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I have no problem jumping in the car for a 4-hour trek to Naples, New York to scarf down a slice of their slightly tart & juicy grape pie. And I’ve been known to brave Route 128’s rush hour traffic a time or two just so I could bury my face into a deliciously messy Northshore Beef, next to some real-life R-Droppers. I'm convinced food tastes better where it originated. So, when I unexpectedly stumbled across what I assumed to be an unknown regional style of pizza called a Binghamton Hot Pie, I immediately mapped out my trip to New York's Southern Tier without hesitation. But the more I researched, the more I became convinced that a hot pie was nothing more than a localism for pizza and is that really worthy of a 172-mile drive for a FINO- Foodigenous in Name Only.
Who am I fooling, of course it is. Thanks to a riveting Olympic Men's Basketball semi-final on the radio, the impulsive drive went by in a blink of an eye; like falling asleep on takeoff and waking as your plane starts its descent which helped because I did indeed confirm that hot pie is just another word for pizza...kinda.
A Rose By Any Other Name
The oldest reference to hot pie I found was this Sept 1936 advertisement in the Press & Sun Bulletin. This is very interesting as most culinary historians agree that pizza was little known to most of the country pre-WW II. It was only after American doughboys returned home longing for the saucy cheesy food they enjoyed while stationed in Italy that pizza gained its nationwide fame. This 1930's ad along with several others like it at the establishments Oak's Inn and Alfredo's indicate that pizza was already popular within the Italian communities of the Triple Cities- Binghamton, Johnson City & Endicott well before the war.
It's believed pizza was called hot Italian pie for the benefit of non-Italian diners who were otherwise unfamiliar with it. Over time, the name shortened, and hot pie remained the predominate term on menus until the 70's. Nowadays hot pie is merely a relic of the past, but it is still enjoyed at a handful of places, including two of Binghamton's beloved red sauce joints from the 1940's, Little Venice and Cortese Restaurant. While both these old school institutions offer hot pie, they are made completely different. Little Venice's version is a traditional round pizza, topped with their homemade sauce and a healthy coating of Romano cheese, a harkening back to the original recipe. The pie was tasty, and while the sauce popped with flavor, the thicker crust could have benefitted with a few more minutes in the oven.
Cortese on the other hand makes a rectangular pie with mozzarella and sauce on a Bisquick-like crust that was flakey, light and airy with a nice chew. It's served on a cafeteria style tray a la Old Forge style. The sauce has an enjoyably strong garlic taste, which my palate swears is due to an abundance of garlic salt or powder mixed in- though this is purely speculative and hasn't been confirmed. There was almost a frozen garlic bread aroma buried inside that I inhaled with each bite. This is an addictive pizza that makes you think about you about your next slice before you finished the one in your hand.
Bud's Place in Apalachin, about 20 miles west of Binghamton offers a full menu of Italian classics like lasagna, linguine and clam sauce along with amazing sounding charbroiled pork chops and steak entrees. In addition, they boast a section of hot pies using a family secret dough recipe and a proprietary blend of hand shredded cheeses which I understand does not just include mozzarella. I was unable to include Bud's into my impromptu food trip, but the local's I broke "pizza" with at Cortese's confirmed their quality. I will be including this stop on a future visit.
The country is full of foods with different names depending on where you live. Shoot, I live in a state where half of us eat pork roll for breakfast, hoagies for lunch and put jimmies on our ice cream while an hour up the Jersey Turnpike, we correctly 😊 scarf down Taylor Ham, eat subs and top our sundaes with sprinkles! Who cares what you call it, just don't call me late for "hot pie".
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