Pizza in the Morning, Pizza in the Evening

"Pizza at supper timeeee. Whennn pizza's on a bagel you can eat pizza anytimeee"

Disclaimer: My favorite type of pizza is definitely NOT in the form of a bagel. But I just love doing cheesy segways into what I'm going to discuss. DEAL WITH IT.

Pizza is a food that is near and dear to my tender heart. It is universal, for even all you vegetarians and vegans (with cheese made without milk...eck) can enjoy a nice slice every once in a while. While I didn't want to sound like a "pretentious foodie" in my last entry, I may very well sound like one here. I AM VERY OPINIONATED ABOUT PIZZA. And if you don't like pizza, I smite you. Because then you must not enjoy life at all.

Any who, let's talk about pizza, baby. Every state in the US has some type of pizza, whether it comes in the form of Dominos and Pizza Hut (guess how I feel about these), frozen pizzas (my opinion is not positive), or classic Chicago Deep dish pies, brick oven, California Style, Sicilian, and the COLOSSUS OF CLOUT (the Collossus of Clout): NY Style thin crust Pizza. My taste buds are salivating. Is my biased-NY-attitude-driven-opinion making you ponder what I feel is the best of the best?! Fine. But don't worry, I realize the name of the game is giving all sides to the tale. Luckily, I've tasted many different pizzas from many different places. So hereeee weeee goooo (this blog is turning into a game show).

California: Here's where all you vegetarians and vegans can eat your hearts out in salad pizza land. California pizza always uses fresh, quality blah blah let's-forget-about-the-calories ingredients kind of deal. Anyone who has been to California Pizza Kitchen has eaten a slice of this kind of pie, and ya know what, it's not terrible. You know why? Because it combines the influence of the GREAT NY thin crust pizza with their own we-are-hippy-Californians-toppings (Disclaimer: I love California and its people. Tonight I just sipped on a little haterade). So really, this is just NY pizza with veggie tales on top. Which you could also get in NY. But ok, I'll move forward.

Chicago: Deep-dish. Buttery, saucy, cheesy, gooey love. Often times, the battle for the best pizza comes between Chicago and NY. I know where my allies lie. But when I went to Chicago, I gave this kind a hearty go get-em try at Lou Malnati's. I also know of Gino's East, Uno's (which, again, you can eat in NY), and Giordano's. Hearty is really the key word here. There's just SO MUCH GOING ON I couldn't possibly eat this meal every week. It's so thick, so filling, so, well, deep as the name says. So I'm sorry Chicago, although this tasted delicious for an evening, my mouth does not want this party all the time.

Honorable mentions:
-Ohio has decent pizza I can stand to eat. WHAT? The land of the Buckeyes, farms, and the Amish has pizza I don't hate on!? Yes, and it goes by the name of Dewey's Pizza. Which also has locations in Missouri and Kentucky, so I guess I could live there too. Although it only comes in the form of specialty pies, my eyes never watered with disgrace. And that, my friends, is a good sign.
-Washington DC has a chain called Jumbo Slice Pizza, and OMG people it's amazing. And huge. Again, this pizza is basically a paled down comparison of NY style soooooo. We win again.

Here's a Jumbo Pizza selfie of myself before selfies existed

-Connecticut is known for other things besides rich people and poor cities. I know, it blew my mind too. Frank Pepe's Pizzeria, located in New Haven, is pretty much the king of kings when it comes to brick oven, Napoletana pizza. Although I have never had pizza from this specific location, I have had amazing brick oven pizza that is similar (but probably not as good or famous) from my local hood called Sal's. The Clams Casino Pie is what they are known for, and my goodness thinking about it makes me wanna dance with somebody. Let me tell you this: the only pizza that tickles my fancy besides NY Style is brick oven. CONGRATS for 2nd place!!!

So surprise! NY wins this round of pizza games. I am now ravenous and tired from thinking about pizza. Sigh. I didn't mention Jersey pizza because, well, nothing memorable comes from Jersey. Ok I'll be nice, their pizza is the closest to NY (because they want to be us). I have pretty much eaten every type of pizza in every form over every NY county. And yes, I have tried Grimaldi's (no slices and only pies makes me weary). The Ginos, the Ray's, the Joe's, the thisa and a thata. And 1 dolla Slice (drunken nights make you forget about quality). Not Roberta's, not Juliana's (which is the place where the original Patsy Grimaldi is), and a slew of other well known locals. Valentino's in Queens has an amazing Buffalo Chicken slice, (SJUU!) and Pizza Suprema by Penn Station (probably the best pizza in the area in my humble opinion) has a great sicilian slice. Artichoke Pizza has the slice of the name, and I love love love it. Every topping you can imagine can be put on pizza in NY, and we all know how I love me a variety of toppings. (Eggplant, Taco, Salad, Chicken Parm, lasagna!) That can't be done elsewhere. So take the loss every other state! And Pizza Hut, Sbarros, Cici's, etc. Stop producing crap. NY Reigns Suprema.