Troy: COB Pizza (cheese-on-bottom)

“Red Front Pizza (Home of the COB)” is how the Red Front restaurant in Troy, New York (another restaurant is in Clifton Park, NY) bills itself on its website. “COB” stands for “cheese-on-bottom.” Red Front opened in Troy on October 14, 1950.
 
It’s not known when the term “COB pizza” was first used, but “COB (Cheese on Bottom) Pizza” was printed on the website Under the Copper Tree on February 5, 2009.
 
“COB pizza” is similar to Chicago-style deep-dish pizza and Italian tomato pie. “9 Miles East Farm Pizza” posted on Facebook on April 9, 2018:
   
“Cheese on Bottom (COB) is back. It’s a Sicilian-American style of pizza popularized by L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn in the late thirties. The pizzas were delivered by horse (named Babe, in case you are curious) and buggy in Bensonhurst and Gravesend. COB is pretty much what it sounds like: dough/cheese/sauce, rather than dough/sauce/cheese. It really should be called ‘cheese in middle.’”
   
         
Red Front Pizza (Home of the COB)
Clifton Park
518.280.7008
Troy
518-272-9241 or 518-274-6114
Fax: 518-274-6836
 
13 October 1950, Troy (NY) The Times Record, pg. 19, col. 1 ad:
OPENING
Tomorrow, Saturday Noon
RED FRONT
RESTAURANT and TAVERN
THIRD STREET COR. DIVISION
Specializing in AMERICAN and ITALIAN FOOD
FEATURING PIZZA
     
Under the Copper Tree
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2009
COB (Cheese on Bottom) Pizza
I readily admit that the picture does not do the pizza justice. For those of you in the Troy area, you might be familiar with Red Front’s famous COB style pizza. Before I stepped foot in restaurant, I didn’t even know it existed. M and I just happened to drive by Red Front one night and we decided to have dinner there
 
Twitter
Jen
@investedinOz
Replying to @HotMessMandy
@HotMessMandy yeah we get COB pizza here! Its Cheese On Bottom with sauce on the top…sooo fucking good ate like 3 pieces of that!!!
11:26 AM - 31 Jan 2010
       
Albany Eats!
Free Wings at The Ruck and Red Front COB Pizza   
albanyjane
Posted on July 28, 2010
(...)
I have been hearing about this mystical COB pizza. Red Front lists COB as “cheese under sauce” pizza, which I guess is more descriptive than Cheese On Bottom, but… it’s what the acronym stands for! At any rate, by now you’ve gleaned that COB pizza is an upside down pizza, where the cheese is on the bottom where the sauce would be, and the sauce is on the top like the cheese would be.
 
SWEET TOOTH Sweet Life
IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE…WITH THE COB!
By Courtney
December 17, 2010
Tonight was another special dinner for the family! Instead of some good ‘ol home cooking, the fam decided to meet up at one of out favorite local pizza places, The Redfront.
 
The Redfront has one of the most delicious pizzas around, but it’s definitely quite unique compared to all of its local competitors. The pizza of choice for my whole family is the COB Pizza:
 
Sliced cheese on bottom (hence the COB), with tomato sauce on top.
 
Twitter
Mike Jodon
@MikeJodon
Replying to @Cadwallion
@Cadwallion you should of ordered a cob pizza from the red front. Delish. Cob = cheese on bottom
6:47 PM - 15 Jun 2011
 
All Over Albany
COB Pizza at Red Front
posted Jan 21, 2014
By Jeff Janssens
(...)
The main draw of Red Front is their COB Pizza. It’s not the kind of pizza that would, on the surface, appeal to traditionalists, particularly those who hold the thin-crusted New York style dear. The cheese is under the sauce, after all. And it’s shaped like a rectangle!
(...)
The COB’s bottom crust is, unlike many tomato pies, not actually that thick—just enough to provide that bready goodness, similar in both taste and texture to focaccia. It’s also a bit crispy; a look at the bottom crust reveals a surface mottled with brown swirls, an indication of how the bottom is not completely flat; baked this way, the bottom allows for bites that alternate from chewy to crunchy. Meanwhile, the edge crust rides the ideal crest between pillowy and chewy. Compared to most other pizzas, the textural elements of the COB make it especially important for this pizza to be consumed hot out of the oven.
 
So maybe this is not just an endorsement for the COB Pizza, but also for eating it at Red Front. And as a skeptic of any pizza that strays from the classic New York style, I can heartily vouch that this is one mighty satisfying pie.
 
Twitter
Innae Park
@innaepark
#firsttimer for #cob #pizza! (cob = CHEESE ON BOTTOM). So enthralled by this. #upstateNY #enjoytroy #somanyhashtags
7:17 PM - 2 May 2014
 
Twitter
Miss Kylie
@lipglosstofu
#nomnom http://ift.tt/1PzVLBu  COB pizza (cheese on bottom) (OC) [1080x1080]
6:41 PM - 26 Jan 2016
     
Facebook
9 Miles East Farm Pizza
April 9, 2018 · Instagram ·
Cheese on Bottom (COB) is back. It’s a Sicilian-American style of pizza popularized by L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn in the late thirties. The pizzas were delivered by horse (named Babe, in case you are curious) and buggy in Bensonhurst and Gravesend. COB is pretty much what it sounds like: dough/cheese/sauce, rather than dough/sauce/cheese. It really should be called “cheese in middle.” Regardless of name, the advantage is that the layer of cheese protects the crust from the moisture of the sauce. That results in better contrast between sauce and dough. You’ll be surprised how big a difference this little change makes. Three-day cold-fermented sourdough crust made with organic Farmer Ground Flour from Ithaca. Topped with fresh basil. Available through Sunday, 4/15. Order online at http://www.pizzadelivery.farm #cobpizza #COB #pizza #delicious #saratogasprings #schuylerville #eatpizza #upstateny #sourdoughpizza
 
Twitter
P Squared
@Sportingstables
@FrankMirahmadi,
I know you like good pizza. Red Front Pizza in Troy,NY. Been in busy since the 60s. Its called a COB pizza,cheese on the bottom. So good!
5:17 PM - 6 Aug 2018
   
Times Union (Albany, NY)
The Capital Region’s 75 essential restaurants
Upstate magazine Updated 2:34 pm EDT, Thursday, September 27, 2018
(...)
Red Front Restaurant
71 Division St., Troy, 518-272-9241; or 1747 Route 9, Clifton Park, 518-280-7008. redfrontrestaurant.com. Open from 11 a.m. Tuesday to Saturday, noon Sunday, closed Monday. Handicapped-accessible.
Now 62 years old, the Troy location of Red Front is an institution, serving large potions of reliable Italian-American standards and its signature COB pizza (“cheese on the bottom”). The red sauce overing the molten blanket of mozzarella is simple and sweet — sweet enough to start arguments if you’re with newcomers, but they just don’t get it. (...)—Steve Barnes