Dan Richer checks one of his creations at Razza Pizza Artigianale.
Dan Richer’s goal is a modest one.
"I want to make this the best pizzeria in the country,’’ says the co-owner of Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City.
"I don’t have an ego, right?’’ he adds, laughing.
Possibly no other slice of the food industry is as competitive as the pizza business, but Richer had already distanced himself from the pack before opening Razza. Arturo’s in Maplewood, which he co-owns with Fred Shandler, has long received acclaim for its pizzas and pasta.
Now comes Razza, comfortably ensconced in the former Bar Majestic. The space is actually smaller than Arturo’s, but it’s much more atmospheric, with the Majestic’s handsome bar at ground level and the cozy dining room several steps up.
The menu is spare — "there’s nothing on it,’’ Richer says, with mild understatement. There are five pizzas, three salads, six "small plates,’’ and a daily pasta special.
He makes his own yeast culture and doesn’t subscribe to the strict rules set down by Verace Pizza Napoletana, an association that "certifies’’ true Neapolitan pizza, which has become all the rage the past few years.
"Soupy’’ is the word he uses to describes much authentic Neapolitan pizza, which must be cooked in a wood-fired oven and made with type 00 flour and San Marzano tomatoes, among other strictures.
Richer is having none of it. His flour is milled not in Italy but Clifton. He uses locally sourced ingredients when possible. He makes his own bread, and dreams one day of opening a bakery around the corner from Razza.
Both pizzas we tried on a recent night — a margherita ($15), and a Farm Pie ($15) with fresh mozzarella, Jersey brussels sprouts, leeks and bacon emulsion — were terrific. Uber-fresh cheese, crisp crust, perfect char. No "soupy’’ anywhere to be found.
The ricotta crostini ($6) pairs standout bread with more silky, creamy cheese, and the fire-roasted meatballs (polpette al forno, $8) — are the kind of meatballs, and sauce, I’d happily greet the end of the world with.
Richer’s philosophy is fewer, simpler ingredients, but the homemade gnocchi with maitake, crimini and oyster mushrooms ($18) needed something — sauce, olive oil, herbs? — to raise it from the depths of bland.
The apple sauce ($7), made from Jersey apples, brown sugar and vanilla bean, is a creme brulee-like confection served on the chilled side, leaving us to wonder how wonderful it would have been warm.
But you don’t go to a pizzeria for dessert. Start with some handmade bread and butter, don’t miss the meatballs, and proceed to pizza. Others include the Bianco (white), the Mai Pie (fresh mozzarella, maitake and crimini mushrooms, and parmigiano) and the Fennel (fresh mozzarella, shaved fennel, onion, parmigiano).
"Find amazing ingredients, then back off,’’ the 32-year-old Richer says of his mission at Arturo’s and Razza.
Razza has been open just two months, but for pizza it’s already well ahead of the greasy mediocrity that defines much of Jersey pizza.
Razza Pizza Artigianale
275 Grove St. Jersey City; (201) 356-9348. Hours: 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Tuesday. Website: razzanj.com.
Peter Genovese: (973) 392-1765 or pgenovese@starledger.com; Twitter, @NJ_Munchmobile and @petegenovese.