Trenton Tomato Pie Showdown: DeLorenzo's vs Papa's

Backstory: I grew up eating pizza from the only pizzeria in a tiny town in South Jersey. It was spectacular pizza, and when it closed in the 1970s, I was cast into a pizza desert. All the other nearby pizza places made cheesy greasy floppy pies that tasted fine, but were a mere shadow of the crisp and balanced pizza I had know at Rose's in Riverside NJ.

Papa's Tomato Pie

Fast forward to 1983, when I was working in Princeton NJ and a Trenton-born colleague heard my tale of pizza woe and took me to DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies in "The Burg" -- the Chambersburg section of Trenton that was chockablock with mom and pop Italian restaurants and pizzerias.

The former home of Rose's Pizza, Riverside NJ

Was it as good as Rose's? To my shock and delight, it was better! It became my favorite pizza ("tomato pie" to purists and Trenton natives) for 40+ years counting. I bought pizza there for a few decades before I could ever coax a smile out of Eileen Amico, who usually worked the register while Gary Amico slung the pies. 

Eileen and Gary Amico, DeLo's on Hudson Street in 2012

I figured out exactly when to call to order the pie -- a few minutes before they opened, which was a few minutes after they would answer and say "we're not open yet" and a few minutes before they would take the phone off the hook because they already had more orders than they could handle. I learned to get a tomato pie every Thurday during Lent, when demand slackened because all the regulars wanted a meatless pizza on Friday.

DeLorenzo's Tomato Pie

When I couldn't get an order in at DeLorenzo's, my backup was Joe's Tomato Pies, which closed early in the 2000s. I shamefully didn't get Papa's Tomato Pies on my radar; I tried it for the first time in 2012 (at the former Trenton location on Chambers Street) and said in my review:

"On the Very First Bite, I knew that this pie was something special. Its crust did not look distinctive, and it had only a mild char underneath. But it was about perfectly thin, crisp, and sturdy. The cheese was good if a tad unremarkable, and the sauce had a nice savory zing. I really can't say precisely what sensory memory was triggered, but I was instantly transported to Riverside NJ and Rosa's Tomato Pie circa 1972. "

Papa's old Trenton location on Chambers Street

A few years ago, we visited Papa's at their new location in Robbinsville, and the pie was spectacular. So good, in fact, that for the first time I wondered if DeLorenzo's (also relocated to Robbinsville) had a legitimate challenger. But if you are familiar with recency theory (a psychological phenomenon where people tend to remember information presented most recently better than information presented earlier), then you may accept my Pizza Recency Theory, that the slice in your mouth is a strong candidate for "best pizza ever." 

The Hudson Street sign now inside at Robbinsville

What any pizza scientist needs is to eat different slices back-to-back to get a fully informed conclusion.

So three of us who love both Papa's and DeLorenzo's set off to visit both places consecutively for the definitive answer. DeLorenzo's seems to get more traffic than Papa's, so we arrived there at the 4pm opening time on a Wednesday in May.

Papa's in Robbinsville

We indulged in an Italian Tuna Salad for an appetizer - arugula, Italian tuna, tomatoes, onions, cured olives. We all loved it - in my notes I described it as "banging." 

Because we still had Papa's ahead, we ordered just one single pie, half sausage and half garlic There were no surprises with the tomato pie; it had the signature ultra thin and crisp crust, loads of chunky tomato sauce, and modest amounts of cheese. As with my prior Robbinsville visits, the pie seemed to lack the drizzle of olive oil that was common on Hudson Street. 

The sausage was superb, and the garlic hit all the right notes. Many folks say that the pies are not quite the same as they were in the Chambersburg location, and I agree. I suspect that the reduced/eliminated drizzle of oil is a key reason why. 

They are making many more pies with a bigger staff, so some variation is expected. Still awesome, but next time I'm asking for that olive oil! We each ate just two slices so that we could give Papa's a fair evaluation with not-yet-full stomachs.

Underside of the DeLorenzo's tomato pie

After the restraint we showed at DeLo's, we went all in and ordered two tomato pies at Papa's when we arrived just before 5:00pm (plenty of open tables). So many folks in the Facebook Jersey Pizza Joints group have been praising the mustard pie that we decided to get a regular tomato pie and the mustard variety. I have had the mustard pie and enjoyed it, so I wanted my dining companions to experience it.

Papa's interior

For the purpose of even comparison, the regular pie was the same as we had ordered at DeLo's - half garlic, half sausage. For the mustard pie we went with half pepperoni, half sausage. Let's begin with the mustard pie before we get to the main event!

