza Capital of the World” landmark pin after trying Old Forge Pizza. |
Philly Foodie Heads North to Try Old Forge Pizza for the First Time
Being a pizza blogger and foodie comes with the perk of meeting a lot of very cool people virtually on social media. Sometimes these connections lead to in-person meet-ups when a foodie is headed to my area of NEPA, or if I’m traveling to another area I like to reach out to my foodie friends to get the scoop on the best places to dine.
One such opportunity to meet up arose when my buddy Mike from Philly Food and Beer contacted me because he was going to be heading to NEPA. He was kind enough to offer to bring me some tomato pies from Corropolese Bakery and we arranged a pizza swap where I made one of NEPA’s own pan fried Sicilian pizzas along with a Detroit style. After completing my first pizza swap, I can say they are awesome and I need to do them more often!
Mike wanted to try a local pizzeria, specifically some Old Forge Pizza, so we consulted my favorites and landed on the legendary Arcaro and Genell’s, which I have reviewed before. To give him the full experience we ordered a tray of red and a double crust white pizza.
The tent setup at A&G worked out perfectly as we were able to socially distance outdoors and chat about the town and a little of its history with Mike and his lovely family. We had great conversation, but my anticipation grew as the pizzas baked. I’m always fascinated with what “outsiders” who have never tried Old Forge pizza before will think about the pizza and I had 3 people ready to test out 2 old forge trays for the first time!
The pizzas came out cooked perfectly and executed to the Arcaro & Genell standard that I have come to expect so these folks would be trying what amounted to be the pinnacle of Old Forge Pizza so if they didn’t like these trays, chances are they weren’t going to like any others in the future.
I wasn’t so much interested in my own review of these pizzas as I was with the family’s reactions! We tried the white pizza first, and I read the collective first reaction as moderately positive with some cautiously positive commentary from the group – in other words they definitely didn’t hate it, and I felt everyone was leaning toward liking the cheesy and crusty tray. Mike summed it up like this: “The Double Crust White – this one is sure to appeal to a cheese lover with a thick layer of blended cheese inside of crisp layered, buttered bread shell. This one would pair wonderfully with a nice savory soup like a creamy tomato on a chilly evening.”
We finished testing the Old Forge Red cuts and the reception was much more favorable and warranted some superlatives and less guarded analysis (I enjoy reading people’s reactions, if you couldn’t tell already)! The red tray went over much better in this taste test, and Mike confirmed as much when I followed up for comment: “Red – I like this one a lot! Balanced sauce with just enough tang and a light layer of crispy raw onions. The crust is lighter than expected. This one is soft and chewy with a gentle crunch on the outer edge. The hidden onions are the highlight for me in this pizza.”
Overall, I would call this pizza swap and joint pizza review a smashing success. I got to try some Old Forge and Philly Tomato pies as well as had an expert foodie analyze my own pizza with in-depth commentary! Go check out his commentary on his instagram page to find out more about the visit and the pizza! Thanks to Mike and his wonderful family for reaching out and providing a really unique opportunity to share a “cut” of NEPA with them as well as sharing a slice of Philly with me!
The Ratings
Location: Old Forge, PA
Date: November 2020
Eat In/Take Out: Dine in (Tent)
Price: $15.00
Crust: 8.1
Sauce: 8.3
Cheese: 7.8
Overall Taste: 7.9
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 8.3
Overall Value: 7.1
OVERALL RATING: 8.1
Pizza Ordered: Double Crust White
Price: $10.00
Crust: 7.8
Sauce: N/A
Cheese: 7.9
Overall Taste: 7.8
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 8.1
Overall Value: 6.8
OVERALL RATING: 7.8
A&G – BIGGER and Better Than Ever
When I first started this website more than 2 years ago, of course one of the first locations I went to was the Pizza Capital of the World – Old Forge. There are several heavyweight pizzerias to consider in town with some serious national recognition. Both Revello’s and Arcaro and Genell (among others) have made national best pizza in the state and country lists over the years so why wouldn’t I buy into the hype and head there? I’ve been back several times to review some of the other popular pizzerias and all have been wonderful if you are into this genre of pizza. If you check out my last review of A&G, you will see that I liked it, but it wasn’t the best single pizza I’ve had from there, so I was back for more because I know how good their pizza can be.
When I arrived, I was surprised to see a much, much different looking building than when I last saw it. There appeared to be a large addition to the left side, and as I approached the building I noticed that there was a very exciting addition to the right side – 2 BOCCE BALL courts and what looked to be the beginning of an outdoor patio! You all know that I love pizza, but I really love playing bocce, so if I ever get the chance to combine the two I’ll be back soon! I was dining in the large banquet room for lunch and noticed that room had been updated pretty significantly as well. I was in heaven just chilling out in my new surroundings, but I had a job to do, and that was to review the pizza.
A group of us ordered an Old Forge Red pizza for the table and it was ready in just a few minutes. Of course the group waited for me to take the first slice and try it, which is always incredibly awkward but I pushed through and chowed down. The first thing I noticed was that this pizza was cooked very nicely, not overdone, but also crispy enough to satisfy my desire for some crunch. The dough was very tender and flavorful – I would surmise that this was a fresh shell. My favorite part of the pizza was definitely the sauce, which had a little more backbone than I recall. The tomatoes were fresh, slightly chunky, with a nice seasoning blend and just a hint of zest that worked perfectly with my taste buds. The cheese, which was some sort of blend of possibly cheddar and muenster (or something like that) balanced the whole thing out carefully. Of the approximately 20 pizzas I’ve had from Arcaro and Genell, this was definitely the best one yet. I’m going to go so far and say that this was among the top 2-3 Old Forge Pizzas I’ve ever had!
All in all, this trip to Arcaro’s was a smashing success as I received a pizza that was much better than the last and the best from A&G to date. I also got a glimpse of what is going to be an unbelievable place to eat, drink, play, and celebrate. I can easily see showers, weddings, graduation parties, etc being held at the new A&G! I can’t wait to see the finished product. Has anyone else checked it out?!
Date: July 2014
Pizza Ordered: Old Forge Red
Sauce: 4.5/5
Cheese: 4.5/5
Overall Taste: 4.5/5
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 4/5
Overall Value: 3/5
OVERALL RATING: 4.25/5
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| Old Forge Red Pizza from Arcaro and Genell in Old Forge |
My First Pizza Review – The Journey Begins in the Pizza Capital of the World!
I’ve had Arcaro’s pizza at least a dozen time in my lifetime, and I must say I was looking forward to this pizza being my first review since it’s sold in the “Pizza Capital of the World.”
When I first open the box (see photo) the incredible smell of Arcaro’s signature sauce quickly filled my vehicle, and I couldn’t resist grabbing a cut even before I returned home. After taking my first bite, I tasted the light, flavorful sauce, (which I think may have some onion in it?). The cheese was a bit salty on this particular tray and was perhaps a tad bit out of balance on the flavor side. Another signature of the A&G pizza is it’s thick, fluffy crust that allows a person to eat numerous slices in one sitting and not even realize it.
Location: Old Forge, PA
Date: June 2012
Pizza Ordered: 1/2 Tray Red (6 cut)
Price: $7.50
Eat In/Take Out: Take Out
Sauce: 9.2
Cheese: 7.1
Overall Taste: 7.2
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 7.2
Overall Value: 6.8
OVERALL RATING: 7.4
