The third annual Hoboken Mutzfest saw no change in the top prize-winners, with M&P Biancamano winning the people’s choice award for best mozzarella for the third straight year and Vito’s Deli winning the critic’s choice for mozzarella for the second year in a row.
Vito’s earned the critic’s choice for best sandwich for the second time. It also won the first ever kid’s choice award for best mutz. And Biancamano and Tony Boloney’s tied in another new category for best table presentation.
It was hard to find any losers among the crowd. Attendees of the Jan. 25 event at the Elks Lodge enjoyed Sinatra classics sung by Angelo Cerrone and Eric DeLauro and enough mutz to make you sick.
The contestants got large-scale exposure for their wares, and the ticket proceeds raised thousands of dollars for the Hoboken Family Alliance (HFA), which then provided them to several charities: the Hoboken Elks, the Special Olympics, and the Alliance’s own annual Bike Camp, which teaches children with disabilities how to ride a two-wheeler.
In addition, a portion of the money will be donated to those affected by the recent fire at the Avalon at Edgewater apartment complex.
“I want a warm baby [mozzarella] newborn.”—Anthony Giglio
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Diverse bunch
The field this year included three restaurants — Little Town NJ, Margherita’s, and Tony Boloney’s — and four delis, Biancamano, Vito’s, Sasso’s, and Little Eataly. The final deli is also the first ever Mutzfest contestant from outside of Hoboken. The sandwich shop is based in North Arlington, just north of Kearny.
HFA coordinator Theresa Howard said all establishments making their own fresh mozzarella in the city were invited to participate, but only two of the city’s seven longtime “original” Italian delis came this year.
“People tend to take [Mutzfest] very seriously, but it’s intended to be a fun event,” said Howard.
Howard said the North Arlington deli had written to HFA last April asking to be a part of the competition. Since only six Hoboken businesses participated, they were able to add the outsider.
Mutz on the mind
This year’s panel of judges had a lot to say about mozzarella. Anthony Giglio, a well-traveled writer on food and wine and former resident of Hoboken, was impressed by the level of creativity on display.
Though his tastes run toward the classics, Giglio said he liked the way some contestants used mozzarella as a “totally malleable flavor vehicle” for non-traditional combinations. In particular, he enjoyed a Cuban-style sandwich with ham, mozzarella, and pickles.
As for the plain mutz, Giglio’s criterion is clear. “I want a warm baby newborn,” he said, freshly birthed from a salt bath, soft yet slighty chewy. While the exigencies of Mutzfest made this level of freshness unlikely, Giglio said one of the contestants (he didn’t know who because the tasting was blind) did a good job of keeping the mutz in warm water so it would approach the ideal mouthfeel.
Though he gave a special shout-out to Andrea Salumeria, the local deli in his neighborhood of Jersey City Heights, Giglio said Hoboken was truly blessed to have so much fantastic mozzarella.
Seventh grader speaks out
Growing up in Hoboken, Gibson Borelli said he is used to seeing mozzarella in everything. The home cook and seventh grader gained notoriety last year when he won Food Network’s “Rachael vs. Guy Kids Cook-Off,” spawning an online cooking show titled “The Jersey Shore Kid.”
As a judge at Mutzfest, Borelli was looking for mozzarella that was creamy and packed with flavor and sandwiches that complemented the mutz without overpowering it. He agreed that the Italian Cuban sandwich did just that.
Jen Casson, the founder and editor of local lifestyle blog HobokenGirl.com and another of the judges, favors a mutz that melts in your mouth but does not disintegrate. Living in Italy six months honed her palate for the cheese.
Casson made an exception from a strict 30-day paleo diet to judge Mutzfest this year. After seven servings of mutz and seven sandwiches, she said she had likely had her fill for the time being.
“They gave us a to-go bag for the mozzarella we didn’t eat,” she said. “I think my dog may get some.”
Carlo Davis may be reached at cdavis@hudsonreporter.com.