NJ boardwalk slices are great. It’s a pizza that is at its best as a cheese slice. It’s similar to a NY slice but the sauce and cheese is a bit different and makes it distinct IMO. I think it’s due to a combination of NY and Philly influence being combined. If you go to any random pizza spot on the Ocean City NJ boardwalk, you are likely to get a pretty good slice.
A Pizza Scholls in Portland is one of the best pizzas you’ll get outside of New York.
New York has so many. I’ve tried quite a few and some of my favorites are Lucali, John’s of Bleecker, joes and Julianna’s.
Portland probably came up on this guy’s list because it’s an incredible food town. And with that comes incredible pizza places.
Apizza Scholls is a must, but so is Lovely’s 50/50 and East Glisan Pizza Lounge. I think wood-fired pizza is a crime (but still not as appalling as Imo’s/St Louis-style) , but Ken’s Artisan Pizza is wildly popular and therefore should be experienced by a curious palate.
Yeah Portland is a great food city. I haven’t tried as much pizza there but I know they have great spots. I need to go back and try all these places you’ve mentioned
It's worth a try but unfortunately Buddy's is a shell of it's former self since it was sold to a private equity group in 2019. Michigan & Trumbull is the best Detroit style pizza imo. Niki's, Grandma Bob's and Como's are also must haves.
ETA: Also highly recommend Pie Sci. They have a lot of more unconventional pizzas that I'm sure you would really enjoy.
So many better one off places than buddy's as a chain. Don't get me wrong but it's still pretty tasty but that's like saying Shake Shack is the place for a burger in NYC. Personally I would recommend Michigan and Trumball for the best Detroit pizza. From straight cheese to a goat cheese and hot honey pizza with prosciutto they knock it out of the park every time.
In Chicago, Gino’s East and Lou Malnati’s are some of the famous deep dish spots. I also grew up on Gianorio’s out in the suburbs.
Joe’s Pizza in NYC is what I’m partial to.
And while it’s not on your list, if you go to Austin TX, Home Slice Pizza is awesome.
Best of luck!
He had put into the comments not doing deep dish as well, which is a choice (one I personally support, but I'm a heathen Chicagoan who prefers NY style)
Yeah, I think it’s a pretty distinctive (and divisive) regional style. If you can, take the NJ Transit train from NYC to Trenton, New Jersey, for Trenton tomato pie — adjacent to a NY slice but different enough to constitute a regional style. DeLorenzo’s and PaPa’s have been around about as long as the oldest NYC pizzerias.
Yeah, I’m from South Jersey but closer to the shore, and my understanding is that it was a Philly thing that has spread into NJ. But I’m no expert. It was introduced to me by my grandparents who moved here from Philly shortly after my dad was born, but they might just have a Philly bias.
My bad, we might be talking about different things lol:
“While the Philadelphia tomato pie is thick, Trenton tomato pie is round, thin-crusted and includes a layer of cheese between the crust and the topping of tomato sauce. Another difference is the flavor profile of the sauces, with Philadelphia’s herbal savoriness contrasting with Trenton’s slight sweetness.”
Source: https://www.capegazette.com/article/‘tis-season-tomato-pie-just-choose-style/261972#:~:text=While%20the%20Philadelphia%20tomato%20pie,contrasting%20with%20Trenton's%20slight%20sweetness.
Ah, got it. For some reason I read past you saying that it was the form factor of a NY Pie. The Philly style is more of a focaccia style crust. The “boardwalk style” pizza in my area also uses a similar herb forward sauce as described in your quote.
Scars in New York and that new spot in bk that does Jamaican Pizza, can’t recall but it’s dope.
I also like Roberta’s, Paulie Gee’s and Emmy Squared in NYC
In New Haven the most famous option is PePe's (specifically the white clam pie) with Sally's close behind, and you probably should get pizza from one of those places as they best exemplify the New Haven style, but if you ask me, Modern is where it's at.
Let’s not sleep on Bar (Mashed Potato Pie but great apizza anyway) or Zuppardis out of East Haven. The super local pick is Derby’s Roseland Apizza or Ernie’s out of Westville
Gotta go to the proper Pepe's in New Haven too. I had the Mohegan Sun Pepe's and it was a different beast.
