Trenton Tomato Pie Tour

This Sunday, I put my lack of parenting skills on display by bringing two kids under the age of 10 on a one-day, 7+ hour car trip, for the sole purpose of gorging on pizza. At least with our earlier New Haven tour, the eating and driving were more spaced out making the experience seem less like child abuse. The kids were game for the trip and excited to go. I’m not sure if that is an argument for nature or nurture. Maybe both. I had heard of the Trenton Tomato Pie but never had one before heading to New Jersey this weekend. There’s a thread on the style over at pizzamaking.com. One of these days I’ll get around to reading it. It will probably be a much more interesting read now that I have tasted the subject matter. Let's begin.

Albany Jane picked us up around 8 in the morning and off we went. A little before noon we got to Daniel’s place in Princeton and hopped into his van. This daring group of pizza samplers included 3 "adults" - Daniel, Albany Jane and me, and 3 kids my daughters Allison and Casey along with Young Master Fussy. It was a short ride and by 12:15 we were at our first stop, Gennaro’s. 

After we ordered, I went to go take a look at the kitchen and told someone behind the counter we had just driven down to try Tomato Pies and he clearly thought I was nuts. But this little kitchen visit revealed a few secrets. A door with an Employees Only sign was open and I could see into a storeroom. I saw the brand(s) of tomatoes they use and the type of flour. I’m not sure they liked that, because after we sat back down out our table (which was in a nice outdoor patio), a few blinds were abruptly lowered. I’m probably being paranoid, because you couldn’t really see the kitchen through the windows anyway. But trade secrets are trade secrets and pizza shops have them.

Here’s what we were served at Gennaro’s

The pizza had a crisp crust and the tomato was delicious. I’m glad I know what tomatoes they use, but I don’t think knowing that is enough to make what they put on this pizza. Allison and Casey also liked this pizza.

Conveniently located next door was a Halo ice cream bar. Daniel has mentioned Halo a few times on Twitter and Facebook and I was glad to be able to check it out. I should note that at this early and highly optimistic point in the day, we had delusions of buying several $2 pints of ice cream to share later in the day. Looking back at this moment with 20/20 hindsight makes that notion seem completely laughable. Allison went with a half scoop of cookie dough topped with a half scoop of cookies and cream. Casey selected a half scoop of M&M and a half scoop of mint chocolate chip. I went with a half scoop of Tahitian vanilla. With tax, title and licensing fees that ice cream order came in at the low, low price $5.50. Compared to a recent stop at Guptils after a softball game, that’s practically free and the ice cream was significantly better. Living near one of these places is would be fattening and is probably frowned upon by most doctors.

Finished with the first stop on our pizza tour and refreshed on this warm Sunday afternoon with ice cream, we headed off to Papa’s. I didn’t remember the name, but once I saw that they had a mustard pizza I remembered seeing this shop on the Cooking Channel show Pizza Cuz. A few photos of the television appearance on the wall confirmed my memory. 

We ordered two pizzas – a tomato pie with half sausage and one of the mustard pies with half anchovy. There is a note on the menu saying the sausage goes on the pizza raw so the pizzas with sausage might look a little well done. Here’s what came to the table. The mustard pie

 And the tomato pie with half sausage

Once again, the tomato pie was good. I really liked the crust but thought the tomatoes on the Gennaro pie were better. The sausage was also very good. A coarse grind of pork and pork fat mixed with salt, pepper, and fennel. As sweet sausage should be. I’m glad I tried the mustard pie, but I doubt I would do it again. At the very least, I wouldn’t order it again plain. I don’t know if anchovies are your thing, but it was a completely different pizza with the salt/flavor bomb that is an anchovy. Maybe the mustard flavor would go well with the sausage. Casey wanted no part of the mustard pizza and Allison took a bite of it before giving me the rest of her slice. Casey was just so-so on her slice of tomato pie and Allison enjoyed the sausage/tomato pie.

We were still feeling pretty good after two stops. Next up was Corleone’s.  

