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Business & Tech

Annabella's Restaurant—And Pizza—A Work of Art

Smith Road eatery offers a tasty slice while bringing the ambience of Italy right to your table.

It’s not every day that you can enjoy your slice of pizza while sitting under the watchful gaze of the Venus de Milo. But that’s exactly what we experienced at on Smith Road when we continued our quest for Parsippany’s best pizza.

Pizzerias come in all shapes and sizes; tiny, spacious but most in-between. In the case of Annabella’s, which is owned by Enio and Tracy Perez, and a partner, Angel Morales, the space is large enough for 17 tables and multiple ovens. But there is also some glittering chandeliers and the kind of Greco/Romany statuary lining the walls of the dining room that is more commonly seen in a museum or library.

Morales, who owns several other pizzerias, leaves the day-to-day management to the Enio and Tracy Perez. One important touch: he hired an architect to design the space and to import the statuary from Italy to give it an authentic feel.

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Annabella’s belies the idea that pizzerias are linoleum and Formica plain-Jane eateries where the idea is to get in and out quickly with your soda and a slice for lunch, or a freshly made pizza for the family dinner on a Friday night.

Enio, 35, and Tracy, 38, met while working at a pizzeria in Flemington some 18 years ago. His learning experience included stops at pizzerias in East Brunswick, South Bound Brook and Clinton.

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In fact, the moment he arrived in the United States from Guatemala at age 14, he started working in a pizzeria. Tracy works four or five days a week and sometimes every day, depending upon the demands. This English-born-and-raised girl with the solid Jersey accent splits her time among waiting tables, ordering supplies, paying bills and taking care of the couple’s three children.

Like most pizzeria owners, the Perezes work seven days a week, offering a substantial menu that ranges from appetizers, soups and salads, to wraps, bistro sandwiches, medium and large pizzas of an impressive variety, personal pizzas and other items. The sauce, meatballs, eggplant and more are all made in-house.

We tried to get a good sampling of their pizzas, starting with an excellent vegetarian one that was hefty with chopped broccoli, spinach, red onions, tomatoes, peppers and plenty of fresh mozzarella on a pleasingly thin crust.

In fact, it was so heavily loaded that the only way to eat it was with a knife and fork. It was a meal in itself and a very satisfying one to be sure. The white pizza with broccoli was thick with fresh mozzarella and ricotta; the ricotta is part of the pizza dough, which is then topped with nicely chopped broccoli. It’s not for the faint of heart.

The bruschetta pie is a thick hunk of pizza bread topped with delicious chopped fresh tomatoes and basil on a nicely charred crust. It was another meal by itself.

Then it was on to the plain cheese, a delicious classic that was hot and rich, right out of the oven. Next came a tomato pesto pie, again with everything freshly made by Enio and his staff.

Prices for slices are $1.75 to $3.50, depending upon the topping and whether it’s a thin or thick crust pie.

Business during the week is made up of local office workers from nearby corporate centers, the occasional police officer and local residents, who the couple refers to as their friends. The weekends are full of families, with Friday and Saturday being the busiest days of the week. That’s the time when Enio Perez’s specialty concoctions like buffalo chicken pizza and taco pizza can be found flying out of the ovens.

The vibe is efficient and friendly with a soccer game televised in a corner in the background during the day. The 17 tables provide seating for 84 and the atmosphere is pleasant and spacious. Various members of the staff of six can be seen up front serving slices during the day or cooking and preparing for the evening rush in the back.

Enio Perez is pleased that he has customers that come not just from Parsippany and Lake Hiawatha, but also such points farther west as Rockaway, Dover and Sparta. The reason for the following? “We cook good food,” he said simply.

Surprisingly, the Perez family lives west of the restaurant, in Hackettstown. Both husband and wife seem happy with the arrangement and said the demands of a family with three children, a busy restaurant and the commute are something they are gladly juggling right now.


329 Smith Road
Phone: 973-887-3040
Fax: 973-887-3090
Hours: Open daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Website: www.Annabellaspizza.com

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