Best tomato pie? I got a guy ... | Let’s Eat

This week, we’re all about tomato pie, the Philly-bred cousin of pizza. Also, we have ideas for solo diners and profiles of nightlife baron Teddy Sourias (who has three major restaurants on the way) and the Sarcone family (where they’re transitioning the century-old bakery). I also make it a point to show you Chinatown’s newest restaurant. Yes, skewers are the specialty,

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“Tomato pie” hits differently in Philly. It’s not the cheese-on-the-bottom pizza that folks from the Trenton, N.J., area call tomato pie. Certainly, it’s not sliced tomatoes atop pizza, as a shop in Ellijay, Ga., once tried to serve me. Our tomato pie, which started around here a century ago in Italian bakeries, is really thick sauce spread over a focaccia-like crust and served at room temp.

We’ve recently updated our guide to tomato pie, which includes the Big C’s (Carlino’s, Corropolese, and Conshohocken Italian Bakery), plus other classics such as Gaeta’s and Marchiano’s. New on the list is Joseph’s Pizza Parlor, shown in the above photo: “Imagine the crisp, almost buttery crust of a Detroit-style pizza, with the lightness and airiness of a fine focaccia, topped with a slightly sweet sauce sprinkled with just enough pecorino Romano to give it personality and a finishing blast of the oven to lightly char it all.”

But wait, there’s more. I found a guy for tomato pie. Justin Nastasi, chef at a restaurant that he doesn’t care to identify, offers his on Instagram (under the name of his other specialty, “South Philly Prosciutto Bread”). You DM and he arranges pickup near his South Philly home, juggling pizzas with his full-time job. Jen Zavala of Juana Tamale tried it a few weeks ago and raved about it, boosting the pressure on him to produce.

Nastasi does a 48-hour fermentation of Caputo Nuvola Super flour, topping his rectangles with Bianco di Napoli crushed tomatoes mixed with fresh basil, oregano, garlic, sea salt, and pepper before finishing with Grande Parmesan. The result is shown below, minus a middle slice my overeager son snagged. Beautiful crispiness from the 16- by 12-inch LloydPan and well worth the $20 or so.

Read on for our guide to tomato pies.

Where to eat as a solo diner? Neuroscientist Sharon Thompson-Schill, who dines out every night, knows every pop-up and chef out there. She shares her dinner-for-one ideas, even if you’re not the type who hits several restaurants and comes equipped with her own Tupperware.

The father-son connection continues at Sarcone’s Bakery in South Philadelphia. As the fourth generation hands off to the fifth, it’s taken on additional poignancy. Louis Sarcone Jr. feels the effects of Parkinson’s disease. But he believes in his son, Louis III. Read on for the story and to watch Jenna Miller’s touching video.

Teddy Sourias is having a busy year. Sourias, owner of a series of bars and clubs such as Finn McCool’s, Trademan’s, U-Bahn, Tinsel, and Uptown, is reopening Jerry Blavat’s Memories in Margate and is building two splashy restaurants in Center City. Could he be growing up?

Korshak Bagels’ former spot at 10th and Morris Streets will get new life in a couple of weeks as the Slice and Schmear Shop, serving bagels in the morning followed by square pizza the rest of the day. Owner Aakash Patel, who dishes round pies at his Bar 1010 in Northern Liberties, says his bagels will be served as L.A.-style sandwiches: scooped out and open-face.

Cristina Martinez’s South Philly Barbacoa has been subsumed into her larger place Casa Mexico two doors down at 1134 S. Ninth St. The chef’s barbacoa cart is set up just inside the restaurant.

The busiest restaurant in Chinatown right now is the week-old MLBB Hot Pot, the East Coast location of an all-you-can-eat, thousand-restaurant, skewer-style hot pot chain out of Sichuan. It replaces Canton 11.

Bright decor, including vertical light-up signs suspended from the ceiling, is designed to be reminiscent of a Chengdu street market. The formal name is Malubianbian (“side of the road”), but everyone seems to know it by the MLBB. Sorta like KFC.

For a fixed price ($34.95 Monday-Thursday, $39.95 Friday-Sunday, $18.99 for kids 7-12), you get spicy, regular, or vegetarian broth in tabletop cookers and you’re set loose at refrigerator cases stocked with dozens of varieties of skewers, dumplings, and beef, seafood, and other pork items that you tote back to the table to cook. There also is a counter with spring rolls, sauces, and such. Servers roam the twin dining rooms with offers of sliced meats plus cocktails, beers, and soft drinks.

