The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 136

LOS ANGELES TIMES Pizza Yo! Trenton Has a Tradition It's Called Tomato Pie H30 THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1991 Rv HAMIFI PUZO TIMES STAFF WRITE II TThe most famous moment in 'm'B rr 4 can be directly attributed to there was a stove at all, it was usually on the back porch. "These working people did not have anything in the way of kitchens, which were just not designed for cooking," Belknap says. "So the women went to the bakery or the local bar to have something special cooked." Belknap says the Trenton area is also known for its fine sausages, which certainly helps with the reputation of the tomato pie toppings. don't know if I have ever A eaten better pizza," Belknap says. "Trenton does have the best." The concept of tomato pies is not as distant from the area's George Washington lore as it would initially seem.

Silvestro, of Joe's Tomato Pies, said that in the old days before the availability of cardboard boxesthe tomato pies were wrapped up for take-out in newspapers, the resulting package took on a rather special design. "The finished wrapping was shaped like George Washington's tri-cornered hat," he says. "And it came with a handle." whose pie is best. In the heart of Chambersberg, out-of-towners are immediately spotted when they ask for a pizza. In a technical sense, a Trenton tomato pie is distinguished from pizza by the sequence in which the primary toppings are placed on the super-thin dough.

After preparing and tossing the dough to achieve the desired base, the cook puts a smattering of cheese directly on the dough and then both dough and cheese are covered with sauce, allowing for a proper border so that edges of the crust can puff. The result is an ideal mingling of ingredients, with the melted cheese anchored by the sauce and less likely to slide off the pie than with a conventional pizza. Pizza makers in the rest of the country do it in the opposite order: sauce first, then cheese. The crust is also crucial. One veteran pie maker says that preparing the dough very thin allows it to crisp and become a bit more firm so that it is easier to handle and savor.

Joe's Tomato Pie Restaurant, founded in 1910, is famous for both with what my father did and with what his father did. If I changed the pies, no one would come back." Michael Bucci has been making pies for more than two decades, the last 15 years at Jo Jo's Tavern on Hamilton Avenue. His contribution to Trenton pie artistry is the elimination of mozzarella and the use of a blend of mild Cheddar cheeses. "Cheddar and mozzarella melt two different ways," Bucci says. "If I put the Cheddar on top of the sauce, then it would slide off.

The tomato cuts it and keeps it in place." "I've made tomato pies for 22 years and I can't tell you why we started using Cheddar instead of mozzarella. I never knew why. It's just what I learned as a kid," he says. "And it is different from everyone else's in town." Joan Belknap, a local food writer, believes that Trenton's strong tomato pie tradition began when Italian housewives would bring their home-made sauce to the neighborhood bakery and ask the baker to make a pie for them. At the time, most of the row houses had poorly equipped kitchens.

If tional reputation for fine china and ceramics. It is the birthplace of Lennox, Boehm and Cybis. And then there is the pizza. Trenton may be the capital of New Jersey, but like all the other small cities of the Northeast, it has recently undergone an economic struggle. The ethnic neighborhoods that once prospered are now fading.

But one section of town Chambersberg has remained a vibrant Italian enclave. And from Chambersberg a maze of row houses, churches, one-way streets and cement playgrounds comes maybe the best thin-crust pizza in the country. The pizza, known in this area as tomato pie, is wonderful in its simplicity: super-thin crust, fresh cheese and a thick, flavorful tomato sauce lightly spiced with basil. The misguided order extra cheese in order to approximate traditional pizza. In Trenton, the difference between pizza and tomato pie is more than semantics.

The issue is seriously debated everywhere, from the neighborhood taverns to the local newspapers' annual polls of its pie recently named best in the county by the local newspaper and the fact that it may be the only drive-in pizza outlet in the United States. "Because we don't deliver, the drive-up window is a convenience for our customers," says Peter Silvestro, 33, the fourth generation of his family to make pies at the South Clinton Street location. "The concept, begun about 30 years ago, is real popular. On a Friday night there is always a line of 10 to 12 cars, just like people at the bank waiting to cash their paycheck." Silvestro says his dough recipe has been in the family for 80 years and that the tomatoes for the sauce are custom-crushed in California. don't do anything harsh to A the sauce unless a customer asks for it," he says.

"We use only basil. We don't go heavy with garlic unless they ask. "Tomato pie is different because of the thin crust, the mozzarella on the bottom and the tomatoes on top," Silvestro continues. "We've all done the same thing that has been passed down to us through the years. I have to be consistent ail UVCllllUUlgkllV' IUUU UUU 'grog.

A garrison of British soldiers and "German mercenaries occupied the town on Christmas night, 1776. Gen. George Washington, betting the Europeans would celebrate the holiday to excess, launched a surprise attack after his famous crossing of the Delaware River. The drunken British-led contingent was easily routed. This has been proudly labeled the "turning point of the Revolutionary War," and it has been taught to schoolchildren ever since.

