What was the first place in Lansingburgh to serve pizza? Possibly Uncle George’s Grill, 328 Fifth Avenue, which offered it in 1952?
There may have been earlier venues to do so in Lansingburgh, and certainly within Troy. An April 8, 1949 issue of the Times Record, for example, had three different Troy restaurants advertising it on just one page: Jerry’s Tavern at 55 Hill Street, a delivery place at 159 Second Street boasting the “best hygienic hot pizza,” and Royal Pizza at 126 Jefferson Street.
The earliest issue of a Troy newspaper identified so far mentioning pizza was February 10, 1940, in captions for photos under the headline “Watervliet Has a Mardi Gras.” “Marion Tacelli, above, was one of 500 munching ‘pizza,’ the Italian delicacy displayed at right by Mary Capone, left, and Mary Richards.” The October 11, 1941 issue carried a recipe for “Pizza. (An Italian Delicacy)” for a “Patriotic Party” for Columbus, Election or Armistice Day: “Put a portion of Italian bread dough into a rectangular sheet about 1/2 thick. Place in oiled biscuit dough. Let rest 1/2 hour. With tips of fingers make a number of dents over surface of dough. Cover with a generous amount of olive oil (or substitute), then spread with tomato paste. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a liberal amount of grated Italian cheese. Lastly, sprinkle with ‘rignum,’ [sic] a well-known Italian spicy herb. Place at once in a moderately hot oven, about 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.”
As a side note on pizza and history, albeit not Lansingburgh’s: it has been claimed that Hawaiian Pizza was invented in Canada in 1962. It’s safe to deny that. The guilt or responsibility for it (depending on whether you hate it or love it) lies elsewhere in space and time, as recipes for it were appearing in American newspapers in the late 1950s, some even before Hawaii was granted statehood August 21, 1959.
Times Record. January 11, 1952: 15 col 6.
Times Record. November 12, 1953: 24 cols 5-6.
Times Record. September 5, 1958: 18 cols 3-4.
“Pizza Stars Pineapple.” Philadelphia Inquirer. May 17, 1957: 25 cols 4-5.
“Pizza Snacks Make Tasty Hot Appetizer.” Binghamton Press. March 30, 1958: B11 col 5.
The recipe in the Binghamton Press was clearly syndicated (as might have been the others here as well); e.g., it also appeared in the Rockford, IL Morning Star. February 13, 1958: 8 cols 1-2.
“Pineapple Platter Eaten Pizza-Style.” Knickerbocker News. October 5, 1959: A8 cols 1-3.