10 strange pizza toppings New Jerseyans swear by

We ARE pizza. New Jersey is the pizza capital of the country. There are people in other states who claim to have the best pizza in the country, but we know it’s really us. And no matter where you go in New Jersey, people have different ways of enjoying their pizza. Jerseyans’ toppings are as varied as the toppings themselves!

For example, if you would’ve told me years ago I would’ve eaten a white pizza with green olives, honey and sesame seeds I would’ve told you that you were crazy. But here I am making that pizza a part of my pizza routine! We put the question to our listeners: What’s your go-to pizza topping? Here’s what we found out are the faves. Try some! You never know!

Chicken/Bacon/Ranch

It’s been said that there’s no food in the world that can’t be improved by either chocolate or ranch dressing. So it stands to reason that ranch would pump up your pizza game, too.

Fried Egg

I’m not a fan of the current “fried egg on everything” trend. But that hearty yolky umami goodness does taste amazing with cheese and sauce. Haven’t we learned this from your basic Spanish omelette?

Buffalo chicken/Celery

Buffalo sauce is amazing. And wouldn’t fight with a basic pizza sauce. And no one really understands the magic of celery. Why it adds an extra and deeper taste to so many foods, but it does. And there’s no Buffalo sauce based dish that tastes as good without celery. So I believe this could work!

Tacos

Meat lovers can kick it up a notch by throwing the taco meat on top of a pizza. But how ‘bout a line of tacos, in their shells, lined up across the top of a pizza? Imagine the crunch involved in this combo?

Salad

It sounds strange, and it is. But you can’t even imagine how yummy a good arugula or radicchio with a light vinaigrette tastes crowning a pizza! Try it and thank me profusely later!

Pickles

I’ve never done this! But I can’t wait to try!! If a salad with vinaigrette works, why wouldn’t pickles??

Clam and/or lobster

At first blush, it sounds weird. But every kind of seafood on pizza has been tried. So why not clams and oysters?

Chicken Francaise (white pie only)

Ahhhhh the white-only rule is what makes this so sensible! A delicate francaise works so well on a white pizza because the subtle breading on the franchise would be over powered by a red sauce.

Pineapple, Ham and Bacon

I’ve always been averse to sweet stuff on pizza. Then I tried honey on a white pizza and I was sold. So the pineapple gets my seal of approval. Meat, along with a smoky taste, have already become pizza staples so there’s no arguing there.

Mac and Cheese

Well, if baked ziti on a pizza is the hit that it is, it makes sense that mac and cheese would work just as well! (In my opinion, it’s gonna be cheddar, though!)

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi's own.