Pizza

[MattZ]

Denino's Pizza - Staten Island, NY (best pizza on earth)

Grimaldi's Pizza - Brooklyn, NY (best brick-oven pizza on earth)

Joe's Pizza - Greenwich Village, NY (best grab-a-slice-and-walk slice!)

John's Pizza - Greenwich Village, NY

Brothers' Pizza - Staten Island, NY

 

I think Lombardi's in Little Italy is great, but a bit over-rated

 

Hells yes.

I have also heard Di Fara's in Brooklyn is fantastic, but have never been there. Supposedly the best in NYC.

And the only John's worth going to is the one on bleecker.

Since Lombardi's expanded it just isn't the same.

[EL the Famous]

Lou Malnati's

 

For those of you that might be interested, you can order Lou Malnati's for delivery nationwide. It's not quite as good as fresh in the restaurant, but I've sent for gifts all over with great results.

 

Edit: Italian Beef too!

 

it's actually pretty cool...it arrives next day in dry ice and you just pop in your freezer or fix right away. i have sent a few to my grandfather downstate over the years and various clients/suppliers for work.

 

chicago is unmatched in the beef sandwich department. period.

[Twisted Acres]

Hells yes.

I have also heard Di Fara's in Brooklyn is fantastic, but have never been there. Supposedly the best in NYC.

And the only John's worth going to is the one on bleecker.

Since Lombardi's expanded it just isn't the same.

 

Yeah, Lombardi's was great when I was a kid, not as much now... sad to say, y'know?

 

And John's on Bleecker is the one for sure. I was scared to death when they were closed for a few days earlier this year. Thought they finally had enough! Turns out they didn't have a sink in a spot where they needed a sink so the Board of Health had them close until the sink was put in.

 

Never been to DiFara's either, but gotta get there soon. Don't forget Spumoni Gardens in Bensonhurst too!!!!

[poppydawn]

not at all. as a deep dish enthusiast, my definition of 'thin-crust' pizza is a lot different than that.

 

kate will chime in w/ the st. louis favorite of Imo's at some point, if she didn't already earlier on...that's more in line w/ what you are talking, tully. i'd never testify to it in a court of law, but the few times i ordered Imo's when i lived down there...i actually didn't hate it.

 

Last time I had Imo's, I got the worst case of food poisoning of my life. We were driving 13 hours to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan the next day. Nothing like vomiting Provel cheese through three states.

 

My first college roommate used to get bacon pizza from Imo's. Now, I love bacon in a big way, but bacon + Provel? Might as well soak a piece of cardboard in lard and dab it with ketchup.

[PigSooie]

Imo's sucks.

[M. (hristine]

Is Imo's real pizza?

[PigSooie]

No. It's garbage.

[M. (hristine]

I ate it once when the first Imo's opened in KC and I thought it was joke pizza. But the way other people rave, I wondered if I had just gotten a bad one.

[Clouds of Fluff]

Imo's is pure weirdness to me. I like the cracker crust (reminds me of lavosh or something which I love)...but the cheese was a lot like white american or something. Not really pizza.

 

 

 

 

 

My ideal pizza is thin crust with black olive, tomato, and marinated artichokes...with maybe some pepperoni. I really just like pizza though. Not really too picky.

[LouieB]

From Chicago, but I am fed up with deep dish......for real.

 

LouieB

[quarter23cd]

Is it wrong that I voted for every single topping up to, and including, "other".

[tongue-tied lightning]

Denino's Pizza - Staten Island, NY (best pizza on earth)

Grimaldi's Pizza - Brooklyn, NY (best brick-oven pizza on earth)

Joe's Pizza - Greenwich Village, NY (best grab-a-slice-and-walk slice!)

John's Pizza - Greenwich Village, NY

Brothers' Pizza - Staten Island, NY

 

I think Lombardi's in Little Italy is great, but a bit over-rated

 

i'm on a mission to try them all

 

never had the chance to have old Lombardi pie, but it was really good.

