A Guide to the Essential Regional American Pizza Styles

Before the 1950s, most Americans didn't know what pizza was. Arriving to the U.S. in the late 1800s, it was considered a cheap "ethnic" food, eaten mostly by marginalized Italian Americans in hole-in-the-wall restaurants or on the street.

As Krishnendu Ray在他的书中写信The Ethnic Restaurateur, it was only when Italian Americans climbed the socioeconomic ladder and were considered to be white that their food, in turn, gained acceptance and appreciation.

这种转变始于40年代，当时士兵从第二次世界大战中回来。他们已经接触到欧洲的披萨，现在渴望回家。其中一些GIS开设了餐厅；其他人只是受到启发，将他们的家人带到现有的意大利餐厅，该餐厅开始到达跨文化客户。

Read more about the golden age of American pizza and all the best pizza places in the country, from neighborhood slice shops to regional institutions。

美国的食欲正在发生变化，技术也在发生变化。这使得在未来几十年中进行了大规模生产：冷冻的比萨饼和大牌连锁店在全国范围内普及了这道菜，尤其是在中西部和西部，那里没有大型意大利社区。以及在哪里 - 工业中心纽约, New Haven, andDetroit- 您在40年代或50年代看到了区域意大利裔美国人的烹饪风格。这些最终席卷了向西，直到您在80年代初看到加利福尼亚披萨风格的出现。

二战后的经济允许更多的人开始businesses, spend money, and entertain. Pizza, as it turns out, was perfect for parties—and kids loved it, too. Its versatility meant that you could top it with just about anything and eat it a couple times a week without feeling like you were having the same meal. All of these factors played a significant part in pizza's solidification as an American symbol, as Carol Helstosky points out in her book比萨: A Global History。

In this survey of regional American pizza styles, there are several varieties that we wanted to include but couldn't, due to space—the beautiful, busty BeauJo's pies of Colorado, or the cracker-thin, Provel-topped crisps of St. Louis. It should also be noted that styles in general are tricky to define. What's called "Detroit-style pizza" in most of America is simply "pizza" in Detroit. In other words, it's often outsiders who create the labels that then get bandied about by others, including national chains trying to capitalize on the hype.

As of a decade ago, there were 70,000 pizzerias in the United States. Here's to 70,000 more.

作为美国意大利移民的联系，纽约是美国披萨餐厅的地方，据说是在1905年正式出生在Gennaro Lombardi的手中。（他的位置在该国拥有第一份披萨企业许可证，尽管在此之前，虽然最肯定有雷达街的供应商和非正式的比萨饼业务，正如Helstosky在她的书中所写的那样。近年来，Lombardi是New New的创始人约克披萨has come into question。)

当确定一个纽约派,其大,软盘slices are a dead giveaway; it's the widest and most pliable of all regional styles. It's thin, but not as thin as its Neapolitan ancestor, which is mandated by Italian law to be about a tenth of an inch. New York slices, on the other hand, are double that, give or take. And foldability is a universally agreed-upon element. Do you have to fold it when you pick it up and eat it? It's probably New York style. (That's also true of both Neapolitan and New Haven pizza, but the slices are generally smaller.) This simultaneously allows you to catch grease and and carry it around with you, harkening back to pizza's 18th-century origins: a fisherman's breakfast in Naples, proletariat and portable, eaten on the street.

Like all things Americanized, the New York slice is oversized compared to both its Neapolitan ancestor and its regional counterparts: 9'' or 10'' long. It has a crisp bite but retains its chew, thanks to the high-gluten bread flour with which it's made—in fact, this is another defining characteristic of New York pizza, according to pizza researcher Liz Barrett. While some swear New York's mineral-rich tap water plays a role, the jury's still out on that one. Also, Barrett asserts, New York pizza must be hand-tossed, never pan-stretched.

纽约披萨与那不勒斯风格有何不同？它缺少那不勒斯通风的枕头空气口袋cornicione, or rim. And unlike Neapolitan style, which is defined by its minimalist sauce of raw tomatoes and salt—protected by Italian law—New York sauce usually has some herbs. The mozzarella is hard and aged, whereas Neapolitan pizza must feature fresh mozzarella as the only cheese, if it has any at all. This is due, it's thought, to the gas ovens that many New York pizzerias now use. As opposed to hotter-burning coal and wood ovens, pizza takes longer to cook in this environment, and raw mozzarella can either turn rubbery or result in soggy crust, necessitating the aged, low-moisture stuff.

