I Tried This 'RHONJ's Star's Pizza and Pasta Bar - Here's How I Rate It

In a time when "everybody has a podcast," when it comes to Bravolebrities, "everybody has a restaurant." With so many dining establishments to choose from, each with their own unique charm, there's one little restaurant, nestled in the heart of Wyckoff, New Jersey, that makes every diner say "love" after they've finished their meal. That place is Pizza Love! The pizza joint is a joint effort that includes former The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Kathy Wakile.

With multiple seasons under her belt on the hit reality franchise, Wakile had left the show to seemingly do her own thing. And part of that was to help bring her food business to life. Once able to buy her infamous cannoli kits via QVC, now they're available from Goldbelly for you to indulge. But if you're looking for a more classic Italian meal to go with the decadent dessert, Pizza Love is a Housewives fan's bucket list destination. Believe me, I've been. Multiple times.

Pizza Love Is Kathy Wakile Personified

Before you get your expectations astronomically high, it's best to set the scene. Pizza Love is not your hoity toity extravagant dining experience. The restaurant sits in the middle of a strip mall, like any New Jersey pizza joint. And if you've never had real, authentic East Coast pizza, you're missing out. But that's beside the point. Pizza Love is an intimate place. There are few tables, so if it's a busy night, you might need to wait a bit before you can experience the love. When you sit, the menu is everything you would imagine a restaurant like this to have. And it's delicious.

Now, I don't want to create any enemies, but I'm not the biggest fan of pizza. I know. Blasphemy. But I do enjoy a good Italian dinner. Their chicken parm hero was to die for. It's hard to master a good marinara sauce, but Pizza Love does. Certainly, you can't leave a place owned by Kathy Wakile without having a delicious stuffed cannoli. The only thing that would have made it better was if the woman herself was there to serve it!

The Real New Jersey Isn't 'RHONJ

The Pizza Love experience, dare I say it, is more New Jersey than what is portrayed on screen on RHONJ. As someone who was born and raised in Mahwah, New Jersey, the town right next to where the ladies lived in the first few seasons, the story inside this little restaurant exudes what our little state is all about. With Kathy Wakile at the helm, this shop is her personified. It's a place to bring your family and love on life. That's what Kathy Wakile brought to The Real Housewives of New Jersey. She was not about explosions that led to flipping tables. She wanted to celebrate her family with the cameras rolling.

Perhaps Kathy Wakile was too real for The Real Housewives of New Jersey. She was never about any manufactured drama. She and her sister, Rosie Pierri, were the underdogs of the story. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Now, to see Kathy Wakile be removed from the drama (unless she's dragged back into it) shows the power behind the woman who was willing to ditch the celebrity for a true dose of reality. Don't discredit Kathy Wakile as one of the pioneers in The Real Housewives Cinematic Universe. Thus, if you're looking for a culinary road trip of the Housewives' eateries, you must include Pizza Love. And while you're in the area, check out the side of Bergen County you don't see on screen. The part of the state that's not glorified and unattainable. Check out one of the many malls mere miles from one another. Stop into a 24-hour diners for a taste of a Taylor Ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. And, if you're really desiring to see the sights on screen, go on a shopping spree at Envy before having a last supper at Rails. You never know who might be there!