Daily Slice: Sam's Italian Market, Willow Grove, PA

I've been on a little bit of a mission to put Philadelphia bakery-style tomato pie on the pizza map. And for me it all goes back to Sam's Italian Market, a bakery and Italian prepared foods spot close to where I grew up outside of Philadelphia.

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3 Comments | Posted by Hawk Krall, January 24, 2012 at 10:00 AM
Tagged: bakery pizza, focaccia, Philadelphia, Tomato pie, Willow Grove

Daily Slice: Sausage Slice from Celebre's, Philadelphia

Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately. [Photographs: Hawk Krall] Celebre's has quickly become my new favorite South Philly delivery spot. Caroline wrote about their Pizzaz a while back (supposedly they are the originators) and since then I've been ordering from them on a regular basis. Their sausage comes in awesome thin pork ribbons that crisp up on the edges like pepperoni. The decorative green peppers are also a nice touch....

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2 Comments | Posted by Hawk Krall, December 14, 2011 at 4:00 PM
Tagged: Celebre's, Daily Slice, Philadelphia, South Philly

Daily Slice: Corropolese Bakery, Norristown PA

To be clear on definitions right off the bat—the "Tomato Pie" we're talking about here is very different from Trenton Tomato Pie, or even the Northeast Philly version. In the Tomato Pie Belt that runs roughly from South Philly through the western suburbs of Manayunk , Conshocken and Norristown, it's a square pie that consists only of soft, foccocia-like dough, thick, slow-cooked sauce, herbs and a shake of parm or romano, and is ideally purchased at room temperature at a bakery, not a pizzeria.

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13 Comments | Posted by Hawk Krall, December 9, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Tagged: bakery pizza, Corropolese Bakery, Daily Slice, Norristown PA, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, tomato pies

Daily Slice: Veggie Slice at Pizza Rustica, Philadelphia

The veggie slice ($2.50) at Pizza Rustica in University City is really all about the vegetables. The super-thin, cracker-like crust is merely a vessel for a cast of veggies featuring fresh mushrooms, spinach, artichoke hearts, caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and little blobs of sweetly roasted garlic. A bit of crème fraîche mixes in with the mozz, accounting for a base that's a little bit more creamy than cheesy, adding a lightness that matches its veggie-centric toppings.

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3 Comments | Posted by Caroline Russock, December 5, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Tagged: daily slice, pennsylvania, philadelphia, Pizza Rustica

Daily Slice: City Pizza, Philadelphia

City Pizza is a South Philly delivery and take-out spot that doubles as a tanning salon. (Gym, Tanning, Pizza?) My sausage slice featured a ridiculous amount of sausage shavings that just sort of sat on top of the pizza—the sausage was thrown on an already cooked plain slice and then reheated rather than coming from a sausage pie. Even so, it was a seriously satisfying fat slice with lots of cheese and sauce and an almost pan/sicilian thick (but nice and crisp) crust.

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1 Comment | Posted by Hawk Krall, November 17, 2011 at 2:00 PM
Tagged: City Pizza, Daily Slice, philadelphia

Daily Slice: Pitruco Trailer, Philadelphia

Pitruco's brand new cherry red trailer looks terrific, fitted with an 800 degree Valoriani wood burning oven. The Neopolitan-inspired pies spend about 90 seconds in the oven, medium sized and pretty reasonably priced at 6-9 bucks apiece.

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4 Comments | Posted by Hawk Krall, October 13, 2011 at 4:00 PM
Tagged: Daily Slice, philadelphia, Pitruco, sopressata, wood-fired

Daily Slice: Pepperoni Slice from Paolo Pizzeria in Philadelphia

The first time I had Paolo's Pizza was at Dirty Frank's, a Bukowski-esque dive bar around the corner that had 4 or 5 Paolo's pies up for grabs along the bar. They were delicious, but I knew needed to go back sober to try it again. I walked in the door literally five minutes after they opened, so the gourmet crazy topping slices (buffalo chicken, taco pizza, etc.) that they're known for weren't available yet, but the pies behind the glass pizza showcase were still hot from the oven.

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2 Comments | Posted by Hawk Krall, October 3, 2011 at 10:00 AM
Tagged: Daily Slice, Paolo Pizzeria, philadelphia

Daily Slice: Pizzaz at Celebre's, Philadelphia

Celebre's Pizzaz begins with a medium-thick crust with plenty of good chew and crunch. It's topped off with a layer of the tell-tale American, slices of fresh tomato, a generous scattering of bright yellow and red pickled peppers, and finished off with a good shake of oregano and salt. All together these gooey little slices are salty, spicy, and totally satisfying in a way that honestly has more to do with a hoagie or a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich than a slice of pizza.

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4 Comments | Posted by Caroline Russock, September 30, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Tagged: Celebre's, Daily Slice, pennsylvania, philadelphia, pizzaz

Daily Slice: The Works at Santucci's, Philadelphia

Santucci's boasts the city's original square pizza, a Philadelphia area Italian bakery staple. According to local lore, it's a variant of tomato pie. This unique style of pizza begins with a rectangular crust with a height that lies somewhere between thin and Sicilian.

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5 Comments | Posted by Caroline Russock, September 6, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Tagged: Daily Slice, pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Santucci's, square pizza

Pizza Brain: World's Largest Collection of Pizza Memorabilia in Philadelphia

The brainchild of artist / pizza lover / collector Brian "Brain" Dwyer, Pizza Brain started with a pizza-themed art show in 2010 that developed into a massive collection of pizza-related memorabilia and art that will eventually exist as a permanent museum, restaurant and "hang out spot" slated to open spring of 2012.

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2 Comments | Posted by Hawk Krall, August 3, 2011 at 4:30 PM
Tagged: Brian Dwyer, guinness book of world records, philadelphia, pizza art, pizza memorabilia