OT: Best slice

Mike Liut

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A good imos is good, but they’re too inconsistent for me. I get too many dry ones. Not enough cheese or sauce. Like a cracker.
 

SIU LAW

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Apr 29, 2006
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I haven’t had pizza at every place in the world, but I have sampled pizzas in Chicago, NYC and Italy.

My personal favorites:

Quatro’s in Carbondale, IL and Pizano’s in Chicago, IL (specifically the one at State & Chestnut).
 

Davimir Tarablad

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Sep 16, 2015
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Might be slightly cheating since it's not a restaurant, but a friend of mine who has a brick oven in his back yard makes bar none the best pizza I've ever had. He makes his own tomato sauce from his greenhouse, and he's got family that has a farm where he gets meat and milk that he makes cheese from.
 
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Bye Bye Blueston

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Might be slightly cheating since it's not a restaurant, but a friend of mine who has a brick oven in his back yard makes bar none the best pizza I've ever had. He makes his own tomato sauce from his greenhouse, and he's got family that has a farm where he gets meat and milk that he makes cheese from.
The best songs will never get sung
The best life never leaves your lungs
So good, you won't ever know
You can't hear it on the radio
 

NotTheRocketman

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Jul 13, 2021
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Always love Imo's, but I really liked Feraro's in South County. They're gone now, but they had incredible Jersey-style pizza.
 

stl76

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Jul 2, 2015
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Hard to really compare different types (NY, Chicago deep dish, St. Louis square, Detroit, etc), but Brown Dog Pizza in Telluride, CO is probably the best pizza I have ever personally enjoyed. Belongs in the convo for best in the world IMO.

Brown Dog Pizza
 

Em etah Eh

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Jul 17, 2007
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I haven't lived in the city for a long time so I'm not sure if it's still the same or not but I used to love going to Blackthorn by Tower Grove Park. Now I really want to go back...
 
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ChicagoBlues

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Oct 24, 2006
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I haven't lived in the city for a long time so I'm not sure if it's still the same or not but I used to love going to Blackthorn by Tower Grove Park. Now I really want to go back...
Yes. Love Blackthorn. I think they add beer to their sauce. Very tasty, simple thin crust.
 

TheDizee

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Apr 5, 2014
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it use to be meglio's for Luigi's style pizza but they closed
 

shpongle falls

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Oct 1, 2014
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Might be slightly cheating since it's not a restaurant, but a friend of mine who has a brick oven in his back yard makes bar none the best pizza I've ever had. He makes his own tomato sauce from his greenhouse, and he's got family that has a farm where he gets meat and milk that he makes cheese from.
Daaamn that sounds so legit!
 

shpongle falls

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I'm in Springfield, MO and the best pizza here by far is this place called Big Slice and they serve giant New York style pizza slices, so so good. New York style over Chicago style all day every day.
 

ChicagoBlues

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Oct 24, 2006
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I'm in Springfield, MO and the best pizza here by far is this place called Big Slice and they serve giant New York style pizza slices, so so good. New York style over Chicago style all day every day.
Having lived in Chicago for most of my life, I can attest to "Chicago style" pizza, which has come to mean deep-dish.
But Chicago has three distinct styles of pizza.

Deep-dish is what most people think of in relation to "Chicago style". The thing about deep-dish, however, is that it is not a pizza; it is a casserole. Giordano's and Uno's do the classic Chicago deep-dish.

Chicago-style thin crust is a rigid cracker crust cut into squares, so that you can pile on the toppings. Rosati's comes to mind.

Then there is my favorite Chicago-style pizza; the butter crust. Pequod's, Pasiano's and Illuminatis...errr....Lou Malnati's do amazing caramelized butter crusts.

Chicagoans, for the most part, are over deep-dish and have turned to other styles like Misty's and Apart Pizza, the latter of which is very close to the pies I've had in Italy.

So there you have it! Chicago has THREE distinct styles and luckily I can get all three in the Phoenix area.

EDIT: I just looked up Apart Pizza and it's permanently closed. Bum deal. Can't find shit on Misty's. Maybe I forgot the name, but it was in Andersonville.
 
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Celtic Note

Living the dream
Dec 22, 2006
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Having lived in Chicago for most of my life, I can attest to "Chicago style" pizza, which has come to mean deep-dish.
But Chicago has three distinct styles of pizza.

Deep-dish is what most people think of in relation to "Chicago style". The thing about deep-dish, however, is that it is not a pizza; it is a casserole. Giordano's and Uno's do the classic Chicago deep-dish.

Chicago-style thin crust is a rigid cracker crust cut into squares, so that you can pile on the toppings. Rosati's comes to mind.

Then there is my favorite Chicago-style pizza; the butter crust. Pequod's, Pasiano's and Illuminatis...errr....Lou Malnati's do amazing caramelized butter crusts.

Chicagoans, for the most part, are over deep-dish and have turned to other styles like Misty's and Apart Pizza, the latter of which is very close to the pies I've had in Italy.

So there you have it! Chicago has THREE distinct styles and luckily I can get all three in the Phoenix area.
You could probably add the Neapolitan / flatbread, wood-fired pizza to that list too.
 
