Pizza

the

search FOR

food st yling by cyd r aftus mcdowell; prop st yling by heather chontos.

america’s

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pizzeria by ed levine and adam kuban photography by jonny valiant

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the search

FOR americ a’s

Best pizzeria

Claiming that one pizzeria stands above all others might seem like an impossibly big task.

Crazy, even.

Luckily, we are the right people for the job.

I grew up in New York, so I was raised on the stuff. I wrote Pizza: A Slice of Heaven, eating 1,000-plus slices, and didn’t stop there. Adam Kuban and I run the pizza blog Slice.

All this is to say: We might not be qualified for many things, but pizza judging, we can handle.

But still. The very best pizzeria? In the entire country? How could we choose?

Here’s how: Taking a cue from the madness that strikes basketball fans each March, we applied the same single-elimination bracketing system to pizza, the one dish that inspires as much—more?—loyalty, passion and debate.

Our team scouted 64 pizzerias in 25 U.S. cities before slicing down the competition to 16, then trekking a total of 11,000 miles to check them out. Applying a 100-point system, we graded them on service, toppings and the all-important three-pointer—the interplay of crust, sauce and cheese.

What did we find (aside from our winner)? That pizza and basketball are a lot alike.

There are dynasties. Like the

UCLA Bruins or the North Carolina Tar Heels, historic powerhouses have dominated the pie game in the roughly 100 years since pizza as we know it sprang up in this country. To wit: De Lorenzo’s in Trenton, New Jersey (opened in 1936), Sally’s Apizza in New Haven, Connecticut (1938), and Lombardi’s in New York City (credited as the nation’s first pizzeria, established in 1905, just one year before metal hoops replaced the peach basket that gave the sport its name).

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There are underdogs.

Try entire cities. Portland, Oregon, once a burg of unremarkable pizza options, has blossomed and now fields a diverse lineup that includes artisan pizza carts and two of the nation’s top contenders.

And California’s Bay Area is undergoing a full-court press of neapolitan pizza stylings, the best of which rival your favorite New York parlor.

There are Cinderella stories. In the case of pizza,

almost literally, since the ongoing artisan pizza trend of the last decade has been the rise of wood-burning ovens and their attendant embers and ash. Rookies with improbable backgrounds, such as composerturned-pieman Brandon Pettit (of Seattle’s Delancey) or Belgianborn former haute cuisine chef Mathieu Palombino (New York City’s Motorino), have stoked these fires and come away with slam dunks.

There are spectacular flameouts. Again, literally:

Totonno’s in Brooklyn, New York, otherwise a guaranteed contender, burned down and had to warm the bench.

There are storied rivalries.

Like Duke-UNC or Kentucky-Louisville, everyone knows the perennial grudge match that is New York thin crust vs. Chicago deep dish. But there are morepersonal feuds out there. Take New Haven, Connecticut, where you’re either a die-hard Sally’s or Pepe’s fan.

There are stars. Larry

Bird catapulted his team to greatness, just like Emilia’s Pizzeria in Berkeley, California, would be nothing without Keith Froelich. Behind every great pizza place is one (very talented, often obsessed) person. Because he’s in-house every day, the pizzaiolo learns to react to seemingly small changes—alterations in humidity or the sweetness of the canned tomatoes. These owner-operated joints turn out consistently good pizza in a way that other places simply cannot.

So travel with us. You’ll see that there’s never been a better time to eat pizza in America.

HOW WE ORGANIZED THE BRACKET

Seeding a tournament is the act of placing the competing teams into bracket order based on their rankings. To avoid the possibility of top-seed opponents all playing one another in the first round, high seeds are typically paired against low seeds.

In this case, we relied on the intel of our friends and pizza-freak associates to draw up a bracket that followed this practice. To see our results, turn the page.

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Miami

Pie Town

Varasano’s Pizzeria

Casale

Mia’s Pizzas

Varasano’s Pizzeria

Mia’s Pizzas

Pizzeria Bianco

Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

Apizza Scholls

Delancey

Pizzeria Picco

Pizzeria Mozza

ROUND 3

Pizzeria Bianco

Pizzeria Mozza

Smack in the middle of barbecue country, Doug Horn (Doug-H…ahh, I get it) makes terrific neapolitan-style pizzas with blistered crusts and creative toppings like caramelized onions and gorgonzola. Not all his pies are so fussy: Dough’s “Pork Love” is loaded with soppressata, sausage, pancetta and speck.