 

John's was great too.

Brooklyn & Staten Island here I come

[EL the Famous]

i'm in charge of dinner while the wife is at her work holiday party...so we're having a frozen home run inn pizza. suasage. thin crust.

 

plus, steamed vegetables and applesauce. big. pimpin.

[Mr. Kinsley]

I'm expecting a huge backlash on this ("You LA people are a bunch of freaks! That's not a pizza!") but back when the Lakers were rollin' over everyone a few years ago, another couple and my wife and I would get together for Jacopo's and watch the games. We'd order what we grew to name The Laker Pizza, which I think is really called the Buffalo Wing pizza. I haven't had it since and I miss it. Sounds horrible, but you've got to trust me on this: Thin crust with a ranch dressing sauce, sliced red onions, cilantro, mozzarella, and buffalo chicken wing seasoned chunks of chicken breast.

 

You do rather need to suspend your sense of pizza reality to try it the first time, but after that you won't want to stop.

[sureshot]

yeah, when you get into thin crust relative to the chicagoland area...you are most likely going to get a million different favorites from everybody. that said, if i were to submiy my favorite thin-crust, it'd be Pat's. it used to be on sheffield over by the Vic, but i see that it's moved...showsa how long it's been since i've been to a show there.

 

Its all about Villa Nova on Pershing Rd (39th), a couple blocks east of Harlem in Stickney

 

 

Chicago may be "known" for deep dish, but I would reckon locals eat other variations (thin crust, pan, etc) 90% of the time. I have deep dish maybe twice a year.

 

Freddys in Cicero makes a killer fluffy Sicilian pizza

http://www.freddyspizza.com/index.html

 

In general, i think the near west burbs beat the city in regards to pizza offerings. Hell, I've got 75 joints that deliver within 2 miles alone.

[aricandover]

Its all about Villa Nova on Pershing Rd (39th), a couple blocks east of Harlem in Stickney

 

 

Chicago may be "known" for deep dish, but I would reckon locals eat other variations (thin crust, pan, etc) 90% of the time. I have deep dish maybe twice a year.

 

Freddys in Cicero makes a killer fluffy Sicilian pizza

http://www.freddyspizza.com/index.html

 

In general, i think the near west burbs beat the city in regards to pizza offerings. Hell, I've got 75 joints that deliver within 2 miles alone.

 

yeah, that's not real pizza.

[poppydawn]

I ate it once when the first Imo's opened in KC and I thought it was joke pizza. But the way other people rave, I wondered if I had just gotten a bad one.

 

That's hilarious! Joke pizza ... that sums up Imo's better than any other description.

 

That "cheese" is just vile. It's a locally-made concoction called Provel. It's mozzerella, parm, and provolone that have been processed, giving it the texture of something between Velveeta and kindergarten paste with some lard mixed in.

 

I've had St. Louis-style pizza at other places where they'll replace the Provel with real cheese, and it's excellent. The crust can be great when it's not sopping up processed cheese residue.

[cryptique]

From Chicago, but I am fed up with deep dish......for real.

Doesn't surprise me. Virtually any deep dish that has the sauce on top has never impressed me much. Sauce should never be the top layer of a pizza.

 

The best deep-dish pizza I've ever had was one my father made over twenty years ago that had a double-decker crust. He's not interested in making it again (he's a thin-crust fan, as am I, normally), but I still yearn for it.

[Spawn's dad]

had the pizza of my life the other night in NYC

 

Lombardi's

 

NY beats Chicago style

 

 

indeed. Arthuro's on Houston street is pretty stellar as well.

 

Spawn and I just watched a Food Heaven's episode on the travel channel of NY vs. Chicago pizza.

[M. (hristine]

That's hilarious! Joke pizza ... that sums up Imo's better than any other description.

