Amid the messy cheesesteaks and crispy, saucy pizzas of South Jersey remains a lesser-known delicacy with a cult following. One that’s fried, stuffed with cheese and sauce, and best enjoyed alongside an ice-cold root beer. Hundreds of thousands of panzarottis are eaten each year—yet, half of the state doesn’t even know they exist.
The Panzarotti: Pizza Pockets With a Cult Following
The panzarotti as we know it here in Jersey is a handheld, deep-fried pocket of pizza dough, filled with mozzarella cheese and zesty tomato sauce. Toppings are optional, and various specialty versions like cheesesteak and the gobbler—a seasonal favorite, filled with roast turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry—exist today.
Panzarotti arrives fresh from the fryer, boasting a golden crust scattered with micro bubbles, which provide a craveable texture. Hiding inside the crispy fried pocket is that molten, saucy center that locals can’t seem to get enough of. And for first timers, you’ll understand immediately. As you sit there burning your mouth on the scorching hot filling, you won’t be able to resist going in for more—sores and all.
The South Jersey panzarotti is based on the Italian panzerotti, which comes from Apulia. Each version features fried, stuffed dough while remaining regionally distinct with different fillings and styles.
The panzarotti was popularized in New Jersey by Pauline Tarantini. An Italian immigrant from Brindisi, she began stuffing and frying panzarotti by hand out of her Camden home in the early 1960s to help pay the bills.
Her husband, Leopold, would fill up boxes with the warm, oozy pizza pockets and head down to gas stations, where he’d sell them for 25 cents a pop. By 1963, Tarantini’s panzarotti became so popular that they opened their own storefront.
Today, the family still runs Tarantini Panzarotti Inc, operated by third generation panzarotti royalty Leo Tarantini, and his son Kevin, who makes the dough each morning and helps run production. Together, they make and distribute nearly 5,000 panzarotti a day to be sold at local bars, pizzerias, and more.
Where To Find Panzarotti
Less than a decade after the Tarantinis began selling panzarotti to the public, one of their ten children, Franco, went on to open his own spot in 1971.
Franco’s Place in Haddon Township remains one of the most popular Panzarotti spots in the area. To this day, they sell their staple panzarotti, along with a menu of specialty options like Hawaiian, BBQ chicken, The Franco (Capicola, Genoa salami, provolone cheese, and oregano), and the aforementioned Gobbler, which is seasonal and has garnered a genuine cult following over the years.
Other popular spots to snag an authentic panzarotti include Vincent’s Panzarotti (Merchantville), The Panzarotti Spot (Camden), Palermo Pizzeria & Restaurant (Williamstown), Gaetano’s (West Berlin), and John’s Pizza (Brooklawn) who makes their own version of the classic.
But it all started with Pauline and Leopold Tarrantini. Two legends of South Jersey’s rich food history.
A South Jersey Staple
South Jersey has cheesesteaks, boardwalk pizza, and saltwater taffy. But for those who know, nothing hits quite like a panzarotti fresh out of the fryer. Some things just can’t be exported.
If you’ve never had one, fix that. And if you grew up on them, you already know.
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
