As the pizza renaissance rolls on, great pizza is no longer as scarce as it was just five years ago when this blog started. It is a little disturbing to see chains moving into the Neapolitan pizza space, but so far the ones we've tried have been in the good to very good range despite the mass production aspects.
While Neapolitan style is still gathering the most buzz, the top 30 in our list is dominated by old-school pies that have been around for decades.
The notable newcomer in our Top Ten is Basic Urban Kitchen in San Diego, where you can get a New Haven style apizza that is as good or better than the originals in Connecticut.
Some other top-ranked pies are old-school style, but from newer pizzerias: Picco, Via 313, and North of Brooklyn.
Although these pies are ranked, you can expect a world-class pizza experience in almost any of the pies from number one through the mid-thirties on this list.
But as always, any pizza here is easily worth the calories, and the top two-thirds also quality as destination pizza: worth the calories and the trip to get there.
Pizza Styles
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| Mashed potato pie at Basic Urban Kitchen, San Diego |
The notable newcomer in our Top Ten is Basic Urban Kitchen in San Diego, where you can get a New Haven style apizza that is as good or better than the originals in Connecticut.
Some other top-ranked pies are old-school style, but from newer pizzerias: Picco, Via 313, and North of Brooklyn.
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| The brilliant hybrid pie at Picco in Boston MA |
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| Detroit style at Via 313, Austin TX |
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| A NY Slice at North of Brooklyn in Toronto, Canada |
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| Chicago Deep Dish at Louisa's, Crestwood IL |
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| American pie at Pizza Brain in Philadelphia |
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| New Haven style at Frank Pepe's |
- Chicago Deep Dish such as Louisa's Pizza and Pasta (Crestwood, IL) which landed at number 31.
- Detroit style pie is represented by Norma's Pizza (#8) and Via 313 (#6).
- Trenton Tomato Pie remains a personal favorite, and five Trenton pies are on the list including #1, #15, #16, #44, and #82.
- The NY Slice is represented here, too often to enumerate them all.
- Sicilian style and related pan-baked pizzas are here too, such as the square slice at NY Pizza Suprema (#51).
- Neapolitan pies appear throughout; the best one remains Scuola Vecchia at #9.
- Bar Pies (and related Midwestern cracker crust pies) are here in abundance, from Lee's Tavern in Staten Island (#27) to Vito & Nick's (#37) in Chicago.
- American Pie - my term for a pie featuring a thin rigid crust with thoughtfully applied toppings - is best represented by places like Pizza Brain (#10) and Denino's (#7).
- New Haven style - a cousin to the Trenton Tomato Pie - is holding the #4, #5, and #13 spots here, including the aforementioned Basic Urban Kitchen and legendary pie joints Frank Pepe's and Sally's.
- Hybrid styles are often some wonderful mix of American/NY and Neapolitan. Two of my favorites - LaPorta (#17) and Picco (#3) - are making crazy good hybrid pies.
- St. Louis style? Still missing. I'm eager to try one, but haven't yet.
1 | DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, Robbinsville NJ |
2 | DiFara Pizza, Brooklyn NY |
3 | Picco, Boston MA |
4 | Basic Urban Kitchen, San Diego CA |
5 | Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, New Haven CT |
6 | Via 313, Austin TX |
7 | Denino’s, Staten Island NY |
8 | Norma's Pizza, Manheim PA |
9 | Scuola Vecchia, Delray Beach FL |
10 | Pizza Brain, Philadelphia PA |
11 | North of Brooklyn, Toronto Canada |
12 | Al Forno, Providence RI |
13 | Sally's Apizza, New Haven CT |
14 | Patsy’s, East Harlem, NY |
15 | Gennaro's Tomato Pies, Philadelphia PA |
16 | Papa's Tomato Pies, Robbinsville NJ |
17 | La Porta Ristorante, Edgemont, PA |
18 | Pizzeria Vetri, Philadelphia PA |
