Behind the scenes at Santillo's Brick Oven Pizza in Elizabeth

Santillo's pizza in Elizabeth, N.J.

Al Santillo at Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza in Elizabeth.

At Santillo's in Elizabeth, arguably the most important element, other than the gray matter stored between Al Santillo's ears, is its massive 100+ year old oven. With temperatures routinely climbing into the high 600s, Santillo insists that the best pizzas are well done and should crunch when the pizza wheel slices through.