When it comes to the best fresh mozzarella, New Jersey wins with all the Italian families that immigrated here and opened a deli, just like their family had done back in the home country.
And when it comes to the best fresh mozzarella in New Jersey, Hoboken wins with M and P Biancamano, the deli awarded first place in the Hoboken FreshMutz festival year after year.
Meet Pietro and Teresa Biancamano, owners of M and P Biancamano Italian deli in Hoboken, with fresh mozzarella so legendary, it’s been featured in Food and Wine magazine.
Pietro immigrated to the United States at the age of 13 with his family. His father, Mario Biancamano, owned a deli in Napoli, and they made the fresh mozzarella back then the same way he makes it now, slow and time-consuming, but very good.
This is a fresh block of fresh mozzarella, and it tasted quite good!Karim Shamsi-Basha
Pietro Biancamano moved on to open his Hoboken deli in 1981. According to Biancamano, the secret to the best fresh mozzarella is in the hands.
“It’s the feeling of the cheese in your hands. You gotta make it every day, and eventually, you know how it should feel,” Pietro Biancamano said, waving his hands like he’s making the cheese.
While I was at the deli, several people came and spoke in Italian to Biancamano and his wife, Teresa. Their hospitality seemed to match their mozzarella, fresh and inviting.
“We’ve been married for 43 years,” Teresa Biancamano said smiling, then she pointed at the man she lives and works with, and with a big laugh said, “And I haven’t killed him yet.”
They both exploded in laughter, looking at each other and exchanging that look long-married couples have, inside jokes made with a little bit of humor, a dash of teasing and a whole lot of love.
Then Teresa jumped in saying while laughing, “I guess we’ve made it this far because I’m always right.”
Pietro nodded with a big grin, “She is right, always. And I always do what she says.”
Though we can’t talk about mozzarella, especially in Hoboken, without mentioning Fiore’s House of Quality, where they have made fresh mutz since 1913, and was once featured on Food Network’s “Legendary Eats.”
I tried this one when I judged the Sinatra impersonators a month or so ago, and I found it as good as M and P Biancamano’s. This authentic Italian deli makes other popular specialties like cold-cut sandwiches, several with that delectable, fresh mozzarella.
Back to M and P Biancamano, where I was getting hungry!
This famous sandwich has two ingredients: Fresh mozzarella and sweet peppers.Karim Shamsi-Basha
Teresa Biancamano made me the shop’s famous mozzarella and roasted peppers sandwich.
The sandwich looked way too huge, and Pietro and Teresa Biancamano laughed at me trying to bite into it. I gave up and used a fork and a knife.
The flavor was beyond delicious. The cheese was delicate but firm. And the red peppers added a contrasting sweetness. How can a sandwich with only two ingredients taste this good?
I then cut a piece of cheese and examined it, a creamy white and pale ivory. I took a bite, mild lactic flavor along with a hint of salt, just enough, and and the tiniest trace of smoke.
This salad had fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, greens and sundried tomatoes.Karim Shamsi-Basha
Teresa also made me a salad with the killer cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, greens and a balsamic vinegar dressing. It was delectable, and the fresh mozzarella was still the star.
Other popular items on the menu are the chicken parmigiana sandwich ($8:10), and the meatball sandwich ($7.70). Notice the reasonable prices.
M and P Biancamano offers specials each day of the week including eggplant parmigiana on Monday, chicken cacciatori on Tuesday, baked ziti on Wednesday, sausage and peppers on Thursday, and fried calamari and shrimp parmigiana on Friday.
By this time, I couldn’t stop eating the cheese by itself. Pietro and Teresa Biancamano laughed at me, again. I looked at Pietro with wonder.
“It’s all in the hands!” He said with his thick Italian accent.
I left M and P Biancamano wondering if I can ever eat store-bought fresh mozzarella again. Perhaps a weekly trip to Hoboken is my new must.
Teresa Biancamano prepares a hefty sandwich.Karim Shamsi-Basha
Stories by Karim Shamsi-Basha
Karim Shamsi-Basha may be reached at kshamsi-basha@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter & Instagram. Find NJ.com on Facebook.