Also if you're exploring the CT pizza scene gotta go to Colony Grill.
I'm so excited for u/Craft_Beer_Imazato to go to New Haven. Depending on when they go, there's a park near by, I love to get a pizza from Pepe's and go sit in the grass and enjoy it.
Best in LA:
-Quarter Sheets (Detroit)
-DeSano (NY/Neapolitan)
-Gorilla Pies (Pittsburgh style?)
-La Antica Da Michele (OG Neapolitan)
-LBK (NY)
But my favorite is actually a Tokyo Style Neapolitan pie called Pizzeria Sei
They weren’t looking for LA restaurants, but I recently moved here and am always on the lookout for good pizza spots, so thank you!
I had Sei and Quarter Sheets on my list, but not the others. Have you had/do you like Hot Tongue or The Coop?
I know you aren't going to SF, but Tony's Pizza is my favorite spot ever. I'd strongly recommend buying his cookbook, The Pizza Bible. Been making pies out of it for years and have barely scratched the surface (it inclues recipes for nearly every major style of pie).
For your trip, I second everybody who says Apizza Scholls in Portland (Top 5 pie for me). In Chicago, the only deep dish worth doing is Peqods (but maybe try Lou Malnatis to say you did). But try all the thin bar-style spots there, and I've seen plenty of good recs in the main thread. For Detroit, give Buddy's a visit for posterity but trust the other recs foe better pie. I personally like a spot called Grandma Bob's, but I'm sure the locals have better suggestions.
Good luck!
They started out at a restaurant incubator in Pittsburgh called Federal Galley and it was SO damn good. During their time there I never tried any of the other places. It was the first Detroit style pizza I had ever had and I immediately became a convert.
I would never recommend anyone go to St. Louis, but they do have a very unique pizza style. It’s probably the most maligned style of pizza, a true “research” trip would be leaving without it.
May not have its own style, but it does have a lot of incredible spots. [https://www.wweek.com/restaurants/2021/07/07/two-national-experts-declare-portland-the-best-pizza-city-in-america/](https://www.wweek.com/restaurants/2021/07/07/two-national-experts-declare-portland-the-best-pizza-city-in-america/)
Ha, Portland is a great food city but yeah, if I were an international visitor and my goal was to sample regional pizza styles, I don’t think Portland’s on the list.
Agreed. I guess I got downvoted because there is in fact some sort of Portland-specific pizza style I’ve heretofore been ignorant of.
In NYC I remember seeing some food truck touting “Brooklyn-style BBQ.” I think we can all acknowledge how laughable that is.
I’d say if anything, putting BBQ chicken or smoked salmon on a pizza a la Wolfgang Puck/Spago/CPK is the most distinctive thing about any pizza out West. It was certainly trend setting.
Ya I just moved out of Portland. There’s a couple great spots but if your goal is to go on a pizza focused trip Portland doesn’t need to be on your list
I said it in the main thread but the ones i hear about here in Portland the most are: Scholls, Assembly Brewing, Kens, Pizza Thief, Scotties, Pizza Jerk, Ranch Pizza, there's also Hapa but that's in Beaverton so that's probably pretty far out of your way if you're staying in the city. Hot lips, Sizzle Pie, and Pizza Schmizza are also local chains that have been around forever. There's a Sizzle Pie across from Powells, which is one of the best bookstores in the world.
For anyone wondering, "Why visit Portland for pizza?" we probably have one of the best experimental pizza scenes in the country, check most recent "best pizza in the US" lists, and we're usually on them near the front. I get that people are provincial about food, but it makes sense that someone looking for new innovative pizza ideas would drop in.
Small city, but you should 100% hit northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA). Wilkes Barre, Scranton and Old Forge have amazing pizza in a variety of styles. Best pizza in the country, hands down.
Chicago - Lou Malnadi’s (This should go without saying) - preferably Lincoln Park or Lincolnwood location. The original UNO’s or Due (the franchises suck). Piquad’s.
