Being that I was born and raised in the city, this very famous dish is quite foreign to me. Tomato pie is very well known in the Central New York area and gained its popularity here in the 1900’s. In Utica, one of the best places to buy tomato pie used to be O’scugnizzo’s Pizza in 1914,when the owner would make whole pies and sell them for five cents. His grandsons have kept the tradition alive by continuing to make tomato pie and pizza with a few of their own variations on the original recipe and the prices, as well.  The pie is very similar to pizza but unlike pizza, has little to no cheese. Tomato pie is a Sicilian based dish and can easily be found in Sicilian-American communities. Much like Sicilian pizza, tomato pie is served in square slices. It usually isn’t served fresh out of the oven; it sits for awhile and is served at room temperature. The ingredients used are quite simple and are as follows:

Thick, porous dough

Tomato sauce

Grated romano cheese/Parmasen Cheese (optional–but who doesn’t like a little cheese)

In the Utica area, this pie is available in almost every pizzeria. It can also be found in eateries that don’t constitute as pizzerias which, in fact, speaks highly on the dish’s popularity. A few local places to find tomato pie are:

Tony’s Pizza

Venice Pizzeria

Holland Farms Bakery & Deli

Karam’s Middle East Bakery

Minar Fine Indian Cuisine

Tomato pie is one of those dishes that you can serve at a get together or even when you’re looking for something to eat that’s not too heavy. It’s a great way to feed an appetite for under 20 bucks. 

• Utica Food