I was already planning a quick trip to Philadelphia to check out some pizzerias when my friend John called asking if I’d ever been to Marrone’s. John owns a bunch of pizzerias and one of his best customers asked him to replicate Marrone’s since it was the pizza of his youth. So I went on a mission to figure out what was going on with the pizza at Marrone’s and if it was worth reproducing.
The restaurant (more of a bar with a few pizza ovens) is located on a quaint street about 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia proper, right next to a smattering of other old school Italian businesses. Marrone’s opened in 1946, as you can see from the awesome blue sign in their parking lot (first pic). But that’s pretty much all the awesomeness you’ll find at this place.
The pizza is interesting. It’s a cheese-first-sauce-last operation and word on the street is that they use provolone cheese rather than mozzarella. I ordered a regular pie, but lots of folks go for double cheese.
It’s a pretty slow bake, clocking in at 15:30 for a small pie. It’s on the thick side, so a slow bake makes sense. The crust was pretty lame and devoid of much flavor, but the texture was a bit on the flaky side.
I took some measurements and sent them off to John along with a few frozen slices and his reading was the same as mine. This is not a great pizza but sometimes you develop a taste for something and it only grows stronger with memory when you move 2,500 miles away from it.