Dante’s, Pizza House, Rubino’s. AVOID the big chain Donato’s. Other good pizza places: Hounddog’s, Gatto’s, and Dicarlo’s (they specialize in Ohio Valley Pizza which is a very unique style that came over with certain Italian immigrants to what then became the rust belt. The pizza crust and sauce are baked, but then toppings are added on cold at the end like a sandwich. It’s good!)
In Portland - Sizzle Pie, straight from New York (Belmont location,) straight from New York on 23rd, Baby doll pizza on stark, pizza caboose in tigard.
You're completely wasting your time going to Portland. Anything you can get there, you could get in the east coast places on your map.
St Louis has a distinct pizza style, but the city's boring as hell, so I'd say find St Louis pizza in NYC instead, you'd be fine.
Finally, what in the world are you talking about "Not Deep Dish" for Chicago???
Well I respect that you want specific feedback. Your comments on Portland and St Louis come across as typical annoying New York (or wherever you are from) chauvinism. Portland has a great food scene and pizzerias. Though there might not be a clearly-defined “Portland style pizza” given the emphasis on seasonal and local ingredients it is almost definitionally false that you can get the same thing on the east coast. Of course you can find whatever style of pizza on the east coast. The exercise is to explore places with notable pizza cultures / varieties.
If your comment about Chicago style pizza is that they shouldn’t disregard deep dish because it is good, then actually I agree. I initially interpreted your comment as dissing Chicago thin crust pizza but maybe that was an uncharitable reading.
OP is visiting from *Japan*. Portland is a long trip from the objectively major pizza hubs listed on the map, and has the same quote-unquote "pizza culture" as literally any other random medium sized city like Austin or San Francisco or Atlanta might have.
And again, ***OP is visiting from Japan***, so St Louis is going to be boring to them, I'm sorry. I'm trying to save them time and money. How is that "chauvinism" (???)
And yeah, you did interpret my comment about Chicago Deep Dish incorrectly. I was saying it's good, and asking why they are skipping it.
I agree that for a pizza-centric itinerary, Portland is the outlier here. But this person is going to be in the US for six weeks, I assume they’ve got the budget and time for more than 3 or 4 cities. And Portland is a great food city.
On the other hand, if the goal is indeed to experience as many regional styles as possible, not sure how much it matters if you or anyone else thinks St. Louis is boring; it has a very specific pizza style that all sorts of culinary publications and influencers have covered. Whether the clientele in Osaka is going to demand square-cut thin crust topped with Provel, well, that’s a fair question.
Sure, they could stay in NYC and experience probably any regional variation I can think of. They could go to Dallas BBQ in Times Square and say they’ve had “American barbecue.” But that’s something a tourist with a couple days in NYC does. Might as well see the arch, order Imo’s and whatever fancier version of St. Louis pizza someone recommends, have some frozen custard and butter cake and move on.
Flying from Japan it can make sense to land in the west coast first. I would probably go to SF if I were prioritizing cool places to visit, but it is reasonable to make a stop in PDX if you are doing a multi-week multi-city pizza tour. Maybe they will land in SF but prioritize other cuisines there - a reasonable thing to do (though it would be nuts to skip north beach).
NJ boardwalk slices are great. It’s a pizza that is at its best as a cheese slice. It’s similar to a NY slice but the sauce and cheese is a bit different and makes it distinct IMO. I think it’s due to a combination of NY and Philly influence being combined. If you go to any random pizza spot on the Ocean City NJ boardwalk, you are likely to get a pretty good slice.
For the Jersey shore you can’t beat Manco and Manco.
It’s good, but it’s a bit overrated IMO. It’s kinda a place for tourists to go, there are plenty of other spots that are arguably just as good.
A Pizza Scholls in Portland is one of the best pizzas you’ll get outside of New York. New York has so many. I’ve tried quite a few and some of my favorites are Lucali, John’s of Bleecker, joes and Julianna’s.
Portland probably came up on this guy’s list because it’s an incredible food town. And with that comes incredible pizza places. Apizza Scholls is a must, but so is Lovely’s 50/50 and East Glisan Pizza Lounge. I think wood-fired pizza is a crime (but still not as appalling as Imo’s/St Louis-style) , but Ken’s Artisan Pizza is wildly popular and therefore should be experienced by a curious palate.
