You won’t “rest in piece” until you’ve sampled a pizza strip, one of Rhode Island’s indigenous foods. It’s not only a strip of pizza, but a rectangular slab of thick crust stripped of toppings other than a thick smear of tomato sauce, served at room temperature, and maybe sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Are you lame or game to search for a strip joint in The Ocean State?

Little Rhody’s pizza strips, aka “party pizza” or “tomato pie,” are the perfect food staple for toting in coolers to beaches along our Atlantic shoreline. Ideal party fare, heart-healthy snack, bag lunch, football season cuisine, sustenance for singles on the go, and Rhode fill for savvy road warriors foraging for a quick bite en route to any destination within the state’s 160 mile north-south span!

Too bland, you think? All it takes is a shake of grated cheese or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to hightail into fourth gear.

Where does one begin to conduct a strip search for strip pizza in Rhode Island?

Most bakeries carry this plain product because they roll in the dough. Some bakeries even sell them to the local Shaw and Stop & Shop supermarkets. I highly recommend a bakery pit stop with the intention to purchase at least a dozen strips, as you can freeze the surplus for thawing on a rainy day.

Each strip will be neatly arranged in a box with waxed paper separating the layers from touching. Do not be alarmed by the grease stains from the oil which will eventually penetrate the cardboard.

Schooled and forewarned, I offer you a smattering of strip joints with a crusty reputation scattered throughout the state. Each of these establishments boast multiple locations:

D.Palmieri’s Bakery:

"When we started out, D. Palmieri's sold bread, our famous cold pizza and biscuits which on most days you could find cooling by the door, the smell drawing customers in off Killingly Street."

http://www.dpalmierisbakery.com/

(Photo:D.Palmieri pizza strips)


The Original Italian Bakery:

"Home of the Original Pizza Chip!"

http://www.theoriginalitalianbakery.com/home


La Salle Bakery:

"If these walls could talk. They would tell of all the wonderful souls who have switched on the lights in the still-dark hours of the morning to begin mixing the dough."

http://lasallebakery.net/wp/


Though grease may be one of the dividends of handling a pizza strip, you won’t get soaked penny-wise at $1.50 or so, per plain red strip.

No matter how they slice it, the strip tease promises a rewarding off-road culinary experience without the expense or time consumed by fine dining.