Upper Crust: Tomato pie from Gaeta's
They're baked in enormous sheet pans, and the edges develop an almost caramel-like sweetness from the tomatoes as they heat as the pizza crust bakes.
The Philadelphia area is home to hundreds of pizzerias. "Upper Crust" presents our favorites and the people behind them.
The parlor: Gaeta's, Northeast Philadelphia
The story: To many people from Northeast Philadelphia, Gaeta's is tomato pie. (Though many folks use the term tomato pie loosely, by our definition it is a square or rectangular pizza dough topped with crushed-tomato sauce and maybe a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, baked, and always served at room temperature.)
Gaeta's (say it "GATE-ehs") traces its roots to two sisters in Germantown who in the 1930s started making tomato pie in their basement. The husband of one of the sisters, Ralph Scalea, set up in a bakery. The Scaleas sold to the Gaeta family, which moved the business to its current location in Rhawnhurst. They later sold it to a succession of entrepreneurs. Frank Straface bought Gaeta's about 10 years ago, and now his son Gene Straface and friend Frank Galdo run it. Turns out, the Strafaces, who lived in East Falls and Germantown, grew up eating Scalea's tomato pie.
They're baked in enormous sheet pans, and the edges develop an almost caramel-like sweetness from the tomatoes as they heat as the pizza bakes. Simplicity itself. Though Gene Straface politely waved off requests for any secrets - and all the production takes place in the back room, out of sight - it's likely that the sauce is little more than crushed tomatoes, sugar, and spices.
It's takeout only, and cash only. (Pro tip: Bring a dropcloth for the car interior; this sauce gets everwhere.)
What we especially love: You cannot go wrong with the signature tomato pie (6 slices, enough for three people, are $8), which is simply a well-balanced tomato sauce, moderately spiced, ladled atop a dense, crispy, quarter-inch-thick crust.
Gaeta's, 7616 Castor Ave., Philadelphia, 215-745-2262. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Closed Tuesday.
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