It’s more than just a holiday… it’s a season! The Thanksgiving season of pumpkin coffee, beers and Thanksgiving dinners a variety of ways. And over in Westmont New Jersey at Franco’s Place you can get a Gobbler Panzarotti… yes Turkey, Stuffing and Cranberry sauce in a deliciously crisp fried panzarotti!
Made by the Tarantini family kitchens, this seasonal Gobbler version is only available at Franco’s Place at 53 Haddon Ave in Westmont New Jersey! Is it worth the trip… well Mark from 42Freeway straight-up loved it!
We have a video taste testing tour at the bottom of the post!
Tarantini’s Original Panzarotti
Before we get too far into this… not everyone may know what a panzarotti is! I know.. crazy talk! But I learned as I worked many years in Pennsylvannia and Delaware, that outside of South Jersey… many people had never heard of them.
“Oh it’s a calzone!” No.
“oh its a pizza turnover!” Ummm still, no.
But close.. I get the confusion. It’s sort of like a pizza turnover, but the edges are sealed tight to hold everything in as it is deep fried. It starts typically as a roundish flat piece of dough, to which the ingredients are added in the center. Cheese, sauce…. pepperoni, sausage and more, and then sealed.
The Tarantini dough is a special recipe which guarantees to give a crisp and thin outer crust and a delicious softer center. The ingredients blend perfectly to spread the flavors around.
So I mention Tarantini… because they are the original Panzarotti creators and own the name! They started in Camden New Jersey, being sold by the family as street vendors almost 60 years ago. Sometimes they would give them to the neighborhood kids to fall in love with… so they’d bring their parents back to buy more.
Even at 25 cents a piece, just a few short years later they were able to open up a shop!
Today in Westmont, Franco’s Place carries on the restaurant pizza and panzarotti experience, but you can get the classic Tarantini’s Original Panzarotti at shops throughout the area… but the center of the Tarantini universe is close by in Cherry Hill.
Cherry Hill is where the Tarantini kitchens make the original Panzarotti under perfect conditions, and they make them available to pizza shops all over the area.
No don’t be confused… basically every South Jersey pizza shop has something they consider a panzarotti… but there is only one Tarantini Original!
And only Franco’s Place in Westmont has the Gobbler version.
The Gobbler Panzarotti
The Gobble Panzarotti is a special twist on this South Jersey classic… taking it to a whole new Thanksgiving day level!
The filing in the Gobbler is all of the classic Thanksgiving Day ingredients. Tender Turkey, delicious homemade stuffing, and sweet and tangy cranberry sauce. Add in some delicious gravy to dip in or pour over, and you have a delicous T-day meal in a fried panzarotti.
According to their comments on Facebook, the Tarantini Gobbler is only available at Franco’s Place on Haddon Ave, in Westmont New Jersey
Watch the video below!
Franco’s Place
53 Haddon Ave
Westmont (Haddon Township)
856-854-7100
Facebook (Like!)
Website
The Tarantini Original Panzarotti Company: Facebook
42Freeway Destinations Video: Tarantini Gobbler Panzarotti!
The video below gets close to 10 minutes long! If you don’t want to listen to Mark’s wit and charm… feel free to jump ahead!
0:00 Intro
1:50 Classic Cheese Panzarotti
3:17 Tasting the Classic Cheese Panzarotti
4:48 Gobbler Panzarotti
6:16 Tasting the Gobbler Panzarotti
And after you watch the video, you can read what the South Jersey Food Scene had to say about them last year!