 

That "cheese" is just vile. It's a locally-made concoction called Provel. It's mozzerella, parm, and provolone that have been processed, giving it the texture of something between Velveeta and kindergarten paste with some lard mixed in.

 

I've had St. Louis-style pizza at other places where they'll replace the Provel with real cheese, and it's excellent. The crust can be great when it's not sopping up processed cheese residue.

Yeah...it was the cheese thing that I remember. It was nasty. I remember thinking, "Surely they didn't mean to do this".

 

Provel? Ew.

 

My trio of pizza cheese is usually smoked provolone, pecorino and parmesan either grated or in the pesto. Gorgonzola or bleu frequently. The only 'processing' occurs on top of the stone in my oven.

 

Home made pizza tonight biotches!

[poppydawn]

Yeah...it was the cheese thing that I remember. It was nasty. I remember thinking, "Surely they didn't mean to do this".

 

Provel? Ew.

 

My trio of pizza cheese is usually smoked provolone, pecorino and parmesan either grated or in the pesto. Gorgonzola or bleu frequently. The only 'processing' occurs on top of the stone in my oven.

 

Home made pizza tonight biotches!

 

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ... gorgonzola. Yum! Your trio sounds awesome, too. I love love love pecorino. Have you tried the pecorino with whole peppercorns in it? That would divine.

 

My current favorite is from Marco's on Main in Belleville. It's St. Louis style thin crust, but with good sauce and without the nasty fake cheese. I love their spinach salad pizza; fresh baby spinach leaves, fresh mushrooms, bacon, parmesan and feta. Oh my cod. I want one right now.

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

People, people, people. Can't all our pizzas get along? Having lived in Chicago for most of my life I have discovered that people LOVE to bitch about pizza because it makes them feel like connoisseurs.

 

I like New York-style pizza.

 

I like Chicago-style pizza.

 

Hell, I like a good many frozen pizzas. I certainly have preferences, but this doesn't mean that anything but my favorite is bad.

 

I am not concerned with what is "real" pizza and what isn't--only with whether it tastes good. That's all there is to it, right?

 

Here is the deal with Imo's. It is very different than most pizza. That does not mean that it's bad. The cheese is Americanish, but there is a solution to this problem: eat the pie cold or luke-warm. At this temperature, the cheese has a wonderful tacky consistensy. This, combined with the cracker crust, makes for a great combination of flavor and texture.

[poppydawn]

Here is the deal with Imo's. It is very different than most pizza. That does not mean that it's bad. The cheese is Americanish, but there is a solution to this problem: eat the pie cold or luke-warm. At this temperature, the cheese has a wonderful tacky consistensy. This, combined with the cracker crust, makes for a great combination of flavor and texture.

 

While I whole-heartedly embrace and appreciate your plea for pizza peace, I still have to disagree with you about Imo's. Hot or cold, it still taste like hinder. It certainly doesn't represent all St. Louis-style pizza. It's about as representative of that style as Pizza Hut is of traditional Italian pie. Give me a St. Louis-style cracker crust from someone who's making pizzas by hand, and I'm a happy girl.

 

As for good frozen pizzas, oh my word. Trader Joe's and Target both have excellent frozen versions. As does Oberweis Dairy's delivery program, if you can believe that. I'd make sweet love to their spicy sauce, if it was possible.

[Reni]

forget you guys - I looooove Imo's Pizza and it is a staple of every return trip to St. Louis.

 

When you want pizza, you get something else......when you want Imo's, you get Imo's

[M. (hristine]

No. I don't care about being a connoisseur. I don't care about Chicago v New York pizza, as I have not eaten pizza in either city. I just care about what tastes good. I slung pizza for 10 years and never grew tired of eating it. One of the best pizzas I have ever eaten was from a tiny hippie joint nestled in the Ozarks outside of Eureka Springs. (Might have been the all day canoe trip that preceded it, however!)

 

My solution to the Imo's pizza issue is having eaten it once about 15 years ago, I never ate it again. Life's too short for sketchy pizza.