Big Changes at Delorenzo's in Trenton

[Jeff L]

I usually call every month or so early Friday morning to order my tomato pie for later on in the day as Delorenzo's on Hudson street is only open for lunch on Friday. Well, I am sad to say that I was at the last Friday lunch this past week.

Now, not only are there no more lunches served, their hours have just been cut in half. Starting 1/10, they will now be open Thursday through Sunday from 4:00- 9:00 pm. Anyone who has been here on the weekends knows how insanely hard tables are to come by, it just got a lot worse!

The only good news is that Sammy (son of owners) will finally open his new place in Robbinsville this Wednesday. He will be open for lunch and dinner every day and I think will serve more than great tomato pies ( I heard salads will be available too) More info can be had at 609 341-8480.

I personally think it's just a matter of time for the Hudson Street location to call it quits. I hope I'm wrong but...

[BeeZee]

They have a web site for the new location; there is a link to see the menu if you scroll to the bottom of the page. They will have salad and antipasto in addition to pizza. Plus a bathroom!

www.delorenzostomatopies.com

I suspect this is a transition, as the younger members of the family know that a lot of their customers don't live in Trenton and don't feel good about driving in any more.

[Jeff L]

I suspect this is a transition, as the younger members of the family know that a lot of their customers don't live in Trenton and don't feel good about driving in any more.

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Trust me, the older members feel the same way. Unfortunately, Delorenzo's Hudson St and the one on Hamilton Avenue are just a few of the remaining Italian restaurants left in Trenton due to the ever increasing gang problems and otherwise deteriorating neighborhoods.

I remember in the not too distant past being faced with the dilema of deciding on which place we'd go to for dinner.

[Rich Pawlak]

News that brings mixed emotions , for sure. But I'll be in Robbinsville Wednesday night. Wouldnt miss an opening night for anything!!

[Jeff L]

Rich, the place looks really nice. Check out the website pictures on Beezee's post above. Gotta love the toilet picture!

Report back after you go

[alembic54]

Anyone go to the opening?

[Rich Pawlak]

We tried. We really tried. But it was a mob scene. The place is big and roomy, airy even, with spacious booths, lots of 4-seat tables and plenty of high chairs for the kiddies. Waiters are in white shirts and black neckties, looking smart. But the wait at 7PM was over an hour, with about 25 people ahead of us. We said hi to Sam and Gary, with best wishes and hoped for another lucky day. It's not smart to wait in line with 21/2 yr old twins.

[BeeZee]

Went to the new DeLorenzo's last night...that's my kind of Valentine's Day dinner

There was a fairly long wait at 6:30-ish, I'm going to guess 1/2 hour-45 min. Strangely enough, if you came in with a large group 5-6, you got seated faster because of the large booths being open faster than the smaller tables.

We got one pie with artichoke and one clam pie. I thought I remembered that the clam pie was white when we got it in the past, but I think last time we had gone to Hamilton, so it could be a difference between the 2 places.

Pies were tasty and crisp, the clam pie had a nice drizzle of oil and generous sprinkle of oregano. Clams were finely chopped and not chewy. That pie suffered a little from excess moisture (tomato) towards the middle, just a little droopage on the end of a slice (and it was a small, so the large might have more).

Only negative was no attention from waitstaff after the pies were dropped, I could have used a refill on the drinks.

I hadn't been to the Trenton location in quite a while, so it wouldn't be fair for me to judge if it is "exactly" the same, but I thought it was very good!

[Jeff L]

Finally, someone got over there. Their clam pies on Hudson are white with some nice fresh parsley with the chopped clams as you described. Sounds like Sam is tinkering but I'm sure it was tasty nonetheless.

[Rich Pawlak]

Went to the new DeLorenzo's last night...that's my kind of Valentine's Day dinner

There was a fairly long wait at 6:30-ish, I'm going to guess 1/2 hour-45 min. Strangely enough, if you came in with a large group 5-6, you got seated faster because of the large booths being open faster than the smaller tables.

We got one pie with artichoke and one clam pie. I thought I remembered that the clam pie was white when we got it in the past, but I think last time we had gone to Hamilton, so it could be a difference between the 2 places.

Pies were tasty and crisp, the clam pie had a nice drizzle of oil and generous sprinkle of oregano. Clams were finely chopped and not chewy. That pie suffered a little from excess moisture (tomato) towards the middle, just a little droopage on the end of a slice (and it was a small, so the large might have more).

Only negative was no attention from waitstaff after the pies were dropped, I could have used a refill on the drinks.

I hadn't been to the Trenton location in quite a while, so it wouldn't be fair for me to judge if it is "exactly" the same, but I thought it was very good!

