It is not usually served straight from the oven, but allowed to cool and then consumed at room temperature or reheated.

Like Sicilian pizza, tomato pie is baked in a large rectangular pan and usually served in square slices, although in Rhode Island it is cut into rectangular strips like pizza al taglio.

[2] Tomato pie descends from and resembles the Italian sfincione, although it is not the same dish.

For instance, sfincione may have toppings, is usually served hot, and has a crust more like brioche than focaccia.

[7] In Utica, New York, the family that would later found O'Scugnizzo's Pizzeria in 1914 sold tomato pies from their basement for several years prior, starting in 1910.