Millie’s in Morristown: Just don’t call it a pizzeria

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Let’s get a few things straight about Millie’s Old World Meatballs and Pizza.

It’s not a pizzeria.

Don’t even think of ordering a pie with “the works.”

And yes, it’s finally open after a very long build-out. The Brothers Carrabba promise that customers will find it was well worth the wait.

PIZZA PERFECTIONISTS: Brothers Vince and Brandon Carrabba have opened Millie's Old World Meatballs & Pizza. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
PIZZA PERFECTIONISTS: Brothers Vince and Brandon Carrabba have opened Millie's Old World Meatballs & Pizza. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“Everything we try to do, we try to do to perfection,” says Vince Carrabba, 38.

He and his brother Brandon, 35, own a security business, a car- and truck-customizing company, an autism center and a hyperbaric treatment service. In his spare time, Vince breeds champion Rottweilers.

But pizza, this is what these guys have always dreamed of doing.

“It’s not a pizzeria,” Vince says of Millie’s. “It’s a pizza restaurant.”

Named after the boys’ grandmother, whose recipe for fried meatballs was a favorite with family and neighbors, the South Street eatery has been under construction since 2011. Workers had to lower two massive ovens—one charcoal-fired, the other wood-fired and made “from volcanic stones from Mount Vesuvius”—through holes cut in the roof. Next came installation of the huge garage door that will enable open-air dining in warm weather.

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Along the way, there was intensive tinkering on their pizza recipes. They borrowed elements they had loved as kids in Brooklyn and Staten Island, from fabled places such as Keste’s in the Village, Totonno’s in Coney Island and Grimaldi’s near the Brooklyn Bridge.

Then they sprinkled in their own magic. Peter Martinez, their head chef, remembers one marathon stretch where they honed the chewy crust that is out of this world—Old World or New World.

“I had 50 pounds of crust in my stomach over three days,” says Peter, a devoted employee of the Carrabbas for a dozen years.

MILLIE’S OLD WORLD MEATBALLS & PIZZA

60 South St., Morristown

M-S: 11:30 am- 11 pm, Sunday 11:30 am- 9:30 pm

973 . 267 . 4992

MENU

“It’s the kind of pizza you crave when you’re home at 2 in the morning and you wake up and wish you had some pizza,” says Brandon, who lives in Millstone.

Vince thinks nothing of driving from his Mendham home into New York for his favorite pies.

“I love pizza,” Vince says. “It’s one of the reasons I always wanted to open a place. We took ideas from the best places. When we go to a great steak place in New York, we skip dessert, and go out for pizza.”

(Amazingly, Vince looks like he could step into the backfield of the Baltimore Ravens. That’s because he only eats his product once a week. “If I stopped my diet,” he says, “I would weigh 700 pounds!”)

He and Brandon aim to replicate the New York pizza experience in Morristown.

“I’ve seen this town growing, and had a definite feeling, with the way the town is going, it needs a concept like this,” Vince says.

That means no shortcuts. Imported Italian dough is aged for days. No malts or preservatives in the soft-grain Caputo flour. Mozzarella is made fresh daily. And toppings are applied sparingly.

“Some pizzerias go overboard—they throw everything on a pie,” says Peter Martinez, affectionately dubbed “Martino” by the brothers.

“The truth is, offer a simple menu, serve your best, and you will do well. I don’t want to serve a pie that has more than two toppings. It doesn’t hold up well. It gets soggy, and everything falls off. To me that’s not a pizza. We worked on this pizza day and night.”

Brandon puts it more bluntly: “I don’t like greasy pizza.”

It would have been easy to buy lesser ovens; and it would have been wrong.

“We wanted it to be perfect,” Brandon says. “Every oven cooks it different. Some are too moist. Some are too crisp. We wanted it to cook exactly the way we want.”

BAG OF BALLS?

This is splurge pizza, not by-the-slice pie. Figure on paying $17 to $22 per pizza at Millie’s.

But first, dig into a “Bag of Balls.”  Do it for Millie.

“She’d be thrilled!” says the boys’ mom, Marlene Carrabba.  She learned early that her late mother’s recipe was the ticket to a happy neighborhood.  “Everybody always loved the meatballs. If I would fry 100, 100 would be gone.”

Next, sample Peter’s signature salad, Applewood smoked bacon with apricot vinaigrette dressing. Make sure to leave room (good luck!) for dessert: Gnutella pie, with wood-fired dough piled with vanilla ice cream, powdered sugar and chocolate syrup.

“I could cook till 2 in the morning. The most rewarding part is when people eat up the food and I can see they really enjoy it,” says Peter, 32.

That sort of enthusiasm seems to permeate the place. Danielle Parascondola has worked at Carrabba companies for 10 years. “They are the best bosses. They treat us right. They always do the right thing,” she says.

“You can’t build a business on new hires,” Vince explains. “You’ve got to use people who know you, your expectations, your philosophies. If the pizza’s not right, it’s going to go in the garbage.”

The Carrabbas apprenticed at their father’s development and security businesses, eventually assuming leadership of the security company and expanding it. Their father now has an Italian restaurant in Hilton Head, S.C.

“We have pretty good business instincts. I think that’s hereditary,” Vince says.

The Carrabbas are close.

“I’m the visionary, my brother is the money guy,” Vince says. “If me and my brother were lawyers, we’d be dangerous!”

 

6 COMMENTS

  1. Best pizza ever! Coal fired or wood fired- you cant go wrong. Their classic pie won the Los Vegas best pizza award but don’t stop there – Chef Pete whips up some tasty interesting pies ( the potato & bacon, clam & truffle pies are outstanding) – great meatballs, awesome salads, and leave room for the desert pies! Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it ( and once you try it – you’ll love it!)

  2. Never ate Pizza, meatballs made with so much love. Wow. Blew me away. The environment is so warm and inviting. Will be returning VERY soon.

  3. On the recommendation of a friend who knows good pizzas, we headed to Millies for an early Saturday evening try. From start to finish we had a great experience. The atmosphere was attractive and lively. The smartly designed interior is well above any local pizzaria feel. The hostess was gracious and everyone seemed genuinely upbeat. Our coal fired pie was exceptionally fresh, the dough excellent. We were greeted by the head chef who graciously let us taste some wood fired pie and fresh mozzarella. As good as it gets. Best, freshest pie in town! We’ll be back with our friends.

  4. I don’t imagine foodies would get too excited about fried meatballs, either. Yet, like the gnutella dessert…they taste sinfully good!

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