Poor Man’s Pizza

I had a chunk of leftover “French bread”, along with some mozzarella cheese and jarred spaghetti sauce. What to do for lunch? Make a poor man’s pizza.

For those of you not of the Cornell persuasion, the poor man’s pizza (or PMP) is the direct antecedent of Stouffer’s French bread pizza. It’s a chunk of French bread split down the middle, smeared with tomato sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese, then baked. The sandwich is served closed, unlike the commercial version. You can gild the lily with mushrooms or meat. The addition of mushrooms, pepperoni, and sausage is a Sui (short for Suicide). The PMP was served from the Hot Truck, which used to be parked near the West Campus dormitories after about 10:30 pm during the school year. The Hot Truck used to make appearances on the Arts Quad on Reunion weekends, so nostalgic alums could relive their gustatory glory days after visiting the beer tents.

Alas, like many traditions, The Hot Truck is no more. A sandwich shop downtown bought the Hot Truck when the owner retired. It disappeared from its usual spot last fall. Future Cornellians will never have the experience of freezing their butts off at midnight waiting to pick up their PMP – and hoping that the sandwich doesn’t get cold before they return to their room.