We never set out to become pizza experts. But once we’d eaten at 50 different pizzerias, we found that we were developing some serious Pizza Discernment.
Then we ate 50 more pizzas and got even savvier. Here’s the best of what we’ve learned.
Our methodology:
- Order a pizza with onions and green peppers (except if it’s a specialty pizza place that discourages deviations from their concoctions).
- Choose the style for which the pizza place is famous: deep dish, thin crust, Neapolitan, Quad Cities style, Detroit style, New York style…
Our pizza truths:
- There is no bad pizza.
- Sometimes the best pizza comes from a hole-in-the-wall place.
Our pizza revelations:
- Our favorite pizzas have zingy sauce, salty cheese, crust that tastes good all on its own, and a nice balance of ingredients.
- If the sauce isn’t zingy, the pizza might be good but will never be great.
- If the pizza’s not great, adding more cheese will make it worse, not better.
- It’s easier for a pizza to stand out if it’s deep dish or very thin crust.
- We have a weakness for deep dish.
And now…
Our top 10 pizzas…
First, our undisputed top 2:
Morton Grove, IL
Deep dish
Why it’s great: That caramelized crust!
Pequod’s
Skokie, IL
Thin crust
Why it’s great: The best thin crust on the planet. Razor-thin toppings, zingy sauce, crispy crust
La Rosa
And the other 8, in alphabetical order:
de Carlucci’s Pizzeria & Mexican Grill
Morton Grove, IL
Thin crust
Why it’s great: Zingy sauce, crispy crust
de Carlucci’s
Chicago
Deep dish
Why it’s great: That cornmeal crust…
(We forgot to take a photo!)
Chicago
Deep dish
Why it’s great: All those flavors and that perfect crust
Gullivers
Rock Island, IL
Quad Cities style
Why it’s great: The sweetness of the malty crust, and the zing of the sauce
Harris Pizza
Louisville, KY
Deep dish
Why it’s great: Zingy sauce and nicely balanced
Impellizzeri’s
Chicago
Deep dish
Why it’s great: Full-featured deep dish that impressed us even after we’d tested more than 75 pizzas
Labriola
Lincolnwood, IL
Deep dish
Why it’s great: Zingy tomatoes on the top, and the crust is always a treat
Lou Malnati’s
St. Louis, MO
Deep dish
Why it’s great: A zingy, perfectly balanced deep dish pizza with delectable crust
Pi
Up next week: pizzas ranked 11-20. Because there really are that many great pizzas.
Our fellow pizza lovers… where would you send us next?
Dar Poeta
Rome, Italy
Randee — We want to go to there!!
Mmm…Pizza! It’s one of my favorite foods. Sadly, my favorite pizza place, The Zucchini Grill, (which made the BEST Greek-style pizza ever!) closed last year. I’m still in mourning.
Lark — it’s really a bummer when a great pizza place closes. There was a really good one near us that closed after many years, and it was a bit of a shock. I hope you find a new place you like almost as well (or maybe better!)
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