Click here to read part one of this article.

Besides crust, you need the right kind and amount of cheese. Fresh mozzarella, the kind used at Grimaldi's, makes a great fresh pie. As James McNair, the pizza prince, mentions, "Factory-made mozzarella melts into a rubbery mass." Nonetheless, pizzeria owners have to use what's out there. I found Mario's Classic Pizza (742 Garden Street) has a really cheesy pie without all the grease, though a bit salty. Torna's at 254 9th Street, a small old-fashioned-looking pizzeria with minimal seating (a take-out place), is famous for Sicilian slices and heavily loads thick doughy slabs with melting cheese. I have to say I was reeled in by the scent outside Torna's. This place smells like a "real" pizzeria, and the pies in here are also the real thing. The basic Sicilian slice here has a garlicky flavor with little tomato sauce. Rosario's (1132 Willow Street) has a great Sicilian slice as well. It's doughy in the middle and crusty on the edges with lots of mozzarella and sauce.

Speaking of tomato sauce, every sauce is different. Oregano is in most pizza sauces along with other herbs like basil and parsley. Some pizza makers add sugar; others don't. Most add salt. The sauce at The Original H&S Giovanni's at 603 Washington Street has a sweet flavor. Seven Star Pizza (a favorite of carousers after a night drinking) at 342 Garden Street has a tasty sauce and an-all round decent slice of pizza. Rosario's Sicilian pie has a lot of flavorful, herby sauce. But Melina's Pizzeria (534 Adams St.) on the corner of Sixth and Adams has the most distinctive sauce. It's spicy and peppery—think Two Boots--and I found it to be a refreshing change from the other sauces I'd sampled.

Specialty pizzas? Filippo's gets high marks. Feigelson says, "I think Filippo's has really good specialty slices like white pizza with broccoli." Carpentier agrees. Janel Miller, who moved to Hoboken last year, thinks Margherita's (Washington Street) has the best specialty pies. "The Vito pizza is my favorite," she says. (Margherita's seems to be a town favorite for Italian food.) Rosario's has a satisfying chicken cutlet pizza, special of the house, or "Alla Casa," with sautéed onions and tomatoes. Feigelson also sings the praises of Imposto's (102 Washington Street) garlic knots.

The city also has a few "never fail" pizza places, meaning if you're looking for a decent slice of pizza—maybe even at an indecent hour—you won't be disappointed. Mediterranean Pizza and Pasta on Hudson Place and Hoboken Pizza on Newark Street are two staples of the late-night party crowd. Imposto's on Washington is also popular for a quick bite as is Molfetta (1122 Washington Street). All have good, large-sliced pizza. Grande Pizza on Newark Street also has large slices, but it's better to order fresh pizzas here as the slices tend to sit around for a while.

After sampling all this pizza, I have to say my favorite slice was off Hoboken's beaten path. Old Lorenzo's (301 Jackson St.) is a small shop in a tiny strip mall on the corner of Third and Jackson. It's a take-out and delivery place. Inside, there is one table, the counter and arcade games. One game is called Crazy Taxi, and I wonder if this is where Hoboken's cabbies learned how to drive. The pizza at Lorenzo's is just plain good. It's cheesy; the sauce isn't too sweet or too salty. It's a great slice of pizza, not too big, not too small, just right. Dad has fond memories of Leo's bar pies at Leo's Grandevous on 2nd and Grand back when he was a young buck carousing the mile square's streets in the days when Hoboken guys wore suits and pinky rings instead of jeans and baseball caps. But as my dad always says, "To each his own." So whatever you crave in your pizza—be it the crust, the cheese, the sauce, the toppings, the size, the convenience, the taste--Hoboken has a place for you.

Click here to read part one of this article.