You could say this is the story of two icons. Icons of different categories. One a late-night legend. The other a beloved pizza joint.

Read More: Brooklyn Square Pizza is expanding to Malboro

Brooklyn Square Pizza

Brooklyn Square Pizza/ Canva/ TSM IllustrationsBrooklyn Square Pizza

They have a number of locations and a ton of accolades. They have locations in Jackson, Manalapan, Bradley Beach, Toms River, and their newest one in Shrewsbury.

Peter Grippo is the larger-than-life personality who is the lifeblood of this place. Pizza so good that Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy once gave them an 8.9 rating.

Jon Stewart

Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Comedy CentralThe other icon in this story is Jersey guy Jon Stewart.

Famous from “The Daily Show” and now back on it, appearing one night a week, he also runs an animal sanctuary in the Garden State with his wife and has been an activist for sick first responders from 9/11. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Stewart early in his career in 1994 when we were both basically kids and you could see the writing on the wall for his talent even then.

As luck would have it, on a recent day, Grippo was not at his Shrewsbury location when Jon Stewart happened to stop in, according to nj.com. His crew started FaceTiming Grippo and he rejected the call a few times because he was busy. Finally, he answered.

Jon Stewart

Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Comedy CentralHe was shocked to see Jon Stewart with his staff.

“He was a regular (guy), you know, not pretentious, very humble,” Grippo told nj.com. “From what they were telling me, he was a gentleman. He was just laughing, throwing jokes, waiting in line patiently like everybody else did.”

Pretty cool considering Stewart has won 24 Primetime Emmy Awards, 2 Grammy Awards and 5 Peabody Awards. Of course, Brooklyn Square Pizza has won its fair share of recognition too. Just not a Peabody.

But in the Garden State, a down-to-earth Jersey guy like Jon Stewart would probably be the first to tell you an 8.9 from Dave Portnoy is just as good.

Another top New Jersey pizza joint

Gallery Credit: Dennis Malloy