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Yee hah! Finally, a review visit. Indeed, what a great Valentine's Day dinner! Over the years I have learned that if you ordered a clam pie at Delorenzo's you got a red pie with clams, unless you specified a WHITE clam pie. Did you happen to notice any of the salads or antipasti now being served?

[Jeff L]

I don't remember ever seeing tomato on their clam pies Rich. I usually get clam and spinach pie with garlic- it comes out with no tomato and no cheese - outstanding. Maybe they just know that's how I like them, not sure.

[BeeZee]

There were a lot of people ordering both the salads and antipasto plate. I think I saw the green salad (dressed with vinagrette) on an adjacent table, big enough for 2 to share. Antipasto plate had (I believe) salami, proscuitto, cheese, fat sesame bread sticks and olives? Everything looked very fresh.

[Rich Pawlak]

I don't remember ever seeing tomato on their clam pies Rich. I usually get clam and spinach pie with garlic- it comes out with no tomato and no cheese - outstanding. Maybe they just know that's how I like them, not sure.

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Whenever we've oreder a clam pie at Delorenzo's Gary's wife has always asked us "red or white?", so I'm guessing they just remembered your preference.

[Jeff L]

I guess so. You really should try the white pie in case you haven't. It's really outstanding. The only better white clam pie I've had was up in New Haven at Peppe's.

[Rich Pawlak]

I've never had the red clam pie, only the white, and I still think it is a better clam pie than the one at Pepe's in New Haven, with a lighter crust and a cleaner taste.

[Rich Pawlak]

Finally!

On a rainy Friday, just after their 4PM opening, we slogged into the new Delorenzo's Robbinsville, spacious, high ceilingedand ALREADY PACKED at 4PM! The booths are big, capable of seating up to 8 people; there are more than 20 free standing tables and a crisply dressed staff of young men in white shirts and black neckties. Big open pizza kitchen, with two stacks of new pizza ovens, and a back kitchen for preparation of salads and antipasto.

But the important news: the tomato pies have not skipped a beat from Hudson St, and yes, may be even better. The mixed filed greens salad, with apples and walnuts, dressed with a white balsamic vinaigrette, is large and colorful. The antipasto, with bread sticks, sopresatta, roasted red peppers, aged provalone triangles and a half dozen fresh mozzarella balls is rustically impressive.

We had three pies: tomato pie, tomato pie with pepperoni and red peppers and white clam with garlic and parsley. With my eyes closed I was back at Hudson St in tomato pie nirvana. Nothing missing, crisp and light, a yeasty crust that crackles with every bite and is rich with good olive oil and pizza oven char.

Sam, Chick's grandson, is doing his beloved grandfather proud.

Pics to follow.

[john b]

Finally!

On a rainy Friday, just after their 4PM opening, we slogged into the new Delorenzo's Robbinsville, spacious, high ceilingedand ALREADY PACKED at 4PM!  The booths are big, capable of seating up to 8 people; there are more than 20 free standing tables and a crisply dressed staff of young men in white shirts and black neckties.  Big open pizza kitchen, with two stacks of new pizza ovens, and a back kitchen for preparation of salads and antipasto.

But the important news: the tomato pies have not skipped a beat from Hudson St, and yes, may be even better.  The mixed filed greens salad, with apples and walnuts, dressed with a white balsamic vinaigrette, is large and colorful.  The antipasto, with bread sticks, sopresatta, roasted red peppers, aged provalone triangles and a half dozen fresh mozzarella balls is rustically impressive. 

We had three pies: tomato pie, tomato pie with pepperoni and red peppers and white clam with garlic and parsley.  With my eyes closed I was back at Hudson St in tomato pie nirvana.  Nothing missing, crisp and light, a yeasty crust that crackles with every bite and is rich with good olive oil and pizza oven char.

Sam, Chick's grandson, is doing his beloved grandfather proud.

Pics to follow.

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I missed you by a day. We finally made it there yesterday, in the midst of the storm, and it was definitely worth the drive and getting wet. Table for 3 was a 20-30 minute wait at 5 PM. My boys and I shared a large tomato pie. My oldest proclaimed it to be the best thing he's ever eaten, so now we're headed back in a few weeks for his birthday.

I wish I knew the secret to their tomatoes. They are incredibly full of flavor. I really like the room, too. The various pictures on the wall of the Hudson St location are a nice touch.

[Jeff L]

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I wish I knew the secret to their tomatoes. They are incredibly full of flavor. I really like the room, too. The various pictures on the wall of the Hudson St location are a nice touch.

