Where does the best Pizza come from?

[JayOctavarium]

Discuss.

[Adami]

Here Jay, I'll take some heat off you. Because I love you.







The best pizza comes from Dominos.

[Zydar]

The oven.

[TheCountOfNYC]

New York is the only right answer.

[Prog Snob]

There's only one answer. This is like asking who is the best guitarist in Dream Theater. It's a waste of a discussion. 

[soupytwist]

Italy obviously!

[CrimsonSunrise]

Round Table Pizza...   

For the record....  I had pizza a couple times while in NYC last year for the DT show.  Honestly?  Good, but not that impressed.

[ReaperKK]

The best pizza I've had was at this place called The Pie in Long Island near Port Jefferson.

[Prog Snob]

I've been there.

[ReaperKK]

It's not what I consider classic NY pizza but fuck it was amazing.

[Bolsters]

Is all NY style pizza a really soft, flexible base? I see people eating it in movies/TV shows and it always looks undercooked the way they have to fold a slice up just to be able to eat it. Even being able to fold the crust in half like that gives me the impression that it hasn't been cooked up enough.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

The oven.

I came here to post that 

[Kotowboy]

Pizza Express.

[King Postwhore]

Of late for me it's the brick oven pizzas that float my boat and the best pizza I ever had was at Folino's pizza in Shelburne VT, next to Fiddlehead Brewery.

[Prog Snob]

Is all NY style pizza a really soft, flexible base? I see people eating it in movies/TV shows and it always looks undercooked the way they have to fold a slice up just to be able to eat it. Even being able to fold the crust in half like that gives me the impression that it hasn't been cooked up enough.

I prefer mine well-done with a crisp crust. It really depends where you go but I agree with you. I don't like when the crust is soft. I like my pizza scalding hot.

[Elite]

The oven.

I came here to post that 

Me too


But this is the best answer:

Italy obviously!

[Bolsters]

It really depends where you go

Good to know.

[Phoenix87x]

I don't know if I would call it the best or anything, but where I grew up in Delaware, we had Grottos pizza and I loved it

They did the sauce and cheese like a swirl/bullseye

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I want to go back to NYC JUST for another slice from NY Pizza Suprema at 31st and 8th.  Un-fucking-believable.

And as PS said in the chat thread, it's the NYC water that makes it the best.

That said, touristy beach towns offer up some pretty bitchin' pizza.  Ocean City, MD has fantastic pizza.

[Grappler]

Chicago.  Deep Dish. 

[axeman90210]

You can find the occasional really good pizza place anywhere, but NYC and northern NJ take the cake as far as highest quality. I might even argue that northern NJ has the edge in average quality because there aren't a bunch of tourist traps weighing them down.

Chicago makes a very tasty deep dish bread and cheese casserole with tomato sauce on it, but you can GTFO if you consider that real pizza.

[Podaar]

The oven.

I came here to post that 

Me too


But this is the best answer:

Italy obviously!

I was so excited to go to Italy to have authentic pizza... and it sucked. 

New York is the only right answer.

[Stadler]

NYC, and here's why:   every City has at least one or two great pizza joints, but NY, even the late-night, by-the-slice pits are at least very good. 

You need to go to a Lombardi's or something like that - with the brick oven that has been in place since 1935 or so, and let them make the pie the way it's supposed to be made (none of this "chicken ranch BBQ" crap).   

When you're cooking "good" pizza (meaning, fresh dough, not frozen in a hot, brick oven) the difference between "soggy" and "crispy" is literally 60 or 90 seconds.    For me, there is nothing better than walking down the street in NYC with a slice of fresh pizza.   Nowhere better (and I'm sorry, but while I've not been, I've heard from multiple people - some with family still in the old country - that for all Italy's charms - and there are many - pizza is not one of them.  it's more an American thing). 

[rumborak]

I feel any country that invented the "pizza dab" loses its right to even discuss what constitutes good pizza.

(To non-US people not aware of the practice, US pizzas are often so drenched in oil and cheese that people will grab paper towels from the dispenser to dry out their pizza before eating)

(cf.  https://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=69051 )

[King Postwhore]

I feel any country that invented the "pizza dab" loses its right to even discuss what constitutes good pizza.

(To non-US people not aware of the practice, US pizzas are often so drenched in oil and cheese that people will grab paper towels from the dispenser to dry out their pizza before eating)

(cf.  https://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=69051 )

That's the Greek style pizza and I'd rather have another style that what you are talking about.