You’re given 90 minutes at the table, and two-hour waits are common in the early going. Bored? Upstairs and downstairs are the karaoke rooms left over from previous tenants SkyClub and Lair TV.

MLBB Hot Pot, 1025 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19107. Hours (in flux): 4-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 2-11 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

Le Virtu, the Italian gem in South Philadelphia, is reviving its Panarda, the nine-hour, 40-plus-course, 10-wine extravaganza that traces its roots to 1657 Abruzzo. Chef Andrew Wood will offer it June 2, with the first plates dropping at noon. Ticket sales ($500 plus tax/tip) go live on Resy at noon Wednesday. Details are here.

Dine Latino Restaurant Week from Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce returns from Sunday through April 13 with deals at 19 restaurants.

Carmine’s Eatery, the upscaling of Carmine’s Pizza, opens Monday at 3570 West Chester Pike in Newtown Square. Kosta Nikolos, and his father, Chris, have lightened up the dining room and are bringing in a menu they describe as modern American meets Mediterranean, including a family recipe for whipped feta. Chef Imed Grami, most recently head chef at Brick & Brew in Havertown, has a new brick oven, and there’s a bar and cocktail program. Open daily from 11 a.m. till late.

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop has set April 11 for the opening of its second Philly location. It’s at 3400 Lancaster Ave., on Drexel U’s campus.

Stone’s Beer & Beverage Market, which moved to Brewerytown in 2022 while construction rousted it from its longtime home in Fairmount, is returning to 1701 Fairmount Ave. later this month. New: front-window seating and three rotating beers for sampling, a walk-in fridge with 14 shoppable doors, and a craft keg selection. The temp store at 3145 Jefferson St. is set to close soon; follow Instagram for specifics.

Vegan doughnuts? We’ll tell you how to find the best ones ’round here.

Philly’s bakery scene and the Scandinavian-style bar Andra Hem have turned up on Food & Wine’s Global Tastemakers list.

M2o Burgers & Salads will mark its sixth anniversary on April 10 with $6 burgers, and all proceeds will be sent to the former Lower Dublin Academy in Philadelphia. The local Albanian American community is restoring the building, which opened in the 19th century to teach language and skills to European immigrants. Owners/brothers Leo, Pep, and Jim Osmanollaj also own Töska Restaurant & Brewery in Mount Airy.

Proceeds from the $5 Celebration Smoothie at the CraveWell Cafe locations in Malvern and Collegeville this month will be donated to the American Stroke Association. Deb Manchester, who opened CraveWell with husband Morgan, had a stroke before the couple went into business, first as Clean Juice.

“A Taste of Montgomery County” will feature more than 20 food and beverage vendors, including Stove & Tap, Harvest, Round Guys Brewing, and Rio Dulce Bakery, to raise money for North Wales Library. It’s 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. April 11 at St. Rose of Lima’s Parish Hall, 428 S. Main St. in North Wales; $50 online at northwaleslibrary.org or $55 in person at the library.

StrEAT Food Festival will return to Main Street in Manayunk on April 21 with 70-plus food trucks and vendors. See the lineup on Manayunk Development Corp.’s website. and follow @manayunkdotcom.

April 1 social-media posts did not fail to fool. Last year, Sang Kee Peking Duck House’s “merger” with Panda Express precipitated pandemonium. This year, Sang Kee announced changes, including a move to dine-in only as “we hope to pursue our first Michelin star by becoming a fine-dining destination. Our menu will be reduced from 128 to 16 items. Each one must be eaten fresh off the wok in our dining room. Please know that this was an incredibly difficult decision. We understand it will be an inconvenience to many of our regulars. Alas, we must pursue our dreams before it is too late. We will never again be considered just an above-average Chinese spot with pretty good duck that’s also a safe place to take your non-adventurous friends. P.S. We no longer allow shorts in the building.”

The Phillies’ ice cream man has been on the job now for 25 years. What’s his nickname?

A) Frankie Two Scoops

B) Joe the Big Dipper

C) Mikey Plain Vanilla

D) Charlie the Ice Man Cometh

Read this sweet story by Alex Coffey and find out if you know the answer.

Is it true that Mama’s Vegetarian, the falafel shop on 20th Street near Market, is coming back? — Deborah S.

A new owner plans to reopen this pandemic casualty soon. It’s not clear if the name will remain. While we’re on the same block, the folks behind Thanal, the Logan Square-area Indian restaurant, are building out something new at the former Farmer’s Keep. I’m told that the cuisine will not be Indian. Stay tuned.

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