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It's no secret John. They use a combination of redpack whole tomatoes and "six in one" hand ground tomatoes out of California. I've been buying six in one by the case for about ten years now at a local distributor (Bova Foods in Chalfont PA)

It has a nice thick consistancy and makes for a great red sauce when combined with a good quality San Marzano.. I've been using Bova's house tomato which is La Regina DOC. I'm not sure where you live but if you're up in North Jersey, I suspect you could check the website of Escalon Packers in California to find a local distributor of six in one.

I've posted about these tomatoes previously on this board and the story of how Gary once showed me exactly what he does to create this perfect tomato pie. By the way he uses Maggio (commercial size) cheese and Pilsbury's bakers best flour.

So there you have it now go find these tomatoes!

[Rich Pawlak]

I saw Sorrento mozz at the Robbinsville location, not Maggio. Was surprised that it was a consumer brand.

[john b]

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I wish I knew the secret to their tomatoes. They are incredibly full of flavor. I really like the room, too. The various pictures on the wall of the Hudson St location are a nice touch.

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It's no secret John. They use a combination of redpack whole tomatoes and "six in one" hand ground tomatoes out of California. I've been buying six in one by the case for about ten years now at a local distributor (Bova Foods in Chalfont PA)

It has a nice thick consistancy and makes for a great red sauce when combined with a good quality San Marzano.. I've been using Bova's house tomato which is La Regina DOC. I'm not sure where you live but if you're up in North Jersey, I suspect you could check the website of Escalon Packers in California to find a local distributor of six in one.

I've posted about these tomatoes previously on this board and the story of how Gary once showed me exactly what he does to create this perfect tomato pie. By the way he uses Maggio (commercial size) cheese and Pilsbury's bakers best flour.

So there you have it now go find these tomatoes!

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Plain old Redpack??

Chalfont is probably an hour away (I'm just over the Tacony bridge). It looks like you can buy the 6 in 1 right on Escalon's website for $3.33/can (28 oz. can).

We've been using the Nina San Marzano's from Costco for our pasta sauce. I'm thinking that the Nina's plus the 6 in 1's (what ratio do you use??) would work.

[Jeff L]

Get the six in one at Bova. At $3.33 I'm pretty sure they were talking about the large #10 cans. Escalon also will charge shipping that adds up too.They are $34.99 at Bova, (24 cans - 28 oz). Try the La Regina San Marzanos when you are at Bova, I feel confident that they will blow away the stuff you get at Costco and they are inexpesive too.

http://www.bovafoods.com/

I usually make a lot of meatballs and then simmer in the sauce. I generally use 5 or 6 cans of the six in one to 3 or 4 cans San Marzano. I chop the ends off the whole tomatoes and leave out the water they are packed in.

In order, I briefly saute 5 or 6 cloves minced garlic and a little red pepper. I add a few cans of six in one till it simmers then I add the san marzanos. I like a thick, not runny sauce so I sometimes use a little tomato paste to get the right consistency.

Edited March 12, 2008 by Jeff L (log)

[Jeff L]

At long last I made it out to Robbinsville for lunch today with my oldest daughter. I must say that I had the best pie today in all my years of going to Delorenzo's on Hudson Street. It was perfectly charred and chock full of chunky tomatoes. I usually order mine with garlic but my daughter asked for none so we got half garlic. Perfection.

As to the place, what a drastic change. Gary was helping Sammy out with the pizza making and he was even smiling, a rare occurance not usually witnessed at the original place indeed! He came to our table afterward and commented that seeing my daughter made him feel old, he remembered my taking both girls when they were very young.

When Eileen came (Sam's mom and Gary's wife) I told her I couldn't believe how wonderful the place looked and that I was still processing the fact they have bathrooms AND take credit cards!

There were at least a half dozen waiters and really nice photos of the bygone era which was Chambersburg back in the day. I'll be back soon, only a half hour from my home.

[Rich Pawlak]

Finally. Pics from visit to the new Delorenzo's in Robbinsville:

the dining room

behind the line

Sam Amico behind the line

Antpasto plate

Field greens salad

Tomato Pie, with pepperoni and roasted red peppers, hot out of the oven

Almost half gone in a flash!

Barely any tomato pie with pepperoni and red pepper left!

The legendary white clam pie

daughter Sophie's favorite pizza hands down

Edited March 29, 2008 by Rich Pawlak (log)

[Jeff L]

That clam pie is a thing of beauty. You know how when you go to Tony Luke's you just have to get the roast pork italiano? Well for me, it's why I always get the tomato pie with garlic every time I go to Delorenzos. Unless I'm with a party of four, I generally don't order it. Your pic has me craving one and I just might order one next week when me and a buddy go back for lunch

[john b]

After our second trip to the new DeLorenzo's on Friday (my son's b-day dinner request), we've decided that it has to be a "more than once or twice a year" destination. It is phenomenal.