America’s Best and Worst Cities for Pizza
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The Best: New Haven, CT
Characterized by a thin chewy crust so charred that your fingertips can be black after eating it, New Haven-style “apizza” (pronounced “a-bheets”) is the kind of pizza you have dreams about eating. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana—simply referred to as Pepe’s by locals—is the original spot and is also responsible for inventing the white clam pie. Other go-to pizzerias include Sally’s and De Legna.
The Best: New York
Classic New York-style pizza is closely related to the crisp and chewy Neapolitan style that Italian immigrants brought over to the States in the 19th century with one exception—it’s much bigger. So big, in fact, that most New Yorkers fold their slices in half to eat it. Go ahead and grab a slice from any place you pass on the street, or plan ahead and book a table at one of the newer hot spots serving up wood-fire oven pies like Roberta’s or Paulie Gee’s.
The Best: San Francisco
The crust of San Francisco pizza is typically made from sourdough, but the real standout characteristic of this style is the focus on fresh and unique topping combos sourced from nearby farms. Goat Hill Pizza and Pizzeria Delfina are local favorites, but in true San Francisco fashion, there’s also a startup pizza delivery service called Pythagoras. It’s currently in beta so it’s not available across the city, but for $20 you get a choice from three types of pie, including a vegetarian pizza with roasted broccoli, garlic, mozzarella and gorgonzola cheese.
The Best: Portland, ME
Pizza in Maine used to mean Greek pizza, a style where the crust is baked in an oiled pan (but not necessarily topped with feta and olives). But recently Portland’s pizza scene has been redefined by some truly gourmet options. The pies at Otto are loaded with local ingredients in deliciously bizarre combos, like the mashed potato, bacon and scallion pizza. Across town, Micucci Grocery popularized the Sicilian “slab” pizza that is now served at several other spots including Slab.
The Best: Providence, RI
Pizza in Providence means grilled pizza, which is cooked directly on the grate of a grill then flipped over and topped with sauce and fresh toppings. The result is a super thin crust that is both crispy and chewy, a little bit smoky, and totally delicious. Invented by the late George Germon at Al Forno in the ’80s, this style has spread across the city to other restaurants like Bacaro.
The Worst: Philadelphia
Philadelphia tomato pie didn’t make this list because it’s bad per se (it’s actually pretty tasty), but because it’s not really pizza. Unless you consider room-temperature focaccia topped with chunky tomato sauce pizza, you’ll be disappointed. At least across the river in New Jersey they add cheese to their version of tomato pie.
The Worst: Chicago
Chicago-style deep-dish pizza is a love it or hate it situation for most Americans. While many will defend this thick and gooey type of pie as the best in the country, this is really more of a cheesy casserole than a true pizza since it’s virtually impossible to eat it with your hands. If you find yourself craving pizza in Chicago, avoid the gloppy mess of deep dish and check out the pizza pot pie at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. While you also have it eat it with a fork and knife, the crust-to-filling ratio is much higher.
The Worst: Detroit
While it looks like it may be an adaptation of Sicilian-style squares, Detroit-style pizza actually gets its rectangular shape from the industrial-parts trays that they were originally baked in. This deep-dish pizza has a crust that is both gluey on the inside and burnt on the edges where the Wisconsin brick cheese that is typically used congeals. Then a slightly sweet tomato sauce is plopped on top of the whole gooey mess. And while they don’t serve true Detroit-style pizza, Domino’s and Little Caesars were both founded there, which doesn’t help Motor City’s pizza reputation either …
The Worst: Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois
Originating from the four counties on the border of northwest Illinois and southeast Iowa, Quad City-style pizza is defined by a malt-heavy crust, spicy tomato sauce, and toppings underneath the cheese, which is then cut into strips with scissors. While it’s certainly unique, the crust has a certain nutty sweetness that isn’t for everyone and pizza purists will definitely question the reason why the toppings have to be hidden underneath all that cheese. Also, strips? C’mon, we all know the slice is a superior method of pizza-to-face delivery.
The Worst: St. Louis, MO
St. Louis-style pizza has pretty much everything going against it. First, its crust is made without yeast so it basically tastes like a cracker. Then that sad cracker is topped with a processed cheese called Provel—a trademarked blend of provolone, Swiss and white cheddar—that is used instead of the traditional (and superior) mozzarella. [Ed note, some Midwesterners at Delish are major fans of Provel] And just like other Midwest offenders, St. Louis-style pizza is cut into squares instead of slices, which is really just the cherry on top of this awful mess masquerading as pizza.