Mozza chef-partner Nancy Silverton was already legendary in L.A. for her work at La Brea Bakery. No wonder her crusts have all the chewiness and rich flavor of artisan bread. And when that base is topped with one of the inventive combinations of ingredients (the pizza with peppers, olives and oregano is especially good), you can’t go wrong. Some pizza purists ding these pies for being too bready—as if that’s a bad thing. You won’t leave a scrap behind.

The neapolitan-style pizzas here are named after bicycle brands (chef Bruce Hill is an avid cyclist), and the Cannondale is one sweet ride, with house-made sausage, roasted peppers and onions. The scenic 15-mile drive up from San Francisco is a treat all its own.

316 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur, CA, pizzeriapicco.com Margherita pizza $11, serves 1

Apizza scholls

Don’t let the rec-room decor fool you. As befits his artisanal-bakery background, Brian Spangler turns out large pies with perfectly crisp yet chewy, breadlike crusts—all topped with locally sourced ingredients, like tomatoes and herbs grown in Washington State, just across the Columbia River.

4741 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR, 503-233-1286, apizzascholls.com Apizza ‘Margo’rita (cheese) pizza $20, serves 3 to 4

Apizza Scholls

Named after a street on New York City’s Lower East Side, Delancey actually blends the best of pizzas from all over. While the “Brooklyn” nods to New York, the “Clam” is a New Haven, Connecticut, reference—but made with fresh Puget Sound bivalves.

1415 N.W. 70th St., Seattle, delanceyseattle.com Margherita pizza $12, serves 1

Delancey

Great Lake

Burt’s Place

Sally’s Apizza

Motorino

ROUND 4

Maria’s Pizza

Great Lake

Burt’s Place

Stop 50 Wood Fired Pizzeria

Sally’s Apizza

Di Fara Pizza

Picco Restaurant

Motorino

ROUND 3

varasano’s

Obsessive pizza enthusiast Jeff Varasano turns out first-rate thin-crust, just-chewy-andpliant-enough pizzas with carefully chosen toppings (imported cured meats, spiced olives) that are baked in a—surprise!—electric Swedish oven. Swedish pizza. Who knew?

2171 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, varasanos.com Nana’s (cheese) pizza $13, serves 1

Varasano’s Pizzeria

Melissa Ballinger learned her craft at D.C.’s seminal wood-burning-oven pizzerias 2Amys and Pizza Paradiso, but based on a recent visit, her pizza-making skills have surpassed those of her mentors. The crusts have plenty of body and character to go along with ideal hole structure—the hallmark of all great pizza and bread.

motorino

Owner Flora Consiglio’s late husband Salvatore (Sally) and her two sons, Richard and Robert, are the only people who have made pizza at Sally’s since it opened in 1938.

The crust on the irregularly shaped, almost oblong pies is a work of genius: thin and crisp enough on the exterior, tender on the inside.

237 Wooster St., New Haven, CT, 203-624-5271 White fresh tomato pie $16.50, serves 3

Stop 50

You might walk into Maria’s and feel skeptical, looking around at the gaudy paint-by-number portraits of Catholic icons. And then you taste the pie. The superthin crust of the oblong Maria’s Special somehow supports a perfect combination of cheese, sausage, mushrooms and onions. It’s a religious experience, indeed.

5025 W. Forest Home Ave., Milwaukee, 414-543-4606 Large cheese pizza $15, serves 4

Maria’s Pizza

You could end up waiting 30 minutes or more for your pizza to come to the table, but reader, the wait is worth it. The blistered, crisp crust is just chewy enough, and Great Lake’s carefully thought-out toppings seem wild, but really work, as in the wonderfully balanced bacon, cream and corn pie.