[rumborak]

On a serious note though, from a culinary perspective, the general pizza in the US is really not good. For the most part they really are just cheese and pepperoni delivery vehicles, and drenched in oil. I understand why people like them that way, in the same way people like HotPockets. But I've never heard anyone describe HotPockets as anything but a guilty pleasure, whereas pizza seems to be magically exempt from that.
Mind you, you *can* get a good pizza here. But not on a NYC streetside, you have to find a small place, preferably with an actual Italian behind the oven, who knows that olives, tomatoes, feta cheese etc are all very good pizza toppings.

It's kinda odd, it's a lot easier to find good Chinese food in Boston than good Italian food.

[soupytwist]

Nowhere better (and I'm sorry, but while I've not been, I've heard from multiple people - some with family still in the old country - that for all Italy's charms - and there are many - pizza is not one of them.  it's more an American thing).

Just no.

[Stadler]

On a serious note though, from a culinary perspective, the general pizza in the US is really not good. For the most part they really are just cheese and pepperoni delivery vehicles, and drenched in oil. I understand why people like them that way, in the same way people like HotPockets. But I've never heard anyone describe HotPockets as anything but a guilty pleasure, whereas pizza seems to be magically exempt from that.
Mind you, you *can* get a good pizza here. But not on a NYC streetside, you have to find a small place, preferably with an actual Italian behind the oven, who knows that olives, tomatoes, feta cheese etc are all very good pizza toppings.

It's kinda odd, it's a lot easier to find good Chinese food in Boston than good Italian food.

But that's a function of people being bad cooks than the idea of "pizza" itself.   Eat one of Marc Vetri's pizza's from Philly.  Not a puddle of oil to be found within a block of that pie.    You're describing the pie made at 3 am by a Philipino guy looking to end his shift because his joint is filled with drunk assholes who just got out of the bar.   When I make mine (and I am no chef, I will tell you that) there isn't a drop of oil to be found.   Use fresh cheese, a modicum of sauce, and fresh toppings and you're 3/4 of the way there.   

[cramx3]

The answer IMO is definitely NYC and I do believe it is due to the fantastic NYC tap water.

And I like the pizza soft and able to fold up.  Not too soft that it starts to flop over, thats no bueno, but soft enough to fold and stay straight. 

I do however think my favorite spot is a local joint that makes a chicken vodka pizza.

[soupytwist]

But that's a function of people being bad cooks than the idea of "pizza" itself.   Eat one of Marc Vetri's pizza's from Philly.  Not a puddle of oil to be found within a block of that pie.    You're describing the pie made at 3 am by a Philipino guy looking to end his shift because his joint is filled with drunk assholes who just got out of the bar.   When I make mine (and I am no chef, I will tell you that) there isn't a drop of oil to be found.   Use fresh cheese, a modicum of sauce, and fresh toppings and you're 3/4 of the way there.

He learnt his trade in Italy.  He's basically making Italian Pizza's for American's

Here's a list of the top 20 Pizza places.

https://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/food/articles/2016/may/09/daniel-youngs-top-20-best-pizza-places-in-the-world/

8 of the top 10 are in Italy, Including all the top 4....

[T-ski]

[Implode]

you can GTFO if you consider that real pizza.

no u

Giordano's stuffed pizza is the best of them.

[hefdaddy42]

I don't care where the best pizza comes from.  I only care where the best pizza readily available to me comes from.

And in that regard, as said earlier, most towns have at least one or two local pizza joints that are pretty good.  So that's what I look for.

In general, I definitely want NY style, not the meat and cheese pie style from Chicago.  I'm sure it's very tasty, but it's not what I think of as "pizza".

[El Barto]

Long answer: Best pizza comes from Italy. It amuses me that Americans hate it. They'd also hate Chinese food intensely, despite loving what we call Chinese. Same with Brits and their pseudo-Indian, and Thai probably fits into that, as well. Best Pizza I had was in a town called Lecco, and starred prosciutto, artichoke hearts, shrooms and a modest amount of mozzarella. I also had a pretty shitty pizza there that they made specifically for my American ass. All the more reason to skip Rome.

Short answer: Wherever you come from. People like what they like and that's generally the thing they're used to. I can get enchiladas or chili in pretty much every city in America. Away from Texas it starts to suck, though. Yet I'm sure people in Cincinnati love what they call chili. Same thing with BBQ. Hef and I would probably beat each other senseless over what constitutes good BBQ. NYC pizza is fine, but nothing to write home about. Its availability is it's best point, really.

Fuck, I guessed wrong which would be the long and short answers.

[Adami]

I think there's also just a big difference between Italian pizza and American pizza. Just like there's a big difference between NY pizza and Chicago pizza. In the end, though made from the same basic ingredients, they're different beasts.