It is a history lesson that makes an impression: One Trenton native Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopfwent on to duplicate Washington's surprise tactics in the Persian Gulf. Between Washington's triumph and Schwarzkopf's graduation from Trenton Central High School, the city also developed an interna PIZZA: The Asian Tradition Continued from H22 gari refugees fleeing the suppression "'of their 1867 revolt against Chinese 12 package dry yeast 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups flour 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature 2 tablespoons yogurt 2 tablespoons sesame seeds 2 to 3 teaspoons crushed hot pepper Place on greased baking sheet, smear surface of dough with yogurt and sprinkle sesame and crushed hot pepper as evenly as possible over surface. Preheat oven to 450 degrees 20 minutes while dough rests.

Place baking sheet on middle rack of oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust is pale golden. Makes 4 servings. Mix warm water and yeast in bowl and leave in warm place 5 minutes. When yeast foams, add salt, flour and butter and mix well. Knead on floured board 10 minutes.

Place in bowl, cover with plastic wrap and towel and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down and roll out thin into 1 large or 2 small pizzas. KASHGARi PATYR yogurt. Spread 18 inch layer of mixture on center of pizzas. Bake at 375 degrees 35 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 8 servings. This Syrian snack, thin and limp like lahmajune, is a specialty of the city of Hama; sometimes it is flavored with the sour Near Eastern spice sumac instead of red pepper. I first had it in 19S0, bought from a stand near one of the groaning 60-foot Roman water wheels that are still used in Hama. 12 pound onions, sliced 34 cup warm water in onion water. Let stand in warm place until yeast foams.

Add enough flour to make somewhat stiff but kneadable dough. Knead dough 10 minutes then place in large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until nearly doubled, 3 to 4 hours. Punch down dough and form into 2 patties. Take 1 and squeeze center with fingertips while turning and stretching to form flat, round pizza 8 inches across with raised border.

Border should be 1 to 1 12 inches wide and about 34-inch thick; center should be 5 to 6 inches wide and about 14-inch thick. Repeat with second piece of dough. Let pizzas rise 20 to 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap, on floured board. Just before placing on floured baking sheet, take 23 onion debris, wring as dry as possible in hands and mix well with 2 teaspoons salt )' package dry yeast 3 to 3 12 cups flour ruree oniuns in iuuu Pour into bowl, add warm water and knead onions well with hands. KHUBZ BI-FIAYFLEH (Syrian Sesame and Hot Pepper Pizza) 12 cup warm water Strain liquid tnrougn sieve into laree mixing howl, reserving onion debris.

Dissolve salt, yeast and saffron More VARIETY AND OVER 2000 KEY BUYS MEAN MORE SAVINGS FOR YOU, AT LUCKY! Special services of the Los Angeles Times Oscar Mayer Meat Bologna 92.69 1 5.25 0Z. PRC. H2.69 LB. 91.99 Louis Rich Quarter Turkey Breast BONELESS, 4 VARIETIES Oscar Mayer Beef Bologna LIGHT HOME DELIVERY A great way to start your day! Have The Times delivered to your home every morning by calling 1-800-LA TIMES. VACATION DELIVERY Most subscribers can receive The Times at their Southern California vacation address.

We can also stop your home delivery while you're away and resume service when you return. Call 1-800-LA TIMES. HI .79 12 0Z.PKG. H3.79 IB. 91.89 12 0Z.PKG.

91.69 YOUR CHOICE 91.19 Swanson Hungry-Man Dinner ASSORTED VARIETIES, FROZEN Hillshire Farm Hot Links, BEEF HOT LINKS OR CHEDDARWURST, RANDOM WEIGHT Land 0 Lakes Butter LIGHTLY SALTED OR UNSAUED Lake to Lake Shredded Cheese MOZZARRELLA, CHEDDAR OR CHEDDAREILA Oscar Mayer Deli Thin Meat 4 VARIETIES 16 0Z.PKG. CAMPUS DELIVERY The perfect cure for homesickness. For any student living on campus at a Southern California college. To order, call the number on your bill or 1-800-LA TIMES. SERVICE INQUIRIES If your newspaper is damaged, or your delivery is missed, please call 1-800-LA TIMES by 10 am weekdays, and by 11 am Sundays, for a same-day replacement copy.

Service question hours: 5 am 4 pm, Monday-Friday; 7 am -12 noon, Saturday; 8 am -1 pm Sunday. Cos Angeles imes The largest metropolitan daily in the nation. 1 99 Plates 10 14" 25 8 78" SO a. OR 8 0Z.PKG. COLOR 8 78" 40 CT.

Hefty ESQ 1.99 Color Cups 16 OZ. 60Z.PKG. 20CT.PKG. Our Price Prelection Policy guarantees these prices to be effective in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Ventura and Son Bernardino Counties from 8 a.m. Thursday, June 20 through midnight Wednesday, June 26, 1991.

Copyright1991 by lucky Stores, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Limit Rights Reserved on Commerciol Solus. Asm The Olympic Tradition Continues. Los Angeles July 12-21 QooAnflcleoSTvmco The largest multi-sport event In Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Games.

Over 3,000 of America's best amateur athletes and Olympic hopeluls competing In 37 different sports at venues throughout Los Angeles. WELLS FARGO BANK U.S.Olympic Festival -'91 1 (W091.