A common complaint of people who have left Rhode Island and relocated to the Mid or Southwest? Or the West Coast?

They miss the food, especially the Italian fare.

This reminds me of the last scenes of Goodfellas, when Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill laments that life in the witness protection program in Arizona means ordering spaghetti marinara and getting egg noodles in ketchup.

Also, a good friend who moved to Cali a few years ago has mentioned that although she adores daily life there, she does indeed miss the pizza in Lil Rhody.

A lot of people say the core issue (as far as taste, texture and so on) has something to do with the water in other parts of the country.

And I do remember reading a while back that the actress-turned-restaurateur Cathy Moriarty (best known perhaps for her role as Jake LaMotta’s wife Vikki in Scorsese’s Raging Bull) would somehow have NYC water brought to La La Land, so that the pies at her Mulberry Street Pizzeria eateries would have that East Coast authenticity.

If you or someone in your circle is currently dealing with this shall-we-say challenging and unfortunate situation, I have found a way around it.

Yep, you can actually go online and order frozen pies — either a 3 pack of their 12” ones or a 2 pack of their Al Taglio ones (either the Cheese, Arthur Avenue, The Way It Should Be or Veggie versions) starting at $59.99 plus FEDEX fees — from Federal Hill Pizza and have them 1-2 day shipped to you, a great friend, or a loved one who misses Rhody food.

I mean, forget flowers, fruit baskets and cookies!

The way to let someone know you care is always greattt PIZZA.

For more info and their full menu, do check out their site.

As always, if you send pies after reading this, please let them know you were inspired by Patty J and PattyJ.com.

Photos below are from my (and Brianna’s) 2019 afternoon with Billy Manzo and his wife, the owners of Federal Hill Pizza.