Pizza Man Family Restaurant

Pizza Man Family Restaurant
574 Newark-Pompton Turnpike, Clock Tower Shoppes, Pompton Plains
973-835-3383

Hours: Mon-Fri, 11 am-10:30 pm; Sat, 11 am-11 pm; Sun, noon-9:30 pm.

Price: $/$$

Style: Located in a strip mall. The casual sit-down dining area shares space with a busy takeout counter.

Don’t Miss: The garlic bread ($4.50; 1/2 loaf, $2.50); it’s crunchy, loaded with garlic and a generous sprinkle of mozzarella. Mussels ($7.95, small; $12.95, large) are an excellent starter, offered hot or sweet in a tasty marinara. Pizza—crust any way you like it and all the usual options—is almost an afterthought here, despite the name. There is a huge selection of Italian entrée favorites, including linguine with fresh clams ($14.95) in a garlicky white sauce; chicken Marisa ($13.95), with mushrooms, eggplant and mozzarella in a Marsala sauce; and the Pizza Man trio ($12.95), rollatini-style eggplant stuffed with shrimp, veal and cheese. The chef’s specials are terrific and filling. Try the pasta festival ($15.95), chicken, shrimp, sundried tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms and broccoli in a brandy cream sauce over bowtie pasta. Daily specials, such as shrimp and asparagus ($17.95) in white sauce with toasted, seasoned breadcrumbs over angel hair pasta, are large enough to split—and still have leftovers.

Heads Up: Owned by CIA graduates Carmen Aparo and Anthony Presti, Pizza Man doesn’t take reservations and often requires a wait for seating; take out and delivery are available.

The Scoop: Homemade desserts, like peanut butter pie (peanut butter mousse with thin layers of caramel and chocolate), are worth saving room for.