Domenico DeMarco—at 73 years old, the only person who has ever made a pizza in his shop’s 46-year history—calls himself both a pizza farmer (“We go into the farm early in the morning, and we go home when the moon arrives”) and an artist. Upon trying the crisp three-cheese slice with snipped-to-order basil, you will agree.

Sally’s Apizza

1477 W. Balmoral Ave., Chicago, g-lake.com Margherita pie $20, serves 2

Great Lake

Ponytailed, bearded eccentric Burt Katz is making the best deep-dish Chicago pizza in Morton Grove, Illinois, 12 miles north of the Windy City. What makes it so great? A minimal amount of mozzarella, fresh toppings and a slightly caramelized, shockingly light and crunchy crust. Unlike with most deep-dish pies, you’ll be able to eat more than one slice.

8541 Ferris, Morton Grove, IL, 847-965-7997 Cheese pizza $17, serves 6

Burt’s Place

1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn, NY, difara.com Margherita pie $25, serves 4; slice $5

Di Fara Pizza

Mia’s Pizzas Bethesda

4926 Cordell Ave., Bethesda, MD, 301-718-6427, miaspizzasbethesda.com Margherita pizza $13, serves 1

Rick Katz was an accomplished pastry chef and bread baker before founding Picco. His bready crust—the result of a two-day-long cold fermentation process—has a rich, toasty flavor. Katz’s plain pie, made with tomato sauce and Lioni mozzarella, is sublime.

Chris Bianco imbues his pizza with more heart and soul and serious deliciousness than any other pizza I’ve had. Why? Because he knows what delicious is and cares deeply about every pie he makes. His crust is perfectly balanced between crispy and chewy, thick and thin, salty and savory.

Chris is the real deal, a man who lives and dies with every pie.

513 Tremont St., Boston, piccorestaurant.com Large margherita pizza $19, serves 2

Picco Restaurant

Chicagoans lucky enough to spend a summer weekend in Michiana Shores, Indiana, have discovered the potato-and-sausage pizza, with thinly sliced spuds that have a chiplike crispness. Right about now, locals clamor for that pie: The place closes for the season in December and opens in March.

Belgian-born, classically trained chef Mathieu Palombino isn’t your typical pizza flinger.

Yet his neapolitan-inspired personal pies have a wonderfully puffy high lip (what the Neapolitans call cornicione) and beautifully put-together toppings like mozzarella di bufala, brussels sprouts, smoked pancetta, fresh garlic and pecorino cheese.

Stop 50 Wood Fired Pizzeria

Chicago

Spacca Napoli

Chicago

Nella Pizzeria Napoletana

Detroit

Buddy’s

Milwaukee

Maria’s Pizza

Chicago

Lou Malnati’s

Pittsburgh

Il Pizzaiolo

Milwaukee

Zaffiro’s Pizza

Chicago

Great Lake

Farmington Hills, MI

Tomatoes Apizza

Minneapolis

Punch

Ann Arbor, MI

Silvio’s Organic Pizza

Morton Grove, IL

Burt’s Place

Des Moines, IA

Centro

Sheboygan, WI

Il Ritrovo

Chicago

Pat’s Pizza

Michiana Shores, IN

Stop 50 Wood Fired Pizzeria

New Haven, CT

Sally’s Apizza

Trenton, NJ

De Lorenzo’s

Hoboken, NJ

Grimaldi’s

Brooklyn, NY

Fornino

Brooklyn, NY

Franny’s

Brooklyn, NY

Di Fara Pizza

New York City

Co.

New York City

Kesté Pizza and Vino

Philadelphia

Pizzeria Stella

New Haven, CT

Modern Apizza

Philadelphia

Tacconelli’s

Boston

Picco Restaurant

Motorino

Brooklyn, NY

500 S. El Portal, Michiana Shores, IN, 219-879-8777, stop50woodfiredpizzeria.com Margherita pizza $13, serves 1

Motorino

Boston

Lucali

Santarpio’s

ROUND 1

New York City Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana New Haven, CT

midwest

Nella’s Pizzeria Napoletana

Maria’s Pizza

Il Pizzaiolo

Great Lake

Punch

Burt’s Place

Il Ritrovo

Stop 50 Wood Fired Pizzeria

Sally’s Apizza