19 | Jerk Oceano, Lantana FL |
20 | Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco CA |
21 | Joe and Pat's, Staten Island NY |
22 | 2 Amys, Washington DC |
23 | Regina Pizza, Boston MA |
24 | Capofitto, Philadelphia PA |
25 | Santarpio’s, Boston MA |
26 | Tacconelli’s, Philadelphia PA |
27 | Lee’s Tavern, Staten Island NY |
28 | Apizza Scholls, Portland OR |
29 | Motorino, Manhattan NY |
30 | Forcella, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY |
31 | Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix AZ |
32 | Louisa’s Pizza and Pasta, Crestwood IL |
33 | Grimaldi’s, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY |
34 | Totonno's, Coney Island, Brooklyn NY |
35 | Conte’s Bar, Princeton NJ |
36 | Rubino's Pizza, Columbus OH |
37 | Vito and Nick's Pizza, Chicago IL |
38 | Pane Bianco, Phoenix AZ |
39 | Zuppardi's Apizza, West Haven CT |
40 | Nick's New Haven Style Pizzeria, Boca Raton FL |
41 | Nomad Pizza, Hopewell NJ and Philadelphia PA |
42 | Modern Apizza, New Haven CT |
43 | Lombardi's, Manhattan NY |
44 | La Villa, Morrisville PA |
45 | Holy Tomato Pie, Blackwood NJ |
46 | Copper Oven, Ovid NY |
47 | Arturo’s, Greenwich Village, NY |
48 | Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, PA and FL |
49 | Rize, Broomall PA |
50 | Seventh Hill Pizza, Washington DC |
51 | NY Pizza Suprema, Manhattan, NY |
52 | John’s, Greenwich Village, NY |
53 | Osteria, Philadelphia PA |
54 | Cambridge 1, Cambridge MA |
55 | Zavino, Philadelphia |
56 | It’s Nutts, Titusville NJ |
57 | Roberta's, Brooklyn NY |
58 | Collegeville Pizzeria, Collegeville PA |
59 | Domenica, New Orleans LA |
60 | Don Antonio by Starita, Manhattan, NY |
61 | Vecchia Pizzeria Napoletana, Phoenixville PA |
62 | Pieous, Austin TX |
63 | Lorenzo’s, Philadelphia, PA |
64 | Lucca Grill, Bloomington IL |
65 | Artichoke Basille’s, Greenwich Village, NY |
66 | Stella Public House, San Antonio, TX |
67 | Home Slice, Austin TX |
68 | Zero Otto Nove, Bronx NY |
69 | Patsy’s, New Rochelle, NY |
70 | Stella, Philadelphia PA |
71 | Kate & Al’s, Columbus NJ |
72 | Pete’s Pizza, Columbus NJ |
73 | Dough Pizzeria Napoletana, San Antonio, TX |
74 | Pupatella, Arlington VA |
75 | Bufad, Philadelphia |
76 | Comet Ping Pong, Washington DC |
77 | Tucci’s Fire N Coal Pizza, Boca Raton, FL |
78 | La Sicilia, Belleville, NJ |
79 | Primanti Brothers, Fort Lauderdale, FL |
80 | L&B Spumoni Gardens, Brooklyn NY |
81 | New Park Pizza, Queens NY |
82 | SLiCE, Philadelphia |
83 | Tosca Café, (Throgs Neck), Bronx NY |
84 | Grimaldi’s (national chain) |
85 | Sizzle Pie, Portland OR |
86 | Bar 35, Honolulu HI |
87 | Spatola's Pizza, Paoli PA |
88 | Pizzeria Pesto, Philadelphia |
89 | DOCG, Las Vegas NV |
90 | Tommy's Pizza, (Throgs Neck), Bronx NY |
91 | Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, Houston TX |
92 | Tony Baloney's, Hoboken NJ |
93 | Wolfgang Puck Express (national chain) |
94 | Massimo’s, Hamilton NJ |
95 | Wiseguy NY Pizza, Washington DC |
96 | La Brea Bakery, Anaheim CA |
97 | Barbuzzo, Philadelphia PA |
98 | Brick Oven Pizza 33, Manhattan NY |
99 | MOD Pizza (national chain) |
100 | Grande Pizza, Boca Raton FL |
101 | Rosati's, Bloomington IL |
102 | Jules Thin Crust, CA and PA |
103 | Luigi’s Coal Oven Pizza, Fort Lauderdale FL |
104 | Rustica, Philadelphia PA |
105 | DeLorenzo’s Pizza, Hamilton NJ |
106 | Bertucci’s (regional chain) |
107 | Franzone's, Bridgeport PA |
108 | Corropolese Bakery Tomato Pie, Norristown PA |
109 | Pica's, Upper Darby, PA |
110 | Snap Custom Pizza, Exton PA |
111 | ZaZa, Little Rock AR |
112 | Napolese, Indianapolis IN |
113 | Tony Roni's, Willow Grove PA |
114 | Clank's Bar, Marcus Hook, PA |
115 | Milito’s, Downingtown PA |
116 | Sauce, Phoenix AZ |
117 | Marra’s, Philadelphia PA |
118 | Pizza by Elizabeth, Greenville, DE |
119 | Grotto Pizza, Dewey Beach, DE |
120 | Uncle Oogie’s, Philadelphia |
121 | Lenny’s, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn NY |
122 | Monical's Pizza, Bloomington IL |
123 | Bazbeaux, Indianapolis, IN |
124 | Felicia's Pizza Kitchen, Ardmore PA |
125 | California Pizza Kitchen (national chain) |