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Majorityof1

Registered User
Mar 6, 2014
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Central Florida
Having lived in Chicago for most of my life, I can attest to "Chicago style" pizza, which has come to mean deep-dish.
But Chicago has three distinct styles of pizza.

Deep-dish is what most people think of in relation to "Chicago style". The thing about deep-dish, however, is that it is not a pizza; it is a casserole. Giordano's and Uno's do the classic Chicago deep-dish.

Chicago-style thin crust is a rigid cracker crust cut into squares, so that you can pile on the toppings. Rosati's comes to mind.

Then there is my favorite Chicago-style pizza; the butter crust. Pequod's, Pasiano's and Illuminatis...errr....Lou Malnati's do amazing caramelized butter crusts.

Chicagoans, for the most part, are over deep-dish and have turned to other styles like Misty's and Apart Pizza, the latter of which is very close to the pies I've had in Italy.

So there you have it! Chicago has THREE distinct styles and luckily I can get all three in the Phoenix area.

There is a youtube show called pizza wars. Its on the same channel as Hot Ones, which has really good celebrity interviews done while eating ridiculously spicy wings. IIRC the channel is First we Feast or something like that. Anyway, in pizza wars the host, a New Yorker, challenges another famous pizza maker to battle it over with themed pizza. The latest episode was another NYer and they were going head to head in Chicago style deep dish pies. The other lady kept accidentally on purpose calling it a casserole with the most NY accent ever lol. They were like "The Chicago people they are gonna like riot in the comments, you know". I guess not, if you agree with her.

The host always puts a weird spin on her pizzas. She put friggin chicken parm cutlets in her first layer and a some garlic breadcrumbs on top. Pizza looked super good.
 

Celtic Note

Living the dream
Dec 22, 2006
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There is a youtube show called pizza wars. Its on the same channel as Hot Ones, which has really good celebrity interviews done while eating ridiculously spicy wings. IIRC the channel is First we Feast or something like that. Anyway, in pizza wars the host, a New Yorker, challenges another famous pizza maker to battle it over with themed pizza. The latest episode was another NYer and they were going head to head in Chicago style deep dish pies. The other lady kept accidentally on purpose calling it a casserole with the most NY accent ever lol. They were like "The Chicago people they are gonna like riot in the comments, you know". I guess not, if you agree with her.

The host always puts a weird spin on her pizzas. She put friggin chicken parm cutlets in her first layer and a some garlic breadcrumbs on top. Pizza looked super good.
I agree with Chicago that there isn’t as much fanfare for deep dish here as the outside world would suggest. I think it is more of a once in a while treat for people who like it. Many of us don’t. Personally, if I wanted a Lasagna, I would order one.
 
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Majorityof1

Registered User
Mar 6, 2014
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Central Florida
I agree with Chicago that there isn’t as much fanfare for deep dish here as the outside world would suggest. I think it is more of a once in a while treat for people who like it. Many of us don’t. Personally, if I wanted a Lasagna, I would order one.

Yea, I don't think people are as set in their ways about regional varieties of pizza outside of NY. I know plenty of Chicagoans who don't care for Chicago style. Now hot dogs and Italian Beef I have seen them get pretty testy over. I just thought it was funny that both ChicagoBlues and the video I just watched called it a casserole. I'm not a big Chicago style fan either, but I never would have thought to call it that.

I prefer NY style myself. I want foldable crust and some grease. I don't have any good places near me though. My favorite pie where I live is a Chicago style variant. It doesn't have the sauce on top, but it is a double layer deep dish. I actually prefer it to traditional Chicago style because it is less saucy. However, it doesn't hold a candle to the best NY style in any other city I have lived.
 
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Blues0307

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May 25, 2009
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St. Louis
Best I've had was Joe Pip's pizza in Los Angeles. It was NY style transplanted to the west.

I can't fathom how Imo's pizza is anyone's favorite. I have to assume they just haven't had good pizza before. Any food with provel added to it is ruined.

The hatred of St. Louis style pizza is very strange. Some people like some things and other's don't....but the over-the-top hatred for it has always amused me. Having had every style of pizza, I can say that Imo's is fantastic. And some others I love are Stefanina's, Faraci's, Leo's, and Fortel's. There are a lot of bars in the St. Louis area that make really good pizza like Tucker's. They might be might favorite.
 

The Note

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The hatred of St. Louis style pizza is very strange. Some people like some things and other's don't....but the over-the-top hatred for it has always amused me. Having had every style of pizza, I can say that Imo's is fantastic. And some others I love are Stefanina's, Faraci's, Leo's, and Fortel's. There are a lot of bars in the St. Louis area that make really good pizza like Tucker's. They might be might favorite.
In my experience a lot of the dislike for STL style pizza comes down to the cracker crust and/or provel. I can get that, as it is very different from most pizzas otherwise. I like it because I was born and raised on it of course but I can see why someone not familiar with it may be taken aback. I do agree that the hatred for it is completely overblown and think that most of it is just people on Twitter who have never actually had it (similar to a lot of the flak the city catches in general, IMO).
 
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