Amadeo Fiore is widely credited with bringing pizza to St. Louis at his pizzeria that he opened at 204 North Sarah in the basement of the Melrose Apartments near the end of World War II. On April 13, 1947, the Post-Dispatch ran this feature introducing Fiore’s work to the world.
PIZZA, an Italian dish ranking in popularity with spaghetti and ravioli in the East, is a newcomer in St. Louis.
It is part pie, part hot sandwich, and a restaurant where it is baked is called a pizzeria (peetser-ee-ah). Pizza may be served as a luncheon dish, a snack, or as the hot hors d’oeuvre at a cocktail party.
Amadeo Fiore, proprietor of the Melrose Cafe and Pizzeria, prepares pizza with a rich yeast dough base. On a flat, round piece of the dough he spreads tomato sauce seasoned with basil known also as oregano. A layer of thinly sliced Provolone, a cheese similar in taste to Swiss or Gruyere, tops the sauce and is in turn topped with strips of anchovies, pitted olives, ground, seasoned pork and beef. Grated cheese and olive oil are sprinkled liberally over all and the pizza is baked in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 30 minutes.
To make the tomato sauce, fry lightly two tablespoons finely chopped onion and one clove minced garlic in two tablespoons olive oil. Thin one can tomato paste with an equal amount of water and add to mixture in skillet along with one teaspoon basil, and one-half teaspoon salt. Simmer for one-half hour and stir frequently to prevent burning.
