I just got word that my review would not make the cut. So it looks like my dreams of getting paid to eat are put on hold... For now.
Stan's Chitch's Café
14 Columbus Pl
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
(732) 356-0899
The original Chitch’s Cafe opened in the mid 1930’s making it one of only a few places in Somerset County serving pizza. At that time a bakery, now closed for decades whose name no one seems to remember was also in the pizza business, a few years later and a few miles down the road De Lucia’s in Raritan began selling pizza out of their bread bakery and it was not until the1950s that the Chimney Rock Inn in Bridgewater, who opened in the late 1800s also added pizza to their menu. If you were eating pizza in the 30’s and 40’s in this area there is a good chance that you were eating it at Chitch’s Cafe.
In 1972 Stan, a local man bought Chitch’s Café, hence the name Stan’s Chich’s Café. Today Stan is semi retired, he has turned the kitchen over to the third generation, but still can be found at his namesake in the mornings setting up or stocking shelves.
I am not sure where the “Café” fits in, because Stan’s Chitch’s Cafe is anything but your typical café. Upon entering you can barley see your hand in front of your face, but that is just one of the things that adds to the ambience of this quirky shaped building filled with old school tables and booths, that are topped with cheese and crushed red pepper filled baby food jars. The drink menu includes classics like Birch Beer soda and plenty of draft beer poured from the tiny front room bar. Like many of its Bound Brook neighbors, every few years Stan’s get completely wiped out due to a flood, the last one threatening to almost shut them down for good. Other then occasionally being closed due to waste high water this Polish owned, old school restaurant and bar has been turning out good bar pies to packed rooms for 80 years.
Stan’s has a full menu with typical pedestrian Italian specialties but it is obvious just by looking at customers tables that it is the pizza that has been bringing a steady stream of people in for the past eighty years. Stan’s pizza is prepared in a similar fashion to many New Jersey bar pie heavy weights, most notably the Star Tavern. This thin crust pizza is baked in a thin, slight oiled pan in a fairly new gas fired, Bakers Pride oven, which is Stan’s second oven in ten years. Unfortunately, every flood seems to bring the need for a new oven. Many purveyors of the bar pie finish the cooking process directly on the oven bricks, but Stan’s, just like Star uses the pan start to finish. A few seconds before the pie leaves the kitchen you can hear what sounds like pounding on a metal prep table coming from the family filled kitchen. This sound is the eight slice hand guillotine style pizza cutter, which ensures a perfect slice every time.
The hallmark of any place that features pizza is the plain slice. This particular perfectly cut slice was topped with a sweet flavored, smooth consistency tomato sauce, that was not overly spiced and Sorrento mozzarella cheese, sliced not shredded. The pizza had good coloring and was cooked well. I wouldn’t call my first bite disappointing, because it was definitely tasty, but it didn’t jump out at me as I hoped it would. It seemed to be lacking in one key area; the crust, which was a bit dense and flavorless reminding me of an unsalted cracker. Although the plain didn’t thrill my palate as I hoped it would, later in this culinary adventure I found the cheese and sauce combination to be a good base for Stan’s great toppings.
The next pie in line after the plain was an out of the ordinary “Half Sausage, No Cheese and Half Cheese”. According to diehards and regulars alike this pie is a staple at Stan’s and was a definite hit at our table. The sausage was cooked and finely crumbled before being put on the raw dough, then baked. Upon arrival at our table, the crust had a nice golden color, appearing to be cooked to perfection. As for taste, I found the fennel in the sausage to be a bit over powering, but I was the only one in my party to feel this way. What everyone did agree upon however is despite having been perfectly cooked, the crust on this particular pie also lacked in flavor.
We then moved onto to my favorite of the night and definite show stealer, the “Half Meatball with Cheese and Half Cheese”. The chopped meatball at Stan’s is about as close to perfect as a meatball not made at home can be. In fact I recently heard from a regular customer that they are known for their spaghetti and meatballs. As excited as I was about this combination of delicious meatball that was anything but bland, sweet tomato sauce and cheese, for the third time that night I found the crust to be the disappointing factor and unlike the sausage pie this crust was not cooked to perfection having “weak spots” throughout and the same bland taste.
What seemed to make Stan’s pies come together in the end for me were the outstanding toppings.
You don’t see many places like this anymore. I’m sure if you took a snap shot every night for the past 30 years everything except for the fashion would look the same and even that is questionable. If you are feeling nostalgic, then a trip back in time to Stan’s is definitely worth it, just don’t go on a Sunday when they are closed. They might not be the best New Jersey has to offer, but they definitely serve good thin crust pizza with delicious toppings at a fair price, $9.00 for a plain, $1.00 more for a topping. Take out is also available.
I can’t wait to try the spaghetti and meatballs…
