Tomato Pie Pizza Joint

Today I picked up from a place called Tomato Pie Pizza Joint. They have this name because they serve a version of a tomato pie. This is basically a pizza with no cheese, although they put a little parmesan on top. They also have a Sicilian style pizza too, but I have to stick to the thin crust version I’ve been chasing. They also have a Syracuse Pie. Since I am a Syracuse alum I was exited about that. It is a buffalo chick pizza basically. It has hot sauce and ranch mixed with the cheese, chicken and spices. They also have this special veggie pizza that looked amazing.

tomato pieSicilian

I got my cheese pie from the one on Melrose, pictured above. Though recently I have been back to Sliverlake for the other location. They have a little patio out back which is nice.

This is a place that is reasonably priced. I got a generously large 18-inch pie for 14 dollars. I took it home and ate over half of it; is that too much? The pizza tasted good at first, it had good flavor and I liked the sauce a lot. I realized every pizza I eat tastes great the first bite you take, and the deeper you get into the slice the more the elements of the pizza stand out. Finally, when you get to the end all there is, is the crust, and if thats not good enough then you can 't finish it. So you really cannot judge a slice until you finish it. Anyway, this pizza could have stood to have a little more cheese, but it was alright. The crust, of course the common mistake, was not great. The taste was just too flat and stale and a little tough to bite through. It wasn’t nearly crispy enough and there was no puff at the end. I am being overly critical obviously, the crust is better than most. A lot of people swear by this place so I don't know. I found it to be only slightly above average. Perhaps it is the fact they have tomato pies and Sicilian pies and a pie called the Grandma - their signature dish if you will.

When I returned to Tomato Pie I was sure to get the Grandma Pie because this is what the people rave about. So I felt I needed to be in the loop. The grandma is closer to a traditional Neapolitan style pizza in that it is primarily sauce w/ a light smattering of cheese. Though the cheese was the same cheese they usually use, just less of it, and the sauce had a lot more spices than a regular pie. It was a variation of a Neapolitan style.

It was loaded with oregano, basil and slices of cloves of garlic. A lot of garlic, if you aren't on board with garlic don't get this pizza. The sauce was really tasty, like a said a lot of flavor and spices with whole chunks of crushed marinated tomatoes. The problem I have with this is, it is not a sauce I want on my pizza. Pizza should have only lightly spiced and sweet sauce. I guess you could say this is more of a dinner pizza. This is just my preference though, the sauce was good.

The main problem was the same as the regular pie, the crust. It was crispy and thin, so it got half way to being good, but was also dense and dry. I have ordered the pizza a second time more recently and it was a little better from the Silverlake location. The crust was not as dry and had a little chewiness to it. It is a decent pie, I dont know if it is worth raving about all over the country but I still prefer a classic run of the mill thin slice of pizza. A relatively cheap pie though $17 for an 18 inch. If you like Tomato Pie's crust, if you like a spicy flavorful sauce and if you like garlic, this pie is for you. Enjoy.

Tomato Pie Pizza Joint

7751 1/2 Melrose Ave. 90046

323-653-9993

2457 Hyperion Ave. Silverlake 90027

323-661-6474

Price: $

Overall: