De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies

Just a little heads up folks. I was in over the weekend and had one of the best pizza combination ever tasted. Clams with tomato and cheese!

We had planned on the clam in white sauce pie and were distracted when we ordered and our waitress asked "tomato and cheese?" Not knowing which we were agreeing to. What a happy mistake!

Take their amazing tomato pie, add some cheese, CLAMS, garlic, herbs, and a hit of olive oil out of the oven and one will be rewarded with this treasure!

What I am saying is if you like pizza and you like clams then you should get this! I can't make it any more plain for you people!

I take back everything that I wrote in my review of the Delorenzo's on Hamilton. I didn't realize that there are two places with similar names (owned by cousins). Folks, this is ground zero for North American pizza. Don't even think of going to the other place.

And watch for an upcoming move to a commerical strip mall. Details in De Lorenzo's. Will the quality stay as high? Stay tuned.

This is the best pizza I've ever had in MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big slices, just the right amount of sauce! Perfect EVERY TIME!

This is one of the things I miss most about not living in NJ anymore. I have YET to find pizza this good in Philly!!!!

Clearly the best Pizza in all of Jersey/NYC, but not the Tri-State Region. That award goes to Frank Pepe's in New Haven. Who would have thunk that Trenton of all places has the second best pizza in all of the world, well, at least in my eyes.

I took my family there while en route to Sesame Place one Friday afternoon. The place just opened and we were the first customers. The guy who took our order was very helpful. We decided to get a pepperoni/sausage pie, as well as a clam pie. Both pizza's are top notch. I can't find the words to express how shocked, amazed, and excited my taste buds were for me introducing this pizza to them.

Just recently, I took my boys from NYC to de Lorenzo's while en route to our semi-annual Philly trip. Needless to say, they loved it and they too were surprised how great the pizza in Trenton is. Let's just say that one of my boys is a vegan and he couldn't pass up trying a Trenton Tomato Pie. On top of that, they are born and raised New Yorkers and for them to concede to a Jersey Pie must really burn. BURNS, DON'T IT?!!!!!!

Details on the food.......sorry almost forgot. Best thin crust. So crispy, and the toppings were superb. When they say tomato pie, they mean tomato. Instead of pizza sauce, they use huge chunks of canned tomatoes, slammin'. I can compare it to a neapolitan-esque crust with Chicago-esque hearty toppings. Just perfectly made.

I also recommend (2nd best tomato pie in Trenton)

Top Road Tavern & Pizza
(609) 393-5911
1042 Brunswick Ave, Trenton, NJ 08638

OK so I am a pizza snob (there is an oxymoron for you), so when I walked into De Lorenzo's after waiting outside for half an hour for the place to open, I was taken aback at the sight of a standard, run-of-the-mill pizza oven. As old as this place is and with the raves it gets, I was sure I was going to find a decades old, coal-fired, brick oven ala Pepe's in New Haven or Lombardi's in New York (whose oven is actually less than 20 years old since it moved to its new location in '94). Nope, a standard Baker's Pride pizza oven. I was prepared to be disappointed...I wasn't.

The pie was very reminiscent of of the thin, crisp pizza's I've had at the places mentioned above. Actually probably crisper, it was almost cracker-like, without crossing the line into being crumbly. The pie was also nicely charred, like a pizza you'd get from a super-high temperature, brick oven, but what made the De Lorenzo's pie stand out for me was the sauce. The tomatoes were left chunky, sweet and delicious. The other highlight was the large pieces of sausage used for the sausage topping. Mmmm, I love italian sausage, I know one day it will kill me, but I know also it will have been worth it.

This is an old-school, neighborhood pizza joint, in a lousy area, that hasn't been updated in the last 40 years (or longer) ...I mean seriously how can you run a restaurant and not have a bathroom?...but you are coming for the pizza, so make the most of it and enjoy the kitschy ambiance circa 1949.

And don't forget the wine, it's BYOB.

Meandered my way through the streets of Trenton to get a taste of "the best pizza in Jersey", De Lorenzo's came damn close. I'd give them 4.5 stars for the 3 tomato pies and one mushroom, sweet pepper, and onion pie.

The thing I like the best about De Lorenzo's pies is the crust, it's baked just perfectly, extra thin and crispy with a nice balance of cheese and sauce that is mouth watering for sure. We enjoyed the pies to the very last slice, incredibly delicious and certainly recommended, I know I'll be going back.

The restaurant itself isn't much to look at, it's a small place that looks like the first floor of a house, a few pictures of celebrity fans on the wall with a tiny kitchen and antique cash register. You'll know you're there when you see the nice cars parked on the street in front of it, obviously they are doing something very right because the place was crowded at 4:30pm on a Sunday. I paid $14 a piece for plain tomato pies and $17 for the veggie pie, they were all well worth the money.

I adore this place! Old school Trenton, NJ family run business where nothing has changed because the old way of serving pizza is perfect!

The birch beer was perfect as was the thin crusted pizza with sweet peppers, onions & mushrooms! The service us polite and has am old world family feel. I kept wondering if Sinatra had ever eaten here.

Fantastic.

Ugly neighborhood, cramped space, long waits at times, no bathrooms, unfriendly staff, poor service, very limited menu, BYOB and superb pizza.

That's all you need to know.

To all of you who don't know about this place and to all of you who know about this place but for some reason haven't been:

We need to talk.

Get over it if you live in Philadelphia and are too lazy to drive. The pizza is worth it.

Get over it if you're annoyed that this place has frequent lines out the door. The pizza is worth it.

Get over it if you're hesitant about going to a place that has no bathroom. The pizza is worth it.

Get over it if you live in Philly and think there is no life beyond Tacconelli's. This pizza is better.

This place is true to its roots. The place is family owned and family operated. The pizza is the real italian style thin crust tomato pie.

So get your tush to the ATM, then the liquor store, then up to Chambersburg for the best pizza of your life.

Trust me. You'll be singing the same tune afterward.

I'm gad we had this chat.

The best pizza place hands down.

I've been to both DeLorenzo's locations, on Hudson and Hamilton streets and they are pretty similar. If you are used to getting your pizza from Dominoes or Pizza Hut and you actually think they have good pizza then I would not even recommend you go to DeLorenzo's because all you're going to do is waste precious seating room.

The Hudson street location is a real dive. It's in an awful area and doesn't look like it's been changed much since it opened. The place is very small with five or so tables in the front of the store and maybe another six in the back. The service is awful and you might have to wait awhile before anyone even comes to bring you water and the lady that takes your order is a curmudgeonly old ogress that hates the world.

The place doesn't have a bathroom, so make sure you go beforehand, and they do not accept credit cards, so bring cash. Their drink selection is very sparse and it all tastes like watered down Gatorade. I'd just stick with water. Also, don't try to call them on the phone, they frequently leave it off the hook.

So far I've made the place sound awful, but everything I've said is true and is a must know for the DeLorenzo's tenderfoot. The ONLY reason it manages to get five stars in my book is the pizza. The pizza is otherworldly. It's not loaded with heavy toppings or gloppy, stringy cheese, instead it relies on simple ingredients and proper preparation. I could write a doctoral dissertation on their crust alone, it's so perfect. Its extremely thin and crispy with a slight charring around the edges. The sauce is a perfect compliment to the crust with its freshness and real bites of tomato chunks. Also, order more pizza than you think you'll need. You'll definitely want it.

They do have toppings, but don't expect to order anything too avant garde, they might throw your ignorant ass out.