Food Facts

Regional Pizza Styles of America

There’s More Than One Kind of Pizza.

While pizza originates in Italy, it has certainly become one of America’s iconic foods. Learn the regional pizza styles of America and how they are all so different:

 

Regional Pizza Styles of America

New York

Photo credit apasciuto

The true classic. Hand-tossed, coal-fired pizzas are cut into wide slices that can fold for easier eating. There’s nothing like a slice of NY cheese pizza.
 

New Haven


Connecticut’s famous apizza comes in rectangular sheet pans as the shape is not perfectly round. The fermented crust is charred in the 600F oven for a fast-cooking pie. While cheese pizza is popular, the most known New Haven-style pizza is the clam pizza.
 

Chicago

Photo credit Scott Veg

While Chicago-style pizza is generally known as a deep-dish, there are actually 3 styles of Chicago pizza. Deep dish on the pan, stuffed with a crust on top, and tavern which is cut into thin square pieces. Deep dish and stuffed are hearty enough for a meal whereas tavern is meat for a snack at the pub with your drinks.
 

Detroit

Photo credit Dale Cruse

Detroit pizza has been having its moment lately. The rectangle-shaped pizza with its fluffy, thick crust, topped with pepperoni, and that edge-to-edge cheese and tomato sauce. Originally, Detroit pizza was cooked in steel auto parts pans.
 

California

Photo credit Kurman Communications

California-style pizza made its name from its toppings that were not just cheese and pepperoni. Instead, it highlighted fresh toppings like Wolfgang Puck’s smoked salmon pizza and Peking duck pizza and even California Pizza Kitchen’s BBQ chicken pizza.
 

St. Louis

Photo credit Dale Cruse

St. Louis-style pizza features a thin, unleavened, cracker, crisp crust in which the pizza pie is cut into small square slices. The sauce includes oregano and the cheese blend featured cheddar, swiss, and provolone.
 

Rhode Island

Photo credit Mark Bonica

Also known as bakery pizza, Rhode Island’s pizza is a focaccia bread topped with a spicy, thick tomato sauce without cheese and cut into strips.
 

Philadelphia

Photo credit Ed Kohler

The Philadelphia tomato pie is a sheet pan pizza with a 1-inch thick bready crust topped with a sweet, thick tomato sauce. The pie is served at room temperature and topped with a light sprinkle of romano and parmesan cheese.
 
 


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Angela

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