Here, we ordered a cheese pizza, a tomato pie and a deep fried calzone. My only experience with a deep fried calzone was at Pizza Town, USA. There, they only deep fry the small calzone. That calzone will fit in your cupped hands. This calzone, also a small, was more football sized.

 

I only ate a small piece of it. The dough had a nice flavor but I thought the filling was over the top. There had to be a pound of ricotta in there. Here's the Corleone's cheese pizza

 

 

And the tomato pie

The crust was just so-so here. It looked like the center of the pizza had been stretched too thin. I thought the tomato pie was much better than the cheese pizza but neither was better than the earlier two stops.

Maybe it was the two pizzas or maybe it was the deep fried calzone but as we were leaving Corleone’s I could have happily gone to sleep for the rest of the afternoon. The plan was to visit two more pizza shops. There’s no way that was going to happen without a break. Daniel knew of an ice place not too far from the next stop across the bridge in Pennsylvania. Off we went to the Yardley Ice House.

The "water ice" (not sure how it got the name) was refreshing - I went with strawberry lemonade, Casey chose cookies & cream, Allison picked mint chocolate chip – and we took a little walk around the town. I’m not sure if it was Allison or Casey, but one of them spotted a little park so we headed in that direction. The three kids climbed around and when we got back to the van, eating more pizza was was suddenly feasible. We headed off to La Villa.

Earlier in the day I had joked that we were going to go to a Pizza Hut. I’m not sure if she has ever been, but Casey hates Pizza Hut. I let her know that I was just kidding and all was well. But it turns out that La Villa is in a building that clearly was once a Pizza Hut. The only outside shot has a woman I've never met with a weird expression on her face. I'll spare her the online picture. Think Pizza Hut building in the middle of a parking lot. We ordered a large tomato pie.

This was the only pie of the day that was square. The first thing you taste when you bite into the pizza is garlic. Not that garlic is bad, but a tomato pie is meant to showcase the tomato and there was a lot of garlic. I didn’t really care for the crust here. I thought it was a little tough. It was the kind of pizza that you had to bite into and then tear the crust with a little bit of pull. To me, the chew on the crust and garlic knocked this down to the bottom of the list of tomato pies although I would probably come back here before returning to Corleone’s. Allison gave it an “eh” but Casey really liked it. I think she ate two slices.

We didn’t make it to De Lorenzo’s, a well known Trenton Tomato Pie institution. Personally, I blame them for not making the list. If they had opened before 4 on Sundays it would have been much easier to get there and see what they had. From what we ate, I think the best pizza would be a Franken-pizza combining the crust from Papa’s and tomatoes from Gennaro’s. But that is probably outside the realm of possibility. One can dream. Here’s the day’s breakdown:

Time Spent on a Pizza Quest: 6 hours of pizza touring

Number of Pizzas Ordered: 6 pies

Side Dishes: ice cream, water ice, fried calzone

Favorite Pies of the Day

Casey - Villa Rosa

Allison - Gennaro’s

Jon in Albany - Gennaro’s

Albany Jane - Tie between Gennaro’s and Papa’s w/anchovy

Daniel - Papa’s Sausage

Young Master Fussy - Doesn’t like pizza and would prefer to go eat soup dumplings

Acknowledgements: I’d like to thank Albany Jane and the Profussor (Daniel) for inviting us on this tour. We he had a lot of fun. The girls very excitedly recalled the trip to their mother tonight at dinner. I’d also like to thank the creators of the Nintendo DS and Mario Versus for making long car trips like this possible.

Market Bistro's Cooking School

I was invited to attend a cooking class at the new cooking school inside the the revamped Market Bistro Price Chopper in Latham. The cooking school is right behind the full service restaurant near the front of the new food court area. I had my doubts about how successful this full service restaurant would be when I toured the new Bistro section of store when it opened. There were several tables of diners and while I didn't eat any of the restaurant's offerings the plates of food being served looked pretty damn good.

