Tony DiMaggio's in San Jose

Tony DiMaggio's Pizza is a family-owned business that has served the South Bay for 33 years. The restaurant is located on Monterey Road, directly across from the Capitol Drive-In. Their slogan is "Home of the Original Stromboli."

As far as I know, they are the only pizza place that specializes in making strombolis. You may be familiar with the stromboli. If not, consider it a stuffed pizza with marinara sauce on the side.

Tony DiMaggio's stromboli has Italian sausage, ham, salami, mozzarella and American cheeses, and mustard. The dough is topped with butter, oregano and a touch of pepper. Their homemade marinara sauce adds spectacular flavor to an already delicious meal.

Four people can easily eat three larges, especially if two of them are teenaged boys. What I like best about the strombolis is that the leftovers do not get soggy. The end pieces can turn rock-hard. Other than that, I've reheated the leftovers in the oven and in the microwave with no issues. In fact, the strombolis taste just as good and fresh as they did when they originally came out of the oven at the restaurant.

On occasion, my husband will order meatballs, which are very good. They also serve pizza; a variety of traditional Italian dinners; sandwiches; and side orders of salad, breads and meats.

My family and I have eaten inside the restaurant once or twice, when we managed to make it for an early dinner or arrive after the rush. The restaurant is almost always packed with customers from all walks of life. Because of that, we like to call our orders in, pick them up and take them home.

Dinner for four people costs around $40 to $50.

Location:

3852 Monterey Road
408-San Jose, CA 95111
629-7775
www.tonystromboli.com