Everyone who’s anyone eats at Benny Tudino’s: high-school students after class, college students after the bar, businesspeople after work, kids with their moms, moms without their kids, bowling buddies, blind dates—people who love really great pizza and a slice bigger than a baby.

That last part can be documented. Pictures behind the counter feature infants next to a 14-inch Benny’s slice, and the slice definitely wins.

We ordered just one slice and took half of it home. The sauce is homemade. The “secret recipe” has a delicious, slightly sweet flavor. No one in our party left the crust, like you see some people do. It managed to be crisp and tender at the same time. As for the cheese? Well, it’s hard to beat melted pizza cheese.

The slices sell so quickly that they are incredibly fresh; they never have to be reheated.

If you’re into toppings, Benny’s has the full range, from meatballs, sausage, pepperoni, ham, chicken, and bacon to mushrooms, anchovies, peppers, garlic, black olives, onions, eggplant, spinach, and broccoli.

Speaking of moms, any who are reading this, we can assure you: We ate our greens. In this case, a classic Greek salad, with tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, and grape leaves, topped with a generous amount of feta cheese on a bed of lettuce with vinaigrette. A word about the olives: They were pitted, which is really appreciated by customers and their dentists.

Nothing goes better with a slice than an incredibly fresh green salad. Other salads and dressings include Caesar and avocado with blue cheese, honey mustard, Caesar, or ranch.

But there’s much, much more on Benny’s menu. A full complement of appetizers includes antipasto, mussels, fried calamari, fries, garlic bread, and mozzarella cheese sticks. You can also get jumbo Buffalo wings or chicken fingers, as well as sides, hot and cold sandwiches, and wraps. 

As you might expect, just about any kind of pasta is available, and you can add grilled chicken, grilled jumbo shrimp, sausage, or meatballs, to beef things up.

Under “casseroles,” don’t expect that tuna-mushroom-soup-potato-chip thing from the Campbell’s can. These are pasta combinations with cheese, meat, and vegetables. Entrees include chicken, veal, and seafood dishes.

We chose chicken with broccoli, sautéed in white wine garlic sauce. Everything was very tender and nicely seasoned with a robust peppery taste.   

At Benny’s, pizza boxes are stacked to the ceiling, and the walls are jam-packed with memorabilia: pictures of family, friends, customers, and sports teams. A soccer match was playing the night we were there. By the way, Benny’s also has three draft beers and bottled beers, along with tea and sodas in the fridge, if you want to catch a game with a beer and a slice.

Mimoza, our waitress, was as warm and welcoming as the place itself, and Allen and Raymond are real pros at making pizza: fast and perfect every time.

Benny’s has hosted some bigwigs in its time, including Vice President Joe Biden, Judge Lance Ito of O.J. fame, and Ol’ Blue Eyes himself.

But it’s the honest food and friendly atmosphere that continue to earn Benny’s the goodwill of the community, and that’s more important than any celeb.

Founder Bari Drishti, who died in 2015, would be pleased.

Benny Tudino’s

622 Washington St.

(201) 792-4132

bennytudinos.com