This South Jersey pizza place picks up another award

It might surprise you that a little pizza joint and Italian restaurant in the middle of the pines has gained national recognition. But if you know the place then it's no real surprise.

Well, they've done it again. This time it's a local honor. Riccardo's Pizza and Italian Restaurant took top honors in both of their categories as winner of the Burlington County Times Community Choice Awards for 2024.

You might not expect award-winning, amazingly creative pizzas and Italian specialty foods in the middle of the Pine Barrens. Then again, this is New Jersey, so it's a reality.

The Russo family has been operating Riccardo's Pizza & Italian Restaurant for over 30 years in a tiny shopping center on Lakehurst Rd. in Browns Mills.

You have to work pretty hard to get the kind of recognition that they've gotten so far off the beaten path.

They have recently made the top 20 of the most popular pizzerias in all of the country coming in at #18 on the PMQ Pizza Magazine annual list.

SEE MORE: These 3 NJ restaurants were named best in the country for 2024

They've also been voted best pizza three years in a row in 2019, 2020, and 2021 by the readers of The Burlington County Times and this year came in #1 in South Jersey in the Courier Post readers poll!

I recently took a ride out to Browns Mills to see what all the buzz was about with my good buddy and colleague Steve Trevelise. Wow, the place is everything we hoped for and then some.

You have to try some of their specialty pies from the chicken parm & vodka sauce to Vito' special which is thin sliceed Italian sausage with sweet pepper and onions to their Detroit pizza or the upside-down garlic bread pizza, and that's just scratching the surface.

It's hard to find a place that makes oven-baked grinders (which I love) and Ricardo's has a variety of different versions of this classic version of the sub. They also have a full menu of chicken, veal and seafood dishes along with wraps and an amazing selection of Italian pastries for dessert.

The Russo family is from Carini Sicily, a small place where a lot of New Jersey pizza makers come from. The family and staff are warm and welcoming, and the atmosphere is an oasis of hospitality and great food in the pines.

Locals and military personnel know this place well since it's not too far from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

It's definitely worth the trip from anywhere in Jersey to check out Ricardo's in Browns Mills.

They have a seemingly endless list of specialty pizzas

You can enjoy a amazing seafood meal at Ricardo's too.

Their specialty dishes are impressive.

It wouldn't be a Sicilian pizza place in Jersey without arancini. (riceballs)

Steve Trevelise and I had a great dinner there earlier this month.

The atmosphere is modern yet warm and inviting.

There's plenty of space in their well appointed dining room.

You don't find this kind of specialty Italian pastry too many places, even in New Jersey.

You would think you're in an Italian bakery from the display case as soon as you walk in.

This unassuming little joint in a small Jersey strip mall in the middle of the Pinelands will amaze you.

Old world meets new world in Browns Mills, New Jersey.

The readers of South Jersey's biggest newspaper, The Courier Post voted Ricardo's #1 this year!

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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