At first glance,纽黑文派看起来很像一个New York pie. It's similarly circular, flat, and large, with cardboard-thin crust. Upon closer inspection, you'll see the slices are a little smaller—so it's never really sold by the slice and still molten towards the middle—and the pie's a bit wobbly shaped, even oblong. That's partly because the dough is allowed to ferment longer, usually overnight, making it more relaxed. Under the scorch of the oven, it stretches into irregular form.

地壳明显比纽约对应物更薄，更脆，但仍然有稍微发酵的咀嚼。在某些馅饼上，浇头一直延伸到边缘，毫无意义地看见了玉米片或边缘。在场时，这种边缘比纽约派的边缘更平坦，纽约派通常比其那不勒斯祖细胞更平坦且通风较低。很快就显而易见的是，“ Abeets”是“ Apizza”的语音缩写，这是对New Haven的意大利移民的那不勒斯方言的点头 - 宣称自己的话语。

First, there's the char. So much char. Your fingers will be sooty with it after you pick up a slice. On another pizza you might be tempted to send it back due to burntness, but on apizza, it's a defining feature. And indeed, it brings a welcome crispness and sweetness. This is thanks to the coal ovens that continue to define New Haven pizza. Although coal was also a historic precedent in New York, it eventually got phased out for being too labor intensive and increasingly expensive, as the heyday of coal mining waned in the mid-1900s. (Not to mention the crackdown of environmental laws.) Today, with the exception of old-school places like Lombardi's and Totonno's, most New York pizza places use gas, oil, or gas-assisted coal ovens, despite the resurgence of coal-fired pizza in the mid-2010s. While it's true that other New Haven pizza spots like Bar and Modern now use gas and oil respectively, somehow coal continues to be more closely tied with pizza here than it is in New York.

You'll hear that coal burns at 650 F, or even 900 F. But that number can be as high as 1000 degrees,according tothe late Gary Bimonte, who, as co-owner of New Haven's legendary Pepe's and grandson of founder Frank Pepe,made an indelible impact on New Haven pizza and American pizza at large。Unlike moisture-heavy wood, coal burns hotter and drier, with a biting heat. As a result, coal-fired pizzas cook faster, lending apizza its characteristic crispness.

And no discussion of apizza would be complete without talking about two styles of toppings. First, the plain pie, also called a tomato pie. Covered only with sauce, it appears cheese-less, evoking a SicilianSfincioneor SpanishPan Con tomate, which are variations of tomato on bread. Although there's no opaque mozzarella (that's extra), there's a barely discernible dusting of a hard cheese—it might be pecorino romano—which adds a layer of umami.

That was one of the first pies sold by Frank Pepe in the 1920s, who's universally acknowledged to be the creator of New Haven-style pizza. He started out delivering pizzas to Italian workers in the city's rubber and hardware factories, and later opened Pepe's in the city's Little Italy in 1925. Today, it continues to be the most famous and longest running New Haven pizza restaurant, with close competition from Sally's—opened in 1938—a couple blocks away.

Pepe is also credited with creating the famous white clam pie, featuring freshly shucked quahogs that are nearby Rhode Island's culinary calling card. The clams on this pizza are barely cooked, still perfectly briny, evoking the sea. Along with the tomato pie, the white clam pizza is a requisite New Haven order. Line up with Yale undergrads and New England weekenders as you bar hop between Pepe's, Sally's, Modern, and Bar—in just that order.

Despite the popularization of Detroit-style pizza in the past several years, most people still don't think of Detroit as a pizza city. But they should. Rivaling the Detroit coney dog, Motown is also dough town, as some call it. Nationalized in recent years by chef-driven pizza shops—Roy Choi's now-defunct Pot Pizza in L.A., and Emmy Squared in Brooklyn—as well as national chains, Detroit pizza has seen a meteoric rise in American consciousness in the past five years, but we don't dare call it a trend. It's been around for three quarters of a century.

