The Best Tomato Pie Is Found in New York’s Capital Region

There is always an argument about food identity in the Capital Region. Upstate New York in general has that problem. We're a transplant location, and a lot of our food is borrowed, and I'll admit that. However I have to say, tomato pie might be the best, and most unique food that we have to offer. While Utica may claim to be the home of this, the best is found at Perreca's Bakery in Schenectady, NY.

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Before anyone jumps down my digital throat, yes, I have tried the tomato pie in Utica. If I had to pick my favorite from that area it would be a place called Roma's. However, I find their tomato sauce to be too sweet in Utica. That's why I love Perreca's. That sauce is savory and flavorful.

What is tomato pie?

The definition from WikiPedia sstates:

Italian tomato pie is an Italian-American and Italian-Canadian baked good consisting of a thick, porous, focaccia-like dough covered with tomato sauce. It may be sprinkled with Romano cheese or oregano. It is not usually served straight from the oven, but allowed to cool and then consumed at room temperature or reheated.

For those of you new here, it is not pizza. Don't even call it that. It is something totally different. If you go into eating tomato pie thinking, "oh I'm just going to have a slice of pizza" you will be shocked at the difference. While slightly comparable to

BJ/TSM

Every once in a while, Perreca's will drop off an entire tomato pie at the radio station. I tried to get a photo of the complete pie, but by the time I went to my office to grab my phone several slices were already claimed. It is that good. You can smell that delicious and robust tomato sauce that tops the light and fluffy dough throughout the hallways. The entire radio station now smells like an Italian grandmother's kitchen on a Sunday and I don't think anyone would complain about that.

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When you're craving something uniquely Upstate NY, I am going to recommend tomato pie 10 times out of 10. While you know I love myself a hot dog, this stuff is hard to beat. It might arguably be the best food to come out of Upstate NY, besides melba sauce on mozzarella sticks.