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Food, glorious food

Dispatch editor takes you on a taste tour of the Pittston Tomato Festival

By Ed Ackerman eackerman@psdispatch.com
Pittston Sunday Dispatch Editor

I’ve spent the summer playing tennis, running, walking, doing push-ups and sit-ups and generally starving myself.

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In a photo from 2002, Chuck Sabatelle dishes up some pasta fagioli at the family food tent, where you can also get my personal favorite, the soprassata sandwich (with the works).

File Photo by Aimee Dilger

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I’ve lost six pounds.

It should take half-an-hour at the Pittston Tomato Festival to put it back on.

The Tomato Festival is a lot of things to a lot of people but for most it’s all about the food. It certainly is for me.

I build my festival around the sopressata sandwich at Sabatelle’s stand which is conveniently located almost right across from the Sunday Dispatch booth. The funny thing is I can have a sopressata sandwich at Sabatelle’s Market on South Main Street, Pittston, anytime I want. But I save it for the Tomato Festival. I want to keep it special.

The sandwich is the first thing I eat each year at the festival and I try to have one each night. When people see me eating it – often strangers – they ask what it is and where they can get one. I usually take them over in person and have been known to treat, but don’t hold me to that. My festival food budget has to get me through four days.

For those not familiar with sopressata, it is an Italian meat somewhat similar to salami but with its own unique flavor. Sabatelle’s offers it with “the works” which means a slice of provolone cheese and a roasted red pepper. To me, it’s the only way to order it.

A sporessata sandwich is the first step on what I’ve come to call the “Ed Ackerman Taste Tour of the Tomato Festival.” It is by no means complete and probably not for everyone, but I’m sharing it nonetheless. Feel free to adapt it to your own needs.

My second stop is usually Gramma Aita’s for ravioli. I cannot decide between the meat or the cheese so I order both.

Sometimes, on the way to Gramma Aita’s, I stop at the Caf� Olivia booth. If not, I double back right after the ravioli. You never know what surprise chef Robbie Musto is going to come up with (a few years ago it was a tomato tart with olive ice cream – I’m not kidding). My recommendation at the Caf� Olivia booth is the penne pasta with his bolognese sauce. How good is it? Well, last year Robbie went through 20 gallons of it.

Next door to the Caf� Olivia booth is Tony’s Pizza with owner Victor Guiliano at the oven. I eat Tony’s pizza all the time but there’s something about having a slice of it at the Tomato Festival that seems extra special, kinda like having a hot dog at a ballgame. Anyway, I always have a slice. I could easily eat the second, but one has to pace oneself.

Besides, Victor makes a sandwich he calls a “Hot Sloppy Tony” that is a must. I’m telling you up front, this thing is super hot. Fortunately, Ben & George’s Ice Cream is close by.

With the fire extinguished, may I suggest Tony Thomas’s for a portabella mushroom sandwich or my personal favorite, shells and broccoli, or perhaps IV Guys for an exceptional sausage and peppers sandwich? A stop here always brings fond memories of the late Tony Argento who ran this booth for years. I enjoy visiting with his family members who carry on the tradition.

From IV Guys it’s a short walk to Two Gentlemen and a little trip to heaven called eggplant rollatini. It melts in your mouth.

On the way you have to guard against your nose doing you in because you must pass by JRs’ French fries and Mr. P’s Potato Pancakes. You’ll want to stop at each, and probably should, but that may mean holding off on the rollatini until another night, which is perfectly legal.

And if you postpone the eggplant, you may have room for pie al a mode, served right next door at Rice’s Concessions, which is located next to Dan Figura’s London broil sandwiches, which is located next to “The Gyro King”, which is located next to Paluck’s pork barbecues and hot dogs with chili, which is located next to Nico’s Pizza. It’s a veritable “Murderer’s Row” of festival foods and somewhere in the middle of it all there are steamed clams and corn on the cob. I’m loosening my belt just thinking about it.

Making that complete loop, by the way, gets you right back to Sabatelle’s and sopressata. But control yourself. Sabatelle’s also offers pasta fagioli and stuffed rigatoni. And their neighbor, Giovanni’s, can fix you up with meatballs on a stick or freshly made bruschetta.

The next booth, thank goodness, offers Alka Seltzer cocktails. I made that up.

For the record, we’ve now covered about half of the Tomato Festival.

Head back in the direction of Gramma Aita’s and you run into a smorgasbord of culinary delights ranging from calamari to cannoli.

The calamari can be had just two booths away from Gramma Aita’s (where you also might want to sample the tripe while you are in the neighborhood) at the Grico Restaurant booth. Yes, Grico’s, as in fine dining. Treat yourself to a steak sandwich or chicken scampi melt in addition to the calamari.

Warning: to get from Gramma Aita’s to Grico’s you must get past the Komensky Market booth, and that means passing up some award-winning kielbasa, which won’t be easy.

LaRosa Italiana is in that vicinity, too, and there you’ll find gnocchi, stuffed shells and eggplant parm, along with cannoli, which you may want to save for dessert.

That row includes Webby’s Middleeastern foods with one of my favorites: stuffed grape leaves. Lisa Ann is in that area serving chicken speidis and piggies in the blanket.

Then there’s Yogi’s booth with everything from potato pancakes and pierogies to crab bisque and sweet potato fries. I say let your nostrils be your guide.

The row of booths I have you at now is also sprinkled with most of the dessert options at the Festival. Hope you saved room.

Royal Bake Shop has Italian cookies, cannoli and raisin squares; the smell of roasted almonds (try them with cinnamon and sugar) will be wafting around you; you’ll encounter more ice cream here at the Crazy Cow; and then there’s Bindi’s (Strombo Foods) with positively decadent cheesecake, gelato and sorbet.

Lisa Ann also offers strawberry or blueberry cheesecake and the rice pudding at the end of the row is usually the talk of the festival.

If I’ve left something out, I apologize. But you get the point: bring your appetite.

Three final (burp) Tomato Festival tips:

One, every now and then, stroll over to the sauce wars booth and dip a piece of Italian bread in the sauces and cast your vote.

Two, make sure you buy some Welch cookies, but take them home with you. You’ll enjoy them the next morning for breakfast.

Three, stop by at the fire house for a cold beer. At the end of the night you’ll need it.