I am a pizza "professional"...however professional in the loosest sense of the word. I am a professional pizza enthusiast. My wife has had to put up with me sampling every variety of pizza on multiple tours of Italy, as well as every noteworthy pizza joint in New Jersey, NYC or any other city we travel to.
I can enjoy all types of pizza - deep dish, traditional NY, buffalo mozz, Chicago, etc. So my love for Delorenzo's in Hamilton is not just an affinity for the "Tomato Pie" variety of pizza, but a particular appreciation for the special recipe they have created. Having had hundreds (if not thousands) of pizza experiences all around the globe, including in the home of pizza in Naples, Italy - I can definitively say DeLorenzo's in Hamilton is by far my favorite.
The standout ingredient for me is definitely the sauce. It has a unique not too sweet, not too tangy, but still a little tangy, rich, deep flavor to it. This is not your standard ROMA out of a can mass marketed pizza sauce that you find in 95% of pizza joints around here. If you are a pizza enthusiast you owe it to yourself to try it out.
I'm also a fan of Delorenzo's Tomato Pies in Robbinsville, however it is still a distant second for me in the local pizza market. Their sauce and crust are very similar, however their cheese is plain jane Sargento style. Too many preservatives and gets too salty if let sitting for a while. The similarities between Robbinsville and Hamilton are far more than the differences - however the differences are what separate a really great pizza from an oh-my-god-this-is-life-changing pizza.
We have been going for years since we were teenagers and now bring our kids as well. I will admit that for a while we did start going to Robbinsville once in a while since the Hamilton St. location was further away and in a shady area…bringing 3 kids there was a little nerve wracking. Suffice it to say, ever since the move to Sloan Ave. we haven’t been back to Robbinsville. Bigger, nicer location and easy access.
The one risk you will have is periodically your pizza might be a little too toasty. The crust needs to be crisp to be perfect – and that means they have to skate on the edge of too crisp. This results in a burnt pie and I have seen some people be put off by that. The ratio of burnt pies is quite low, however still happens often enough to mention. If you do get what you suspect is a burnt pie I would recommend first try it. You may just not be used to this style of pizza, so maybe its just toasty and not burnt. If you taste carbon, politely let the waiter know and they’ll quickly oblige by replacing with a fresh pie.
If you are not a pizza fan there isn’t much else here for you. They’ve added some nice salads to the menu since moving to Sloan Ave, but the real draw is the pizza. Also by the way – they don’t serve slices and it is BYOB.