A friend of mine just came back from the States and tells me that “you’ve never had pizza until you’ve had pizza in America”. Which I was sceptical of (as there are plenty of good pizza places in Australia) but he remains adamant.
Which begs the question (from all you Americans out there) what is your favourite pizza place and why? Are the pizza places over there mostly chain stores or are there plenty of good ‘Mom And Pop’ type independant stores? I dunno how you guys do it over there.
I plan on travelling to the US sometime in the next year - what pizza places should I be on the lookout for?
And in case you are wondering - yes, I love pizza!
It all depends on where you go. Personally, the only really outstanding pizza I’ve had is in Chicago (the original Uno’s, although I hear Giordano’s is better now).
As far as chain stuff goes, Papa John’s is the best in my opinion.
I’ve got a local place (Stone Mountain Pizza Cafe) that serves those awesome big slices. I’m a thin crust guy myself, but definitely something is to be said for Chicago deep dish pizza. Ate some while I was there a couple years ago and it was great. Sorry, I cannot remember the name of the place at the moment I’ll have to ask my ex as she moved back there.
If you ask 10 Americans that question you’ll likely get 12 different answers.
My favorite pizza is homemade on a grill, but that’s more trouble than I like to go through.
Well it depends where your friend was in America…?
Chain stores like Pizza Hut and Dominoes are total shit if you have discerning pizza taste, but they might appeal to a foreigner trying them for the first time because they are so different and gooey.
The best Pizza to me is in little pizzerias in New York (“mom and pop”) and yes Papa John’s is maybe the best chain.
in chicago, lou malnati’s and uno’s…
otherwise, best pizza in america is at my house,. on average, once every ten days. three pizzas–one marguerite, one with salami, mushroom ,artichoke ,roasted garlic. and the final with what ever’s left in the fridge. so the last one could be either a white pizza (no tomato sauce) or tomato based.
yeah. i AM the gay pizza chef.
if you go to new york, definitely the nondescript places in little italy where you can actually get some chianti or the streetside takeout windows–nice and greasy.
after making my own, i can’t eat the chain stuff–too sweet and generic.
This basically boils down to a New York vs. Chicago thing. Again.
If you like your pizza in a neopolitan style, you’ll like NY pizza. It’s the basic stuff. Good, basic, stuff.
If you like a little something different, a little spicier, something with a fennel kick added to the sausage, a certain sweetness to the sauce…and a crunchy crust that uses corn meal as an ingredient…you’ll like Chicago pizza. I’m not a big fan of Chicago deep-dish, which is unique…but too much crust for my taste. Chicago thin-style pizza is where it’s at. Sausage, green peppers, onions, black olives. If you like veggie, try spinach, onion, garlic and extra cheese.
Avoid all that west coast stuff with the ham, pineapple and chicken in it. It’s disgusting. Sometimes they even use alfredo sauce. WTF?
The best US chain is Papa John’s. But here in Chicago, there’s no reason to order chain pizza. You can’t go 2 blocks without seeing a pizza parlor.
I feel some bizarre need to participate in this thread… did I miss lunch?
First off, asking whether pizza is better in America is far too broad an inquiry. America is a sprawling place, and you can’t parachute into just any city and expect the pizza to be great. I’ve had transcendent pizza in New York, Chicago, St. Louis and quite a few other places, and I’ve had shit pizza in those same cities. But on the whole, the likelihood of finding great pie in those places is a lot higher than if you were in, say, Oklahoma City. Or Reno. Never went looking for it in Los Angeles, though I’m skeptical.
Second, no chain pizza. None. No Papa John’s, no California Pizza Kitchen, no Pizza Hut. None of them are worth a 22-hour flight, let alone a half-hour drive.
Another consideration is price point: In New York you can get anything from a greasy, on-the-run slice (Di Fara, Famous Ray’s, etc.) to an elaborate seated meal (Co., Motorino, Roberta’s, etc.) The experiences are totally different, but a Famous Ray’s slice is equally spectacular as the Margherita pizza at Motorino. Same is true in Chicago (I particularly like a suburban place called Phillies near where I grew up), though on the whole I’d say that Chicago has fewer “upscale” pizza joints than New York… restaurants on the whole are more casual.
And finally style. I’m a thin crust fan and always hated deep dish (a near-heretic belief growing up in the Chicago suburbs), but I don’t have an allegiance to any particular city because good thin crust is good thin crust regardless of the culinary heritage. The fundamentals — crust and sauce — have to be strong. That being said, I’m quite fond of pizza places that are willing to break with tradition and offer something unique. In Chicago, for example, some parlors offer a pizza with barbecue sauce in lieu of tomato sauce! That might intimidate you, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Giovani’s in Hoboken, NJ for me. Beats ANYTHING I’ve had in NYC (overhyped and overpriced)
Haven’t had Chicago pizza…I was told of a great place in Arizona, but wasn’t sure where in Arizona…something about a brick oven built piece by piece after being imported from Italy or something.
sbarro’s is gotta be, to me, the best chain pizza… usally you’ll find them at malls. at least the pizzas they serve are not uniform in that they just converey belt the pies one after another…
A food network program a couple years back mentioned that Ohio (where I live) had the most pizza shops per capita in the US. Color me surprised.
With that out of the way, one of the Cleveland area’s local chains, Romeo’s Pizza, has become a recent favorite of mine. I bow down to the cardiac turmoil that follows ordering “The Carnivore” from them on a Friday night.
Another local chain, Antonio’s, has gotten some national spotlight as it’s Drew Carey’s personal favorite pizza place. They made the news when he ordered pizza for the entire price is right audience via Fedex and had them baked in the CBS studios.
Actually, the best pizza I had in the states was a pizza place in Oregon run by this Lebanese couple. So good, I went there 4 times in two weeks. Lots of sausage, a slightly smoky, spicy sauce, onion, peppers and plenty of chilli and garlic. I was so impressed I even had them sign a menu for me.
Yeah I think I saw that show on the Food Network it was called Pizza Paradise. Anthony Bourdain did a show where he went to Chicago and had all types of pizza, the deepdish looks awesome. CHICAGO HERE I COME!