Matarazzo’s – Small Shop, Big Portions!
Matarazzo’s Pizza is a small pizzeria in Moosic/Scranton on Birney Avenue that might be easy to overlook if you aren’t a local or didn’t know where you were going. I first learned about Matarazzo’s when they joined the NEPA Pizza Madness Tournament in 2016 and was finally in the area looking for a new pizzeria to try and they happened to be open for lunch. When you pull up to the restaurant, it’s a pretty unassuming takeout-looking joint, but when you get inside it has a pretty cozy and clean little dining room to eat in. We looked over the menu and found that all of the prices were extremely reasonable.
The first lady of NEPA Pizza and I have been eating a crazy amount of fruits and vegetables since the birth of the Pizza Prince of NEPA so we needed to get into some different food groups – namely all of them! The pizza was a natural choice, seeing as I do run a pizza blog and the perfect food spans every single food group depending on topping choices. We also were in the mood for some wings, and decided to splurge a little further on those as well. The pricing on these items was very fair with a large 16″ round pizza costing $10.99 and an order of 20 jumbo wings for $13.99. 
After placing the order, the wait for our wing appetizers was not long, and they came out looking marvelous. As advertised, they were jumbo sized wings with plenty of meat on them. The mild sauce was a fairly standard cayenne pepper sauce and butter with a little garlic combination which was very good. We noted that the mild was not all that spicy but carried a ton of great flavor. They were cooked to a very nice crispiness and really satisfied. Twenty wings proved to be a little ambitious for us to eat in one sitting along with a pizza considering the generous size of the wings, but we were happy to have our next meal taken care of! 
After enjoying our wings, the pizza wasn’t far behind. At first glance, the pizza had a fairly thick crust around the edge and appeared to be thinner in the middle. The cheese was very generously applied, so for any cheese lovers out there, Matarazzo’s doesn’t skimp on the queso! The pizza was cooked very nicely – crisp around the edges and soft in the middle. The crust actually surprised me with how soft and tender it was and how light the edge was (check out the air bubbles in the pics)! This pizza was quite hearty and flexible, so I deemed the “NY fold” as the best way to devour it. The generous amount of cheese and thin crust gave me sort of a calzone sensation when folded in half which was great. If I had to guess, I’d say the cheese was some sort of mozzarella and perhaps cheddar blend because it had a bit of richness and saltiness to it that was very satisfying. The sauce was pretty standard with touches of sweetness and bitterness offset by some moderate seasonings.
Overall, I have to say that Matarazzo’s exceeded our expectations and we very much enjoyed our experience here. It’s a great place to grab lunch or a quick bite, but I would plan on ordering takeout for parties in the future given the very reasonable prices and the huge portion sizes. The service was speedy, friendly, and courteous and we look forward to a return visit. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this little pizza joint to the NEPA Nation. As always, if you’ve visited Matarazzo’s, please share your thoughts in the comments!
Restaurant: Matarazzo’s Pizza
Date: November 2018
Pizza Ordered: 16″ Large Pizza
Sauce: 3/5
Cheese: 4/5
Overall Taste: 4/5
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 4.25/5
Overall Value: 4/5
OVERALL RATING: 3.75/5
Similar to: Dino and Francesco’s, Sacco’s, Roberto’s
UPDATE: REVIEW #2!
Date: July 2020
Pizza Ordered: 2 Slices NY Style Pizza
Sauce: 7.6
Cheese: 8.2
Overall Taste: 8.3
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 7.7
Overall Value: 8.7
OVERALL RATING: 7.9