On to the cooking school... I was invited to a 90 minute class titled Two Guys and a Grill with a focus on Certified Angus Beef. The school kitchen is pretty sweet. There are three islands that hold up to 5 students each for the hands on classes. There are also long tables for more of a lecture style class.Here's a picture I took from the second row. You can see the three islands and a pretty slick kitchen setup.

There's a camera on the back wall that projects onto the two screens for close ups of the lessons.
 

The beef was cooked by Chef Michael Ollier (from the Certified Angus Beef organization) and the side dishes were prepared the the cooking school's Chef John Winneck. First up was a top round London broil. This was marinated in a Central Market Marinade named Neil's Favorite Marinade, apparently Neil Golub likes it. These steaks got an overnight soak in the marinade, a sear on the stove-top grill, and then a bake in a 225 degree(F) convection oven.

Then a sweet corn souffle was prepared. During this preparation, each chef offered their opinion as to why eggs should be separated cold - Chef Winneck says the albumen doesn't stick to the yolks as much and Chef Ollier says the yolks are firmer and less fragile. News to me, and that's the kind of thing I like about cooking classes. Just some spontaneous, off-topic pro tip.

The souffle was had an interesting texture. The bottom turned into a corn spoon bread and the top was a soft egg. The beef was thinly sliced and still had a nice chew to it. I thought the marinade had a nice flavor but was a little sweet for my tastes. I gave the marinade bottle a quick look and MSG and high fructose corn syrup were on the ingredient list. Neil and I differ in opinion here. I don't think the marinade needs either but that's a matter of personal taste.

The next up was a petite sirloin seasoned with Central Market's Quebec seasoning, some bacon caramelized Brussels sprouts, and a twice baked potato gratin. The Quebec seasoning looked to be a Central Market riff on Montreal seasoning. Here's the petite sirloin and potato gratin.

Both were good. I'm a food snob, so I'll nitpick a little - I forgot to look at the ingredient list on the Quebec seasoning. It had mostly a coarse cracked pepper flavor and none of the garlic, onion or mild heat that I associate with Montreal seasoning. But in fairness, it wasn't advertised as Montreal seasoning. I really liked the flavors of the potatoes, but if I were to make the recipe at home, I think I would make mashed potatoes and then just stir in everything else. Again, a personal preference...and a completely different recipe.

Then some trimmed up New York strip steaks were grilled. It looked like all they got was some salt and pepper, which I would argue is all a good strip steak needs. You could probably even skip the pepper. The steaks were grilled and served with the caramelized Brussels sprouts and a chimichurri sauce.

I liked everything on this plate. I was also impresses with the amount of char Chef Ollier was able to get on the steaks while maximizing the amount of medium rare in the steak with what looked like and over sized grill pan. Again, some more personal preference, I'd probably skip the chimichurri sauce with a strip steak. A good, properly grilled strip steak doesn't need dressing up.

Everyone in the class was given a folder with all of the recipes and a shoppping list for the menu. Some of the items on the shopping list don't exactly match the recipe (I'm nitpicking again), like apple wood smoked bacon on the grocery list and Hatfield bacon in the recipe, but I'm being a jerk here. Although on the comment form, I mentioned that there was a lot of product placement in the recipes. Several Price Chopper brands were called out, the Hatfield bacon, some Cabot cheese, Eggland's Best.This class listed for $40. Most of the other evening cooking classes run longer and seem look to cost $55. I'm sure prices will vary by course.

My favorite part of my time in the cooking school was the discussion about what qualifies to be Certified Angus Beef. It starts with genetics, the steer needs to be Angus. Then it comes down to marbling which is determined after the animal is slaughtered. One in four Angus has the proper marbling to be Certified Angus Beef. I had to ask, if you are packing large cuts to be broken down in the store, how do you know what the marbling is going to be like?  A cut is made between the 12th and 13th rib, which is the cut made to quarter the side of beef, and the view of the prime rib is used to make the marbling decision. They've even done studies to make sure that view is an accurate insight to the rest of the cuts on that side of beef. Who knew?

