In New Jersey, where pizza reigns supreme, and no hometown strip mall or downtown exists without a favored slice-a-teria… we are passionate about our pies.

So it is nearly impossible to claim that one pizza is different or better than most of the rest, without stirring up a hornets’ nest. But we found, Yes, a pizza parlor that is different and better than most. At least we think it qualifies for a look.

Magma Pizza looks like your typical suburban pizza place, residing in a sprawling roadside mall on Route 1 south of Princeton.  Until you go in the door and see the huge volcano shaped pizza oven that rises two stories tall, amid red walls painted with yellow lava-like splashes. And you meet Gabe Mahayni, the owner, who seems to think he’s been handed the tablets by the Big Pizza Man at the top of the molten mountain.

Molten Pizza uses volcanic stones layered under the rotating grill in the bottom of the custom brick oven, so the stones retain heat and help the oven stay really, really hot. As a result, the pizza is done in just two minutes, so everything—crust, sauce, toppings, can be freshly made and baked to order.

Order a slice, and you’ll get a strange oval shaped thin crusted pizza.  Try it, and you’ll realize Gabe may just have found the secret. The pizza is light from the grill, no grease or drip, just great flavor so each bite leaves you wanting more.  The pies are round, and compellingly fresh as well. The calzones, and everything else is constructed before your eyes, and ready in a flash.

Mahayni, a former bond trader, has bet the house on the volcanic stone method, he’s hoping to build a franchise. We think he’s made an excellent start, and it’s just a matter of time before this unique Molten Pizza erupts on the scene near you!