Our regular pie at Papa's

We'll start with the bottom line: at best, the mustard was a distraction. For us, it made a great pizza taste like Philly pretzels or hot dogs or other things where mustard belongs. When I had a mustard pie at Papa's on Chambers Street  in 2012, I felt that the mustard was subdued, lending mostly an extra layer of salt that I enjoyed. Perhaps it was applied too thickly this time, but we uniformly agreed that the mustard pie came in last. Your mileage may vary! I get it that some folks love it. 

The mustard pie at Papa's

For both pies, the crust was wonderful. I felt that the Papa's crust was 95% as great as DeLorenzo's for most of each slice, but then even better at the cornicione. Papa's had a better sauce/cheese ratio and flavor; this was a perfectly balanced pie. The sausage, like the sausage at DeLorenzo's, was impeccable. It reaffirmed my preference for pinched sausage as the best topping.

Papa's terrific crust and cornicione

Just a few years ago at Papa's, I thought the garlic pie almost eclipsed the sausage pie; it was ethereal. On this visit, the sausage half was superior, and I think it's because the garlic came out of a jar. That's a no-no for any reason, but especially so on pizza this great.

Underside of a Papa's slice

Final verdict? There's a new sherriff in town! I cannot believe that after 40 years someone has dethroned DeLorenzo's, but here is how we ranked the three tomato pies we ate that day:

1. Papa's regular tomato pie

2. DeLorenzo's tomato pie

3. Papa's mustard pie

We ate pizza from JoJo's Tavern and Riccardo's Tomato Pies during the same week. All of these were wonderful and any of them could justifiably be your favorite.  

Even before I could drive, I loved the Reedman ads. This one from 1964 is on the wall at Papa's

DeLorenzo's was my oasis when I stumbled out of the pizza desert in 1983. It has filled my belly and it fills my pizza memories. I discovered Papa's decades too late, but I can reach one very easy conclusion: people within driving distance of Robbinsville NJ have extraordinary choices with these best-of-class pizzerias.

Review: JoJo's Tavern, Hamilton (Trenton) NJ

JoJo's Tavern was launched in 1962 as a workingman's watering hole, located on Nottingham Way in the heart of Hamilton Township, NJ. I first visited there after a company softball game about 20 years later in the early 1980's. I remember a very casual tavern that had cheap beer and pretty good bar pizza, but not pizza that could compare to DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies, nearby in Trenton proper. 

I lived in nearby Ewing for four years and rarely considered JoJo's to be in the upper echelon of pizza joints; Joe's Tomato Pies (long closed, sadly) was my backup when DeLorenzo's took the phone off the hook, typically about 5 minutes after opening.

Decades later and living in Austin, I now follow "Jersey Pizza Joints" on Facebook. That group has alerted me to some truly exceptional pizza being made all over NJ; for my recent visit, the focus was Central Jersey. JoJo's was getting a lot of love, and therefore our group of three arrived for an early dinner on a rainy Tuesday in May.

Escarole and beans

The hostess seemed annoyed that we didn't have a reservation when we showed up a few minutes before 6pm, but she found us a high-top table near the bar. For the record, the service tone changed immediately with our server, who was cheerful and polite and attenetive without being overly solicitous. 

The overall vibe of JoJo's was much more upscale than my hazy memory of the early 80s' version. But man oh man, the crowd defined "Trenton/Hamilton" as well as possible. It's hard for me to articulate what makes the Trenton environs unique beyond the ability of locals to pronounce "Trenton" as one syllable, but this places feels just like Trenton always did to me decades ago.

We were happy to see both cider on tap and a good selection of draft beers, like my Allagash White ($6.50). We began our dinner by sharing the escarole & beans appetizer; this $14 platter of sauteed escarole and cannellini beans in garlic and oil was plenty for four people, but the three of us scarfed it down easily. It was brilliant creamy delicious perfection, served with soft warm seeded Italian bread. It looked and tasted and felt like the golden days of Chambersburg, the section of Trenton that once hosted many wonderful Italian restaurants.

A quick aside: If you are old enough to remember Diamond's, La Gondola, Crecco's, Sal DeForte's, and Marsilio's -- you can still get that feeling at The Blue Danube. Yes, it began as a Hungarian/Eastern European restaurant, but it now features a smattering of old school Italian dishes. Everyone working there looks like a lifetime Trenton local. The food is great, it is IN the heart of Trenton on Adeline Street, prices are modest, and you ought to go to this wonderful time warp before it's gone.

On to the pizza! We chose a large pie ($17) and added sausage (pinched raw onto the pie before baking, the ONLY proper way) for $3 more. The crust was lovely - crispy and crunchy, very thin but perfectly sturdy. In the very center it was a bit soft from the substantial payload of cheese, so the first bite was less crisp.