Certified Angus Beef was my go to beef before I got mixed up in raising our own so I used to eat it all the time. This was probably the most beef I have eaten that wasn't ours in over two years. The beef was good...I like ours better. But I'm biased.

Back to the cooking school, they are planning to do quite a bit of teaching there. The schedule is available here. They do private events - got 10 people that want a class in something, that can be arranged. They also do some kid classes and it sounds like they had their hands full with a Frozen themed class.  The kids classes are going to broken up by ages, 5-to-8 and 9-and-up. The staff was very friendly and Cooking School Chef John Winnek is a capable teacher. Not everyone that can cook can teach. He can.

Full Disclosure: Besides being plied with beef, I was given a Certified Angus Beef gift bag. I don't know if that's a standard practice at all the classes. I know some local programs either send you home with food or have an in-store discount after the class. Anyhow, the gift bag contained an instant read thermometer, a spice rub, little pad & pen, a chip clip, a little meat guide that you can probably pick up at the meat counter and a coupon. I'm keeping the stuff this time because I'd like to try the spice rub and my mother-in-law needs an instant thermometer. So, it's hers. The kids will do something with the rest.

Battle Royale: Soup and Stage Edition

My first visit to a pizzeria is almost always filled with the hope that I have found the pizza I grew up eating. No matter how often I am disappointed, there is always hope. The comparison of the pizza in front of me to the long gone pizza from The Brick Oven in Bridgeport, Connecticut probably happens more often than it should. Over the past few days, two pairs of things are readily comparable. The first was by design, the second just kind of happened.

Soup

While I really like Pho, I am certainly not an expert. I have had it from exactly 3 Capital District restaurants, mostly from one place because it is the most convenient for me and I would argue that a weekly bowl of pho last winter kept me healthy while everyone else in the house sniffled and coughed. I have no preconceived notion of how pho should taste. I don't know the traditions of how it should be served or what a great price on a bowl is. To me, it is just a bowl of very enjoyable noodle soup. So this compare/contrast is strictly based on personal taste.

On Thursday, I was near Kim’s on Madison Ave. I had read about Kim’s in a Times Union review, All Over Albany and another write up at Chopsticks Optional.  The restaurant is in certainly nice enough, nothing fancy. There was one other table of 6 having lunch when I arrived. Out of several options of pho, I went with the brisket, eye round and beef meatball combination.

It was good. I thought the broth was a little thin. From memory, this bowl of pho seemed similar to the bowl I had at Saigon Spring in Clifton Park when the restaurant opened (my one and only visit – don’t get to Clifton Park often).  In my mind, I though I liked my usual bowl of pho better. But I hadn’t had a bowl of my usual pho in awhile…which brings us to Friday’s Lunch at Pho Yum.

 

Last year, I ate enough bowls of pho at Pho Yum to be recognized when I visit and I am expected to get a bowl of pho with beef brisket and a glass of water. When I arrived on Friday, the restaurant was full. I counted 17 people in the small shop. Luckily, I snagged a seat at a table that had just been vacated. And you’ve got to give Linh (the owner and keeper of the front of the house) credit, I haven’t been there in months and she still recognized me and knew my order. To compare apples to apples, I switched up my usual brisket order to the Pho Yum - any three meats - and got the same brisket, eye round beef meatball combo I had on Thursday. The base of the dish is the broth, and Pho Yum’s broth had more flavor and more gelatin/body to it. It also had more fat. Not sure that’s a bad thing though. Here’s how I’d score the fight:

Broth: Pho Yum’s was better.

Noodles: Pho Yum’s had better texture.

Eye Round: Draw – the eye round was pretty much the same.

Brisket: I liked Pho Yum’s. It had some fatty, crunchy pieces. If you’re into that, Pho Yum’s wins, if not, you’ll like the brisket at Kim’s better.

Meatballs: These aren’t Italian style meatballs. They’re light, kind of spongy meatballs that are pretty damn tasty. The meatballs at Kim’s were better.

