Style boundary
Why some American pizza is called tomato pie
Is tomato pie a pizza by another name, or a different dish?
Trenton, Philadelphia and Utica each have a long-standing dish called tomato pie, and each means something different by it. None is simply an old-fashioned word for pizza, and locals in all three places will say so.
PizzaHQ presents both sides and takes no side. Where one named style ends and another begins, when the practice itself varies continuously.
The documented positions
Trenton, New Jersey usage
A tomato pie is a pizza built cheese-first with crushed tomato applied over the top — the order is the definition, and calling it a pizza misses the point.
Reasoning: The construction order is the documented, defended local characteristic, tied to specific century-old establishments.
Generally accepted- The Times of Trenton — history of Trenton tomato pie — The Times of Trenton
Philadelphia usage
A tomato pie is a thick, focaccia-like tray bread with a sweet, thick tomato sauce, no melted cheese, and grated hard cheese on top, eaten at room temperature — a bakery product, not a pizzeria one.
Reasoning: It is sold in Italian bakeries, cut into squares, and eaten cold at gatherings, which is a different food occasion entirely.
Generally accepted- American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza — Ten Speed Press
Utica, New York usage
A tomato pie is a thick, chewy, tray-baked base with a heavy sauce and grated Romano, no mozzarella, also usually eaten at room temperature.
Reasoning: Documented as a distinct upstate New York tradition with its own establishments and serving convention.
Generally accepted
Why it is contested
One name covers three genuinely different dishes in three cities a few hours apart, and each city's usage is correct locally. National food writing tends to pick one and call the others variants.
Related
Evidence
Generally accepted- The Times of Trenton — history of Trenton tomato pie — The Times of Trenton
- American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza — Ten Speed Press
- America's first pizza: the history of tomato pie, and where to try it — lovefood.com