Take Me to the Reservoir

Even on summer's hottest days, the Reservoir Restaurant draws a crowd. While many people eat in, (BYOB and cash/checks only) nearly every time I passed by these last many weeks I saw at least one customer leaving with a stack of pizzas. On a day when the mercury hit 94 degrees, I saw a man leave the restaurant with eight pizzas. I wondered what it was that drew customers sticky with heat and Jersey humidity to the Reservoir, night after hot night. It was time to find out more.

Located at 106 W. South Orange Avenue, the Reservoir was once the northern end of South Orange's thriving Italian neighborhood. Its roots run deep: The Reservoir Club was started in Newark by Vincenza Agnellino, grandfather of the two siblings who now own it, at a time when pizza was called "tomato pie." The restaurant that remains is old-school, still family-owned, decorated with photos of politicians and celebrities who beam down at customers from above the cash register. The photos in the main dining room feature family and past views of South Orange.

The full menu is just that, full, and it includes pasta, veal, a chicken Murphy worth its weight in red bell peppers, but I was there for pizza.

Reservoir pizza is made using a recipe that dates from 1935 and kept all in the family ever since. I ordered "classic," ($10), eggplant ($11.50) pepperoni ($11.50), and SUPER ($15.50), with a Tony salad for two ($12) on the side.

The crust is doughy and soft, a nice complement to the favorite of those I tried, eggplant. The strips of eggplant are generous, a good two inches long, and thinly sliced. What's not to love about that? And the pepperoni fans at the table were impressed with the amount of meat on the pie.

Classic is just that, a traditional Jersey-style pizza, red sauce, mozzarella, and spices. This is not a place for pineapple on a pizza or alternatives to mozzarella, but the SUPER does offer variety, since it's a little of everything on a pie. (Diners can order this with or without anchovies, and the folks behind the counter make a point of asking.)

Topping choices include garlic (and lots of it, I can tell you, $11) sausage,extra cheese, mushroom,  broccoli, spinach, onion, peppers, anchovies, meatball, bacon and black olive (all $11.50), as well as shrimp, and vegetable combo (both $14.50).The prices can't be beat and it's worth a visit not only for classic pizza but a look at classic Italian South Orange.

Closed Tuesdays; BYOB; no credit cards.