I don't profess to be an expert in the culinary arts. I do profess to know what I prefer when it comes to a tomato pie or a pizza. In my untrained mind, there is a ton of difference. For me the ideal tomato pie is a pleasant blend of whole tomatoes with a just right amount of cheese. On the other hand, a pizza is another delicious delicacy with much more cheese, tomato sauce as opposed to whole tomatoes, and seldom enough tomato to offset the abundance of cheese.Personally for me it's all a matter of taste.....and logistics. I would probably be just as regular a customer at Papa's or DeLorenzo Hudson Street, or Joey's were it not for the fact that a trip to Ricky D's is only a matter of a hop skip and a jump from my Atlantic Avenue home to Hamilton Avenue. Over the years, I have had Papa's tomato pies and agree that there are still other local "pizzerias" that serve the locally famous "Trenton Tomato Pie." My taste for DeLorenzo's and their delectable pies goes way way back to my teen years when we could walk to Hamilton Avenue and take a seat in my favorite tomato pie restaurant. I remember how awe struck I was when I saw the walls filled with photos of all the countless DeLorenzo Hamilton Avenue celebrities who dined at that legendary Trenton restaurant. Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Vic Damone, and too many others to bring to my aging gray matter. Bottom line: I am a true devotee of the Trenton Tomato Pie.
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As an aside, for my birthday last week, my daughter gave me a very large bag of an apparent Burlington County Italian specialty known as a
"Panzarotti;" a delightful deep fried delicacy stuffed with all the makings of a tomato pie. The company who makes them is in Cherry Hill and they ship them all over the area. The Cherry Hill version is deep fried, not baked as seen in the graphic below.
HI TOM...I'M GONNA REPEAT WHAT I'VE SAID MANY TIMES. IN THE 20 AND 30'S PAPA'S ON BUTLER STREET WAS THE BEST. TOMATOE PIES IN THOSE DAYS WERE MOSTLY ALL CHEESE, NOT LIKE TODAY. I THINK THE ONLY TOPPING ADDED WAS ANCHOVIES. BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE A LARGE PIE FOR 25 CENTS. GOD BLESS THE OLDEN DAYS.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Great post Tom:)))
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Some places used to have a stand run by the women of the church and they would dish out individual size deep fried "tomato pie" that was a little bit of heaven. The last time I had this was at the Saint James (the other, little burg), in high school.
I guess the secret of a good pie aside from the crust, lies in a good home made sauce and a fine quality cheese. One take time and the other probably is too expensive these days. The Casianni sisters always had a few huge pots bubbling on the stove at their place across from the Brunswick Theater.
Ed Millerick
Thursday, October 06, 2011