The sauce had the iconic Jersey flavor. It's hard to describe but it's true that top notch Jersey pizza tastes different than pizza in other places, even many Philly and NYC pizzerias. Not better or worse, just Jersey! That signature sauce mingled with the generous amount of conventional mozzarella and some damn fine sausage.

Unlike the tomato pies we had the next day at Papa's and DeLorenzo's, this bar pizza was very cheese forward. Almost (almost!) too much cheese, but it had a wonderful flavor. Again, a flavor you don't find in many places outside Jersey. This pie was nearly perfectly balanced, and the sausage delivered the umami bang that brought it all home.

Would I change anything? Maybe a little more sauce and a little less cheese, but we all loved it exactly as it was served. In my notes I wrote that "no pizza outside the Philly-NJ-NYC corridor has this flavor." It's not a tomato pie, but it's sooooo Trenton. Beyond the pizza, we had a nice side dish of broccoli rabe ($9) that was perfectly rendered but still took a back seat to the escarole and beans.

Where does JoJo's rank? It can't quite displace DeLorenzo's or Papa's, but I get it that some prefer it. It's as good as "pizza" or "bar pie" can get. It's great pizza, world class stuff, and no wonder this place was jamming on a rainy Tuesday evening. 

Review: Table 87 Coal Oven Pizza Slice (Frozen)

Frozen pizza. You've likely eaten it all your life. If you're like me and most people, you enjoyed it a lot more as a kid than as an adult, once you realized that fresh pizza in a good pizzeria is so much better.

With that in mind, anyone reading this probably has a pizza in the freezer right now. For me, it started with Ellio's, which was a monstrous leap forward over the Chef Boy-ar-dee home pizza kits of the 1960s. Lots of progress since then, of course. It's almost never great, but it can be pretty good, especially if you augment with things like extra garlic, good cure meats, or fresh basil.

Every analysis needs a baseline, and for me, the standard is DiGiorno Rising Crust frozen pizza. First introduced to the masses in 1995, but not many frozen pizzas have surpassed it. Not only is it my measuring stick for frozen pizza, but also for bottom-line pizzeria offerings. Sadly, some places (ahem, Papa John) can't make a pizza as good as a frozen DiGiorno.

Recent years have seen some upstart frozen pizzas that eclipse DiGiorno pretty easily. Some store brands feature frozen pizzas made in Germany or Italy (ALDI, Trader Joe's) and they are generally superior to the mass market stuff. Up to this point, the best frozen pizza I have had is Roberta's, based on the fabulous Neapolitan pies made in the original Roberta's Pizzeria in Bushwick (Brooklyn) NY.

When I recently went back to the frozen pizza section at Whole Foods (where I found the Roberta's pie a few years earlier), I discovered a frozen pizza offering from Table 87, made in Brooklyn. This was a single slice of very nice looking pizza in a clear wrapper. $6 for a big 5 ounce slice is pricy for frozen pizza, but I figured I'd gladly pay that at a premium NYC slice place. So I brought some home.

Lovely underbelly

Owner Tom Cucco was selling his coal-fired pizza by the slice in New York and wanted to grow the business, and he secured an appearance on Shark Tank. He didn't get the funding right away, but by 2022 his frozen pizza was available in markets like Wegman's and Whole Foods. 

The Shark Tank Recap website concludes:

"By mid-2024, retail expansion reached Harris Teeter, Central Markets, Fresh Markets, and Thrive Markets. At the time of this writing, Table 87 now generates $5 million in annual revenue. While the Shark Tank deal never happened, Table 87 has built a solid business with strong retail partnerships and a dedicated customer base."

The only style available in my local store was a "plain" slice with plum tomato sauce, mozzarella, and a leaf of fresh basil. I heated it as instructed, 400 degree in a preheated baking pan for 5-7 minutes. I like crisp pizza, so I went the full 7 minutes.

This big slice had a great fresh flavor. The cheese looked like fresh mozz but tasted like conventional aged mozzarella, applied plentifully but not so much as to overwhelm the crust. The sauce had a very nice tang. There was just one solo basil leaf that was a nice touch, but you lose much of its value when it gets baked with the pizza.

The dough was like a flattened, denser Neapolitan. In other words, all of the flavor, some of the texture, but without the flop! It was very good and could have been great and properly crisped with a longer bake. When I buy this again (and I will), I will bake it for 8-10 minutes, not the recommended 5-7 minutes.

Evven though the flavors were good and in harmony, I felt it lacked punch. Of course any cured meat topping would fix that; I made it a LOT better by adding a little salt.

Despite some room for improvement, this is as good as frozen pizza gets; it's at least as good as the frozen Roberta's pizza. We've come a long way on the journey to "great pizza not from a pizzeria" with frozen pie this good and the incredible "Pinsa" style take-and-bake in the deli section at Costco.