Salvatore's Tomato Pies

About

Modern Farm to table restaurant/bar in downtown Sun Prairie Wisconsin, specializing in local foods, brick oven Trenton style pizza, Scratch kitchen.

Story

What makes a "Tomato Pie" different? It's pizza rooted in Chambersburg, Trenton, NJ's little Italy, and it is made "backwards". There's less cheese, a bit of char and crunch while retaining a good chew, and scratch made sauce swirled on top. This is how Pizza's were made when my family immigrated to the United States, before they were adulterated by large commercial pizza chains using heavily processed ingredients. Though the style comes from Trenton, our pizzas are made with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. Many of our specials revolve around items we find at farmers markets, or what is available in season. Unfortunately, the phrase "We use the finest ingredients" has become so over-used it is nearly meaningless. The best ingredients don't come off the back of a Sysco truck from Mexico. We're proud to work with the following producers: Lonsesome Stone Milling in Lone Rock, WI, (organic flour for pizza and bread) Harmony Valley Farms in Viroqua, (Organic vegetables, salad greens), Don's Produce in Arena ( Tomatoes, Cucumbers), Palms Mushroom Cellars in Helensville, WI, Grande Cheeses, (Brownsville, WI), Hook's Cheese, Farmer John's Cheese, Flyte Family Farm, Jenn-Ehr, J&R Farm in Spring Green, Cargo Coffee in Madison, NessAlla Kombucha, and many more. We also have a rotating inventory of locally brewed craft beer. Italian food has always been local in nature. This is why there are so many regional variations around the country. When Italians came to the United States, they used what was available locally to make things that seemed familiar.


My hometown was once redolent with store fronts proudly displaying neon signs reading "Tomato Pies". Legend has it that the word Pizza supplanted "Tomato Pies" simply because it was less expensive to produce the signs with less letters. Trenton is still home to the oldest continually operating Tomato Pie (Pizza) Joint in the country. We're bringing Salvatore's Tomato Pies to life to celebrate the old traditions and share them with a new generation.

Why Salvatore's? It is the name of my 4-year-old son. This restaurant is about creating something tangible for him while honoring my family history. Our tomato pies are created by drawing upon my upbringing in an Italian-american home, where good food was always the centerpiece of every family gathering.