Sides: Draw. They are pretty much exactly the same. I don’t add the siracha or hoisin to the soup. I like both sauces, just not in my soup. The jalapeno at packed more punch, but that is going to be pepper to pepper anywhere.

Cost: Both portions were enough, but the portion at Kim’s is noticeably bigger and slightly cheaper. This pho at Kim’s was $8.95 and it was $10 at Pho Yum (before tax and tip).

In the end, I would like to try many things on the menu at Kim’s, but when I’m looking for a bowl of pho, I’ll spend the extra buck at Pho Yum.

Stage

This weekend turned out to be a weekend of musical theater. High School musical theater. On Saturday night we saw Footloose. Sunday afternoon, we caught the afternoon matinee of Oklahoma! Both plays were pretty well done. Both plays had some pretty good laughs. The crowds at both plays gave the cast standing ovations. But let’s score the fight:

Orchestra: the musicians at Oklahoma! were better.

Vocals: the singers at Oklahoma! were better. The kid that played Curly could really sing well.

Set: the set at Oklahoma! was nicer.

Cost: Draw – same price. At face value, for less than a single ticket to see The Lion King at Proctors, a family of 4 can go see a high school show and buy baked goods during the intermission. Sure, there’s some drop in production quality, but in terms of enjoyment I don’t think that drop is a factor of 4. For both plays, two kids and two adult tickets were $44. For the four of us to see the Lion King, it was well over $200. Given the choice, I think I’d rather go see the high school play. In my book, "Let's Hear it for the Boy" trumps "Hakuna Matata."

In the end, I wished the school that did Oklahoma! put on Footloose. After all, no matter what you do to it, the play Oklahoma! is still Oklahoma! and I’d be ok with never seeing it again. Even though the song “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” has been rolling around in my head. It’s a change from the barrage of One Direction songs my daughters subject me to... but not all change is good.

Trader Joe's Olive Oils

Trader Joe's has several varieties of olive oil on their shelves. Since our Albany Trader Joe's opened last August, I have purchased two of their olive oils. I was disappointed in the first and almost didn't buy the second. Throwing caution to the wind (the stakes were pretty low here), I said screw it and bought bottle number two. Much, much better.

The first bottle was the Santini Premium for $7.99 on the middle shelf. Average oil at best. I think you'd be better off with one of the big name oils you'd find in a supermarket. Plus the little pour spout it comes with is useless. The spout went in the trash after it's first use. Bottle number two is the Extra Virgin Spanish Olive Oil on the top shelf. Surprisingly pretty damn good. Good for cooking. Good in a salad dressing. What a significant improvement. Save two bucks and go with Spanish oil. Or one of the many others, but pass on the Santini Premium.

Bad Chicken

Have you ever gone somewhere with really high hopes for great food only to have those hopes crushed? I don't want to name names because the place is brand new, the people working there were very friendly and I do hope they can turn it around.

The place just opened and was offering Friday night apple wood smoked dinners. I had planned to order two brisket plates and one chicken plate for the four of us to eat for dinner. The brisket was sold out when I called. Good sign. I ordered 3 chicken plates to be picked up at 5.

The food was terrible. The chicken skin was black with soot, rubbery, and inedible. I couldn't tell you if there was a rub or not. The fat in the leg quarter had not been completely rendered.The kids wouldn't eat it. The macaroni and cheese side looked more like a pasta salad. Just elbows tossed with oil. There was some cheese in there but sadly, I think you could do better out of a box. The slaw was also bad. A bunch of poorly seasoned cabbage and carrot grated to a pulp. The cans of soda that came with the meal were good. I hadn't had a root beer in awhile.

So after a hectic Friday rush hour drive to the restaurant and spending about $22 on three plates of food...I made hot dogs for the kids. If I ever make it back (probably not too soon), I think I'll go with a breakfast. The place looked more like a greasy spoon than a BBQ joint.

Local Lettuce

I saw this lettuce in Hannaford or the Fresh Market this weekend and bought it. A package of local, living lettuce complete with Steve's phone number on the label. I should have taken more pictures. There was a cool root bundle at the bottom.

