{"id":652468,"date":"2026-05-19T14:07:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T14:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/652468\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T14:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T14:07:22","slug":"the-rhode-island-and-real-housewives-obsession-with-pizza-chips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/652468\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rhode Island and ‘Real Housewives’ obsession with pizza chips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThey think it\u2019s great, but I\u2019m like, where\u2019s the cheese on my pizza, because who wants a pizza without cheese?\u201d asked Iaconetti on episode four<\/a>. Turns out, plenty of Rhode Islanders do, including Carmody, who staunchly defends the chewy, savory treat she\u2019s enjoyed since childhood. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like a regular pizza,\u201d Carmody explained<\/a> on the show. \u201cIt\u2019s lighter. People, like, bring it to the beach.\u201d The pizza chip\u2019s lack of cheese makes it an ideal beach snack, she said, because you don\u2019t have to deal with \u201ccheese in the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"LaSalleLaSalle Bakery owner Michael Manni Jr. shows off a bag of pizza chips.Lane Turner\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n

Plus, \u201cthey\u2019re not messy, and the dough and the olive oil taste so good,\u201d Carmody told the Globe. \u201cEverybody loves a pizza chip!\u201d <\/p>\n

Also known as \u201cparty pizza\u201d or \u201cbakery pizza,\u201d pizza chips are a fixture at old-school, family-owned Italian bakeries across the state. Some Rhode Islanders use pizza \u201cstrips\u201d and pizza \u201cchips\u201d interchangeably, but pizza chips are usually small rounds, while pizza strips are sliced into rectangular ribbons. Both strips and chips are served at room temperature; occasionally, they can be found with a light dusting of Parmesan or Romano cheese.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the shape, pizza chips and strips have been common sights at Rhode Island birthdays, graduations, holiday parties, beaches, and just around the kitchen for generations.<\/p>\n

\"PizzaPizza strips are a specialty of DePetrillo’s Pizza & Bakery, which has locations across Rhode Island.Andrea McHugh for The Boston Globe<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way we can know exactly, but we figured we sell about a million pizza strips a year,\u201d said Eric John Palmieri. His great-great-grandfather opened an Italian bakery in Providence in 1905, and the family legacy continues today at D. Palmieri\u2019s Bakery in Johnston, opened by his grandfather in 1971. Pizza strips have been a top-seller at the bakery since day one. <\/p>\n

The flavor and texture of his pizza strips more closely resembles tomato pie than traditional pizza, Palmieri described, as they are cooked long and slow, typically on rectangular sheet pans before being cut into thin, saucy bands. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody has their own idea about what a real pizza strip is,\u201d Palmieri said. \u201cIt\u2019s really fascinating because it\u2019s such a simple, basic thing. You wouldn\u2019t think there would be a lot of variety that\u2019s even possible, but people have really become pizza strip connoisseurs.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"AA tray of traditional Rhode Island-style pizza, sans cheese, at LaSalle Bakery in Providence.Lane Turner\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n

Chef Kevin O\u2019Donnell, a Rhode Island native and former executive chef at the Salty Pig in Boston\u2019s Back Bay and former chef and co-owner of SRV in the South End, now leads two Newport restaurants: James Beard Award<\/a>-nominated Giusto and Mother Pizzeria. He grew up enjoying pizza strips and, having cooked in the Umbria region of Italy, researched its Sicilian origins. <\/p>\n

\u201cSfincione is the Sicilian style of this red-sauce-only pizza,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said. \u201cSometimes they\u2019ll put anchovies or breadcrumbs on it, sometimes Pecorino. When the wave of Sicilian immigrants came to the United States at the end of the 19th century, beginning of 20th century, they brought this pizza with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s evolved over the past however many years, hundred years,\u201d he continued, \u201cand now it\u2019s just become this thing in Rhode Island.\u201d<\/p>\n

As decades passed and Italian immigrants began to move beyond Providence\u2019s Federal Hill neighborhood<\/a>, bakeries developed a friendly rivalry, and deeply loyal customer bases passed down through generations, said chef TJ Delle Donne, assistant dean at the College of Food Innovation & Technology at Johnson & Wales University.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was, \u2018Did you go to Palmieri\u2019s? Did you go to LaSalle? Who had the better pizza strip or pizza chip?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t something that a supermarket or any other culture would appropriate. It was just something that stayed within the Italian bakery.\u201d<\/p>\n

A North Providence institution since 1932, LaSalle Bakery is one of the best-known pizza strip purveyors in the state. Owner Michael Manni Jr.\u2019s father started as a \u201cpan boy\u201d there as a teen, buying the business in 1975. Manni Jr. said the recipe hasn\u2019t changed much over the past near-century. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t really vary too much with our recipes,\u201d Manni Jr. said. \u201cThe dough that we use is the same dough that we use for our Italian bread, so it\u2019s good flour; it\u2019s got high protein in it. We age the dough so it ferments a little bit \u2014 that\u2019s why the pizza strips that you buy are a little bit thicker.\u201d Firmer than a traditional triangular slice of pizza, Manni Jr. described, a LaSalle pizza strip has a sturdy crust that holds up easily in one hand. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody in Rhode Island and this area, that\u2019s what we all ate,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople come to parties and they\u2019d put a platter of them out there. It\u2019s a Rhode Island thing.\u201d <\/p>\n

While \u201cred strips\u201d or other renditions of the pizza strip can sporadically be found elsewhere, Rhode Island claims the snack as its own. <\/p>\n

\u201cRhode Island has a very unique and specific way of holding on to its culture,\u201d said Delle Donne. \u201cWhen you see bakery after bakery, even into North Providence, the generations kept the family businesses going. I think that speaks a little bit to why pizza strips are still so popular in Rhode Island.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"SilverSilver Star Bakery in Providence is a well-known purveyor of pizza strips.Andrea McHugh for The Boston Globe<\/p>\n

Some of the best-known pizza strip or chip purveyors that Rhode Islanders swear their loyalty to include Venda Ravoli, Silver Star Bakery, and Sal\u2019s Bakery, all in Providence; The Original Italian Bakery in Johnston; Colvitto\u2019s Pizza & Bakery in Narragansett; and DePetrillo\u2019s Pizza & Bakery, which has five locations across the state. <\/p>\n

But homesick Rhode Islanders may also be able to find the snack in unexpected places. In Florida, Laurie Moretti is helping preserve Rhode Island culinary culture while connecting with others who share her roots. Originally from Warwick, Moretti moved to Florida with her late husband David in 1996, opening Paisano\u2019s Italian Bakery in Sarasota. Having established a reputation as a \u201cRhode Island bakery,\u201d it draws customers with New England ties, including many who come specifically for pizza strips. Paisano\u2019s has also converted new people into pizza-strip fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband is from Federal Hill. He introduced me to them and at every family function of his, there were always pizza strips,\u201d Moretti said. Before heading South, David worked at bakeries across the state, including Calvitto\u2019s and the now-closed Rainbow Bakery, both in Cranston. When he passed, Moretti decided it was time for her \u201cto step up.\u201d <\/p>\n

Today, Paisano\u2019s pizza strips and other New England foodways are more than just culinary delights. \u201cIt\u2019s the ties that keep us remembering who we are and how we grew up. It\u2019s definitely a little piece of home,\u201d Moretti said. \u201cNow if I could get somebody to open up a clam cakes and chowder shop [in Florida], I\u2019d be happy.\u201d <\/p>\n