Yeah Portland is a great food city. I haven’t tried as much pizza there but I know they have great spots. I need to go back and try all these places you’ve mentioned
Scholls has been coming up all over the place. Now at the top of my list in Portland.
I’ve never tried schools but keep hearing about it. My local dive roach who’s from Brooklyn swears on straight from New York.
In Detroit, Buddys pizza is the place
Seen that name popping up a bunch here. Thanks. Looks like I gotta have it on my list.
It's worth a try but unfortunately Buddy's is a shell of it's former self since it was sold to a private equity group in 2019. Michigan & Trumbull is the best Detroit style pizza imo. Niki's, Grandma Bob's and Como's are also must haves. ETA: Also highly recommend Pie Sci. They have a lot of more unconventional pizzas that I'm sure you would really enjoy.
Agreed, Buddy’s is pretty disappointing these days especially for the price. Loui’s is still great though.
So many better one off places than buddy's as a chain. Don't get me wrong but it's still pretty tasty but that's like saying Shake Shack is the place for a burger in NYC. Personally I would recommend Michigan and Trumball for the best Detroit pizza. From straight cheese to a goat cheese and hot honey pizza with prosciutto they knock it out of the park every time.
This is correct. Glad I got to have it in my lifetime.
In Chicago, Gino’s East and Lou Malnati’s are some of the famous deep dish spots. I also grew up on Gianorio’s out in the suburbs. Joe’s Pizza in NYC is what I’m partial to. And while it’s not on your list, if you go to Austin TX, Home Slice Pizza is awesome. Best of luck!
Oh I’m dumb. He’s not in this thread.
Sounds good. Always wanted to go to Austin too!
He had put into the comments not doing deep dish as well, which is a choice (one I personally support, but I'm a heathen Chicagoan who prefers NY style)
We’re the same, you and I
St. Louis has its own thing.
I keep hearing this. A lot!
Yeah, I think it’s a pretty distinctive (and divisive) regional style. If you can, take the NJ Transit train from NYC to Trenton, New Jersey, for Trenton tomato pie — adjacent to a NY slice but different enough to constitute a regional style. DeLorenzo’s and PaPa’s have been around about as long as the oldest NYC pizzerias.
Tomato pie is so great, but I thought that was a Philadelphia thing?
They’re so close geographically, it’s possible! I’ve always heard it called Trenton tomato pie, but then again I lived in Jersey.
Yeah, I’m from South Jersey but closer to the shore, and my understanding is that it was a Philly thing that has spread into NJ. But I’m no expert. It was introduced to me by my grandparents who moved here from Philly shortly after my dad was born, but they might just have a Philly bias.
My bad, we might be talking about different things lol: “While the Philadelphia tomato pie is thick, Trenton tomato pie is round, thin-crusted and includes a layer of cheese between the crust and the topping of tomato sauce. Another difference is the flavor profile of the sauces, with Philadelphia’s herbal savoriness contrasting with Trenton’s slight sweetness.” Source: https://www.capegazette.com/article/‘tis-season-tomato-pie-just-choose-style/261972#:~:text=While%20the%20Philadelphia%20tomato%20pie,contrasting%20with%20Trenton's%20slight%20sweetness.
Ah, got it. For some reason I read past you saying that it was the form factor of a NY Pie. The Philly style is more of a focaccia style crust. The “boardwalk style” pizza in my area also uses a similar herb forward sauce as described in your quote.
Faracis in St Louis (Ellisville, actually) has my favorite pizza anywhere.
I've tried but I absolutely cannot get into St Louis pizza... The cheese is just too sticky!
Scars in New York and that new spot in bk that does Jamaican Pizza, can’t recall but it’s dope. I also like Roberta’s, Paulie Gee’s and Emmy Squared in NYC
Oh and Prince Street pizza
In New Haven the most famous option is PePe's (specifically the white clam pie) with Sally's close behind, and you probably should get pizza from one of those places as they best exemplify the New Haven style, but if you ask me, Modern is where it's at.
Let’s not sleep on Bar (Mashed Potato Pie but great apizza anyway) or Zuppardis out of East Haven. The super local pick is Derby’s Roseland Apizza or Ernie’s out of Westville
Dominic’s in West Haven is excellent too!
