French Dressing on "Piece-a Pie": A Biloxi Classic

If you grew up in Biloxi, a slice just ain't a slice without a healthy squirt of French (or Catalina) dressing on it. It's as necessary as the extra grated Parmesan or red pepper flakes. It is now so ubiqitous that even the chain pizza joints, put it on the tables and ask their takeout customers how many dressings they want.

But that wasn't always the case. The phenomenon allegedly started at Biloxi's premier pizza spot, Hugo's Pizza on Division Street .

When my mom worked at Keesler Air Force Base's exchange in the 1950s, she and her work pals hung out at Hugo's after a night of bowling. High school students from Biloxi High, Notre Dame, Sacred Heart and D'Iberville piled into Hugos after football games. It was a popular hangout for the KAFB crowd. People drove from all over the Coast just to sample one of Hugo's famous "pizza pies."

My Croatian-born grandfather thought it was called "piece-a-pie" and always referred to it as such. Ironically I had some of the best pizza this side of Hugo's in his hometown of Starigrad on the Croatian island of Hvar.

Early Hugo's regulars don't remember the French dressing being on the pizza. It started making its appearance sometime in the 60's and was a permanent fixture by the end of that decade. Nor is anyone sure exactly how it started. It was a probably an accident. Hugo's served some incredible salad as well as great pizza. It may simply have been one of those flukes of the salad getting onto the pizza. Happy accidents like that create classics all the time -- like Toll House cookies.

Hugo's changed hands sometime in the 1970s, and the pizza was just never the same after that. But by this time French dressing on pizza was firmly entrenched on Biloxi's collective palate.

When I went to the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg in 1979, even the local Pizza Hut there was routinely putting French dressing on the tables to satisfy their students from Biloxi. And from there it went viral.

Now, if you're not from Biloxi, and this sounds weird to you, don't knock it until you try it. French dressing adds a extra flavor dimension to mediocre takeout or frozen pizza. It was the only thing that made that crappy "Tony's Pizza" that the USM Commons served edible. I don't know that I would add it to a gourmet wood-fired pizza with exotic ingredients like goat cheese, kalamata olives or grilled lamb. But it's a great topper for the classics -- pepperoni, cheese and sausage.

Any brand of bottled French or Catalina dressing works. Use whichever one floats your boat, although I personally find the fat-free versions too sweet (and, really, if you're eating pizza are you really THAT worried about the fat. Go for it). And as for the difference between French and Catalina dressing -- there is none. Different names, same product.

Obviously, the best dressing is the kind you make yourself. I like the following recipe. It's a little extra trouble, but doesn't your "piece-a-pie" deserve the very best?

Homemade French Dressing

Now I have no idea what French dressing recipe Hugo's used. This doesn't claim to be their recipe. It's just one I came across that I like. It's a "red" dressing with a little "bite" to it. If you find it's too sweet for your taste, decrease the amount of sugar. While it calls for white wine vinegar, feel free to substitute red wine vinegar or balsamic (which adds a nice touch) if you prefer or if that's what you have on hand. And, after you drizzle it on your pizza, be sure to save some for your salad. It's great just on plain iceberg lettuce.

2/3 cup ketchup
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, quartered
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Prepare the dressing by combining the ketchup, sugar, vinegar, oil, onion, paprika and Worcestershire sauce in a blender or food processor. Blend until the onion is well chopped. Chill and serve.