I used the lettuce in a salad with dinner tonight. It's pretty good lettuce. If you were making some kind of lettuce wrap, these leaves would be perfect that. I'd get it again. Well done, Steve.

Mc Rib - a tasting

Before Tuesday, I had never had a McRib from McDonald's. The people that like them, love them. Really love them and look forward to limited McRib times of the year - which coincidentally correspond to dips in pork prices. I was on the road for work this week. My co-worker and I were supposed to meet another group of engineers in Salamaca (a 325 mile ride from Albany). But while we were cruising down I-88, one of our tires blew out. By the time that was taken care of, we were running pretty late.  For a quick lunch we stopped at a McDonald's in Elmira. I gave the menu a once over, debated about trying the McRib sandwich but decided I'd be good and went back out to our truck and and a Balance bar I had brought and just keep drinking my seltzer. Well, my partner had told the cashier that I had never tried a McRib and was on the fence about trying one. She gave him one for free so I could taste one. I was already driving when I found this out. I handed him my phone so I could document my McRib tasting. Here it is in all it's glory:

He cut me off about a third of the sandwich. I didn't like it. The bun was kind of soggy. The actual rib portion was a steamed, salty but flavorless crappy sausage patty. The barbecue sauce was not good. I thought the pickle chip was the best part. About 10 minutes after eating it I had a stomach ache that went away pretty quickly.  Granted I'm not the biggest McDonald's fan, but I have no idea how someone could eat the whole thing. In terms of the McRib, I'm one and done. Well, one third and done. The quick lunch on the way back was at a mom and pop sub shop in Vestal. Much better.

Product Review - Artison Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The first time I got this oilive oil was at the Different Drummer's Kitchen is Newton Plaza. That store is gone, but the olive oil is still available at the new Stuyvesant Plaza location. That's where I got the original bottle refilled.

The first bottle is about $12. Refill are a little less, I think it was $9. (I should have written this sooner, I would have remembered the prices.) This is a really nice Greek olive oil. I like it a lot and as long as I can find it, Artison Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a spot in my kitchen. The oil works well in salad dressings and tastes great by itself. I put some of the oil in a bowl with salt, pepper, and oregano and then marinated some chicken in it. Grilled it up - delicious.

The bottle comes with two caps. One is the pour spout seen in the picture. The other is a twist-on cap. You need to not lose the twist-on cap to safely drive your refill home. You might be able to find another cap that fits, but life will be easier if you keep the cap is a safe spot. This company's balsamic vinegar is also for sale at Different Drummer's. Based on the quality of the olive oil, I'll be buying some vinegar in the not too distant future.

Product Review - Brooks Original Chicken Sausage

I saw this today in Price Chopper.

I'm always looking to see what's available in the meat case, so I picked up a package to give it a look. A 12 oz. package costs $3.99. The ingredient list looked OK and the package is labeled gluten and lactose free. I was still on the fence about buying them. I'm not the biggest fan of Brooks. I have never eaten at their restaurant in Oneonta, but I have had food from their roaming, fund raising crews. I was unimpressed with the chicken or ribs. I have heard that the food is better at the restaurant than it is in a church parking lot. What really caught my eye and got these sausages tossed into the cart was the small print that said the product was "Crafted and and distributed by Old World Provisions." I went into a serious depression the day Old World closed their outlet shop. Any company of producing that pastrami has earned the benefit of the doubt. If they make it, I will try it. Two links went into a pan and got heated up with dinner tonight.

The sausage is just so-so. The sound "eh" would be fitting. The kids didn't like them. the texture is very fine, like a hot dog. I thought they were a little sweet. Almost had a maple flavor to them. They might be better on the grill. Two other flavors were available - teriyaki and Buffalo wing. Not sure I'd go back for more. But if you ever get the chance to have Old World's pastrami...jump at it. I've heard Ben and Bill's is doing a good job picking up where the outlet left off. I think I'll be heading over in the near future for a pastrami fix.