底特律披萨最多立即被其矩形形状鉴定出来，但奶奶比萨饼也是如此，这是一种与长岛最常相关的方形产品。尽管两者都共享Sfinciuni的西西里血统（Tomato sauce tomapocia tike Crust contery，tomato酱）毫无疑问比奶奶更厚，更浓密，但仍然令人惊讶。

然而，底特律式披萨的形状仅仅是更重要的功能：它煮熟的蓝色钢制汽车锅。这是汽车工厂中使用的那种，以容纳硬件零件并捕获油脂，至少在过去的几十年中。随着现在著名的故事的发展，古斯·古拉（Gus Guerra）从一个工厂工人的朋友那里得到了这些锅，而他的西西里婆婆为食谱提供了食谱。它将继续使他成为底特律风格的披萨的普遍认可的发起人。

今年是1946年,Guerra th经营酒吧at would later become Buddy's Pizza. GIs were coming back from the war, opening up fish and chip shops in Detroit after having been stationed in England. Elsewhere across America, other soldiers who'd spent time in Italy brought home an awareness of a thing called pizza. Both helped mobilize Italian Americans who'd previously only cooked at home or for other Italians, to expand offerings outside their cultural groups. At the same time, non-Italians were starting to become more receptive to what was still, at that time, considered "ethnic" food.

Due to business disagreements, Guerra eventually left Buddy's to start Cloverfield Pizza in 1953. His son is still involved with it today. While Buddy's gets most of the press, Cloverfield still has a lot of heart—and is arguably closer to the soul of Detroit-style pizza. These two restaurants, along with Loui's—opened by another Buddy's employee—form the must-visit trifecta of Detroit style pizza.

Other defining features of Detroit pizza? The wet dough, which lends itself to that airy rise. Although the resulting crust is thick, it's lighter than what you might expect when you pick it up (that is, if you don't go in with a knife and fork, as many do). Tradition dictates that toppings are pressed directly onto the dough,thensprinkled with cheese, and last, ladled with sauce—this helps prevent a soggy crust. While Buddy's still does this with their original style pizza, most of the time you'll end up seeing toppings on top, if only for the reason that customers seem to like it that way, because they can see what they're getting. Cheese runs all the way to the edges of the pie, and caramelizes just so, making the corners crisp real estate. It's almost always brick cheese that's used, or some blend thereof—it's buttery, cheddar-like, and, by definition, from Wisconsin. Because brick cheese is fattier and a touch softer than cheddar, it's super melty for those cheese pulls.

One of the most recognizable of all regional variants, "Chicago style" has become synonymous with deep dish. This irks some Chicagoans, however, who defend the tavern-style pizza that exists in its shadow—the cracker-thin, square-cut crusted pie is thus named because it's light enough to snack on at the bar, and is arguably eaten more frequently.

Let's be clear: Chicago deep dish is indeed a beloved symbol of the city. But unlike in New York, this pie isn't as daily a custom for obvious reasons: its heft. It's a true Midwestern meal, perfect for unforgiving winters. You have to order it as a whole pie—it's a social affair, not a snack. (Although personal pies do exist, it's kind of like eating barbecue by yourself: Youcould, but it just doesn't feel right.)

Perhaps the biggest misconception with Chicago-style deep dish pizza is that it's heavy. While it is indeed filling ("one's a meal"), the crust itself is surprisingly light and buttery when done right. (Lou Malnati's, one of the city's most storied deep-dish restaurants, has actually trademarked the term "Buttercrust.") It's almost flaky, yet sturdy, retaining its architectural integrity to contain the toppings within.

Chicago's is truly a pizzapie：饼干外壳的垂直墙壁填充厚度很好。马苏里拉奶酪在底部分层，隐藏在视线中 - 这有助于使下面的面团从上面的浇头中湿润。由于烹饪时间很长，至少要花30分钟 - 如果奶酪在馅饼的顶部会燃烧，或者变硬而粘合。然后将浇头放在奶酪的顶部，如果添加香肠，则将其放入生。酱汁通常用压碎的整个西红柿碎，最后撒上淡淡的酱汁。像任何好的馅饼一样，当您切入其中时，尽管填充的慷慨大方，它也应保留其结构。您应该能够看到地壳，奶酪，肉和酱汁的地层。

Like many other regional styles, Chicago deep dish came into being in the early '40s, when GIs were coming back from the war and Americans were getting adventurous with "ethnic" foods—which included pizza. Texan Ike Sewell originally wanted to open up a Mexican restaurant like the ones he'd grown up with, but his friend and business partner Ric Riccardo had recently come back from Italy with fond memories of Neapolitan pizza. When they tested recipes, though, Sewell kept wanting it bigger and heftier, in true Texas fashion—that's according to Penny Pollack, former longstanding dining editor atChicago Magazine。Eventually, the deep dish was born at Uno's. While some locals avoid the place because of its hype, the place is an institution: If you want to try deep dish in Chicago, you can't not go to Uno's.

