Ah, the Panzarotti!
If you’re from out of the area and you visit a pizza joint anywhere in the Delaware Valley, you may see this curiosity on the menu and wonder what it is.
First, what it isn’t. It’s not a calzone, a stromboli, a pizza twist or turnover, but you’re in the right ballpark.
The Panzarotti – Tarantini Panzarotti to be specific – is a deep fried pocket of dough stuffed with pizza sauce, cheese and other toppings, that’s meant to be picked up and eaten, often on the go. The dough is fried to a golden, crispy, crackly perfection, while maintaining an inner chewiness, and encasing its delicious, molten, gooey contents.
The story goes that this South Jersey staple was created by the matriarch of the Tarantini family, Pauline Tarantini, in the early ‘60s. She had learned to make them as a young girl in Italy, and when the family found themselves facing tough economic times, she began making the treats in the kitchen of the family’s home in Camden as a way to earn some extra money.
They soon opened a store in Camden to expand the successful operation, and today the product can be found in shops all around the region, and they even ship them nationwide.
The original Camden location, on Marlton Avenue, was sold to new owners, who still sell the product, operating now as The Panzarotti shop.
When the family sold that property, they moved the production operation to a larger location in Cherry Hill, where you can visit and buy Panzarottis frozen in bulk directly from a factory store.
Two restaurants in the area still have a direct family connection to the Tarantinis – Vincent’s in Merchantville and Franco’s Place in Westmont, where we stopped recently to give them a try.
Franco’s in particular carries an extensive menu of specialty Panzarottis featuring a number of different stuffing combinations, or you can build your own.
We sampled several during our visit and even brought some home for later and everything was outstanding.
So wherever you get them, be sure to look for that Tarantini name and you know you’ll soon be enjoying a true South Jersey classic!
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