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Those who've tried his polpette weren't surprised when John Speciale and his PizzAmore Italian Kitchen in Bergen County captured a swingin' hot victory in the first-ever best meatballs competition sponsored by the Jersey Pizza Joints group on Facebook.
PizzAmore's meatballs "exceed the hype," Rutherford native Gary Grattagliano wrote. "Perfect ratio of breadcrumbs to meat and seasoned to perfection with an outstanding sauce on quality real Italian bread."
The judges agreed during Pizza Bowl 2 last weekend at Redds, in the shadow of nearby MetLife Stadium on Route 120, a couple miles down from Speciale's place in Carlstadt.
The honors bestowed by JPS mean a lot.
It was during the early days of the pandemic when Guy Madsen of Clifton launched Jersey Pizza Joints at his Shore house in Seaside Heights as a way to help mom-and-pop shops like Speciale's survive the lockdown.
In the process, the group itself skyrocketed to social media prominence by offering a more democratic, roots-based -- and reliable -- resource over self-promoting, for-profit publicity hounds who ignore certain regions of the state and arbitrarily pick and choose which businesses they want to highlight.
It didn't take long for the group cultivated by Madsen and two dozen or so of his friends to amass nearly 58,000 members -- and counting -- all of whom were polled for their favorite Garden State pizza parlors and meatball joints last fall.
Speciale was a boy when he began his career washing dishes for his father's business. He wasn't crazy about it, but he said it grounded him.
Speciale, who also operates a catering business and is known for generously contributing to various charities, says the quality of PizzAmore's meatballs comes from a single goal.
"I take pride in putting out a good dish," the athletic, white-haired pizzaiolo says.
That quality draws many to the easy pitstop just a block off Route 17. It also produced a landslide victory (don't call it an avalanche) at Pizza Bowl 2.
"Meatball Johnny" chants rose from the crowd as Speciale collected his trophy.
"I am very surprised to win," he said.
He was probably the only one.
PizzAmore Italian Kitchen at 323 Broad Street in Carlstadt is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. (201) 939-1254
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