And then there's Lou Malnati's, which was started by the son of Rudy Malnati Sr. He might have developed Uno's recipe in the first place, since Sewell and Riccardo didn't cook. In 1971, Rudy's son, Lou, broke away to start his eponymous restaurant. Together with Giordano's—famous for its stuffed crust pizza, which features an extra layer of crust on top—it's safe to say that these three are a solid trifecta of deep dish in Chicago.

There's a story about Madonna, I think, going to see a Shakespeare play. I have no idea if it's true or not. At the end she says, "It was great, but so full of clichés."

To the uninitiated, that's what California pizza looks like. Not defined by a particular crust or shape, it seems to lack a distinctive style of its own, instead described with terms that are vague yet commonplace. There's talk about farmers' markets, seasonality, and local produce. It might have toppings like goat cheese, house-made sausage, garlic scapes. But these things are only expected, in a certain class of cooking,becauseCalifornia made it so. It invented the cliché. Actually, three chefs did: Ed LaDou, Alice Waters, and Wolfgang Puck.

在这些西海岸的思想之前，并不是季节性不存在。相反，它并没有成为美国各地餐馆的主要食品哲学。亚搏电竞在80年代，我们仍在从罐头食品和微波炉的黑暗时代中爬出来。亚搏电竞消费者饮食文化及其亚搏电竞无花果果酱和南瓜盛开，尚未在全国范围内洗过。农民的市场尚未定向。山羊奶酪仍然很奇怪。

因此，在1971年，当爱丽丝·沃特斯（Alice Waters）开始在伯克利（Berkeley）用有机饮食和血橙色的沙拉酿造沙拉时，这是一个启示。她的韭菜和鸭子果酱，从他们长期以来一直被降级的闷闷不乐的法国餐厅释放，受到了类似的欢迎 - 最终在Chez Panisse的披萨上。

In 1980, Ed LaDou was across the bay in San Francisco, concocting pizzas with ricotta and pâté. Rumor has it that Wolfgang Puck tried one of his pies, and then poached him to work at Spago, which Puck opened in 1982 to instant success.

From there, the now-famous smoked salmon and caviar pizza was born, rising to fame via Spago's celeb-studded West Hollywood location and the open kitchen concept that Puck pioneered, which allowed his restaurant to become equal parts theatrical and see-and-be-seen. But it wasn't just about ritzy ingredients. Puck simply putting goat cheese on a pizza was a showstopper. Aside from LaDou and Waters and maybe a handful of other chefs, no one had really done it, and certainly not to this level of popular success. The public wasn't used to it, and didn't know what to make of it. Puck and LaDou redefined pizza.

California style isn't just about unexpected ingredients, though, or fancy Euro-inflected ones. Nor is it about forcedly global toppings like lemongrass or tandoori spice. Although it can be, and sometimes is.

You can see this in California Pizza Kitchen, for whom LaDou developed the first menu: Its Thai chicken pizza changed the game. While part of California pizza is its anything-goes mentality, it's also more than that. It's hard to define—it's more of a vibe.

Roy Choi's now-defunct Pot Pizza was anL.A. piepersonified, with kimchi cutting the fat of cheese on his Ktown special. And so are Travis Lett's pies at Gjelina, the goop-iest of all L.A. restaurants. Nettle, duck prosciutto, pomodoro, Calabrian chili, burrata: This is all on one pizza at Gjelina. Lett's menu reads like a punchline of 2016 chef culture, but despite it—because of it?—it too is classically L.A., and utterly delicious. Mozza, Pizzana, Hail Mary, Ronan, Casa Bianca, Tandoori Pizza: So many restaurants have indelibly added to the beautiful mess that is L.A. pizza, and thus California pizza at large. It's as winding as L.A.'s highways, with no single style emerging. And, in true California style, the plurality of stylesisits style.