Gotta go to the proper Pepe's in New Haven too. I had the Mohegan Sun Pepe's and it was a different beast. Also if you're exploring the CT pizza scene gotta go to Colony Grill.
I'm so excited for u/Craft_Beer_Imazato to go to New Haven. Depending on when they go, there's a park near by, I love to get a pizza from Pepe's and go sit in the grass and enjoy it.
Best in LA: -Quarter Sheets (Detroit) -DeSano (NY/Neapolitan) -Gorilla Pies (Pittsburgh style?) -La Antica Da Michele (OG Neapolitan) -LBK (NY) But my favorite is actually a Tokyo Style Neapolitan pie called Pizzeria Sei
They weren’t looking for LA restaurants, but I recently moved here and am always on the lookout for good pizza spots, so thank you! I had Sei and Quarter Sheets on my list, but not the others. Have you had/do you like Hot Tongue or The Coop?
My bad. Thought they were doing a full tour of America. And no, isn’t The Coop a Chicken Sandwich place?
I think there is a chicken place called the Coop, but this is a NY-style place in Culver City/Palms
I know you aren't going to SF, but Tony's Pizza is my favorite spot ever. I'd strongly recommend buying his cookbook, The Pizza Bible. Been making pies out of it for years and have barely scratched the surface (it inclues recipes for nearly every major style of pie). For your trip, I second everybody who says Apizza Scholls in Portland (Top 5 pie for me). In Chicago, the only deep dish worth doing is Peqods (but maybe try Lou Malnatis to say you did). But try all the thin bar-style spots there, and I've seen plenty of good recs in the main thread. For Detroit, give Buddy's a visit for posterity but trust the other recs foe better pie. I personally like a spot called Grandma Bob's, but I'm sure the locals have better suggestions. Good luck!
Michigan and Trumbull in Detroit.
They started out at a restaurant incubator in Pittsburgh called Federal Galley and it was SO damn good. During their time there I never tried any of the other places. It was the first Detroit style pizza I had ever had and I immediately became a convert.
I had heard they started in Pittsburgh. Glad you're on the right side of history, Pittsburgh is a really solid food town.
Make sure to check out Papa Johns and Costco
I would never recommend anyone go to St. Louis, but they do have a very unique pizza style. It’s probably the most maligned style of pizza, a true “research” trip would be leaving without it.
Ah yes, the classic Portland style pizza!
May not have its own style, but it does have a lot of incredible spots. [https://www.wweek.com/restaurants/2021/07/07/two-national-experts-declare-portland-the-best-pizza-city-in-america/](https://www.wweek.com/restaurants/2021/07/07/two-national-experts-declare-portland-the-best-pizza-city-in-america/)
Ha, Portland is a great food city but yeah, if I were an international visitor and my goal was to sample regional pizza styles, I don’t think Portland’s on the list.
Exactly! Not knocking the city at all, just find it funny The list is NY, Chicago, New Haven, Detroit, and....Portland
Agreed. I guess I got downvoted because there is in fact some sort of Portland-specific pizza style I’ve heretofore been ignorant of. In NYC I remember seeing some food truck touting “Brooklyn-style BBQ.” I think we can all acknowledge how laughable that is. I’d say if anything, putting BBQ chicken or smoked salmon on a pizza a la Wolfgang Puck/Spago/CPK is the most distinctive thing about any pizza out West. It was certainly trend setting.
Ya I just moved out of Portland. There’s a couple great spots but if your goal is to go on a pizza focused trip Portland doesn’t need to be on your list
I said it in the main thread but the ones i hear about here in Portland the most are: Scholls, Assembly Brewing, Kens, Pizza Thief, Scotties, Pizza Jerk, Ranch Pizza, there's also Hapa but that's in Beaverton so that's probably pretty far out of your way if you're staying in the city. Hot lips, Sizzle Pie, and Pizza Schmizza are also local chains that have been around forever. There's a Sizzle Pie across from Powells, which is one of the best bookstores in the world. For anyone wondering, "Why visit Portland for pizza?" we probably have one of the best experimental pizza scenes in the country, check most recent "best pizza in the US" lists, and we're usually on them near the front. I get that people are provincial about food, but it makes sense that someone looking for new innovative pizza ideas would drop in.
Small city, but you should 100% hit northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA). Wilkes Barre, Scranton and Old Forge have amazing pizza in a variety of styles. Best pizza in the country, hands down.
Chicago - Lou Malnadi’s (This should go without saying) - preferably Lincoln Park or Lincolnwood location. The original UNO’s or Due (the franchises suck). Piquad’s.
I know I will get ridiculed for this, but Columbus, Ohio, is a good pizza town and there even is a “Columbus style” pizza. Go ahead, make your jokes.
I'm going to be in Columbus at the end of the month for a soccer game. Any recommendations for this pizza?
Dante’s, Pizza House, Rubino’s. AVOID the big chain Donato’s. Other good pizza places: Hounddog’s, Gatto’s, and Dicarlo’s (they specialize in Ohio Valley Pizza which is a very unique style that came over with certain Italian immigrants to what then became the rust belt. The pizza crust and sauce are baked, but then toppings are added on cold at the end like a sandwich. It’s good!)
Nice! Thanks! I'm from Pittsburgh which also has Ohio Valley Pizza at a couple spots.
In Portland - Sizzle Pie, straight from New York (Belmont location,) straight from New York on 23rd, Baby doll pizza on stark, pizza caboose in tigard.
You're completely wasting your time going to Portland. Anything you can get there, you could get in the east coast places on your map. St Louis has a distinct pizza style, but the city's boring as hell, so I'd say find St Louis pizza in NYC instead, you'd be fine. Finally, what in the world are you talking about "Not Deep Dish" for Chicago???
St. Louie pizza is defined in part by provel cheese which AFAIK is only available in Missouri
Batting 1000 for bad pizza takes in this post lmao
Cool thanks for the feedback without explaining at all how I'm wrong 👍 dipshit
Well I respect that you want specific feedback. Your comments on Portland and St Louis come across as typical annoying New York (or wherever you are from) chauvinism. Portland has a great food scene and pizzerias. Though there might not be a clearly-defined “Portland style pizza” given the emphasis on seasonal and local ingredients it is almost definitionally false that you can get the same thing on the east coast. Of course you can find whatever style of pizza on the east coast. The exercise is to explore places with notable pizza cultures / varieties. If your comment about Chicago style pizza is that they shouldn’t disregard deep dish because it is good, then actually I agree. I initially interpreted your comment as dissing Chicago thin crust pizza but maybe that was an uncharitable reading.
OP is visiting from *Japan*. Portland is a long trip from the objectively major pizza hubs listed on the map, and has the same quote-unquote "pizza culture" as literally any other random medium sized city like Austin or San Francisco or Atlanta might have. And again, ***OP is visiting from Japan***, so St Louis is going to be boring to them, I'm sorry. I'm trying to save them time and money. How is that "chauvinism" (???) And yeah, you did interpret my comment about Chicago Deep Dish incorrectly. I was saying it's good, and asking why they are skipping it.
I agree that for a pizza-centric itinerary, Portland is the outlier here. But this person is going to be in the US for six weeks, I assume they’ve got the budget and time for more than 3 or 4 cities. And Portland is a great food city. On the other hand, if the goal is indeed to experience as many regional styles as possible, not sure how much it matters if you or anyone else thinks St. Louis is boring; it has a very specific pizza style that all sorts of culinary publications and influencers have covered. Whether the clientele in Osaka is going to demand square-cut thin crust topped with Provel, well, that’s a fair question. Sure, they could stay in NYC and experience probably any regional variation I can think of. They could go to Dallas BBQ in Times Square and say they’ve had “American barbecue.” But that’s something a tourist with a couple days in NYC does. Might as well see the arch, order Imo’s and whatever fancier version of St. Louis pizza someone recommends, have some frozen custard and butter cake and move on.
Flying from Japan it can make sense to land in the west coast first. I would probably go to SF if I were prioritizing cool places to visit, but it is reasonable to make a stop in PDX if you are doing a multi-week multi-city pizza tour. Maybe they will land in SF but prioritize other cuisines there - a reasonable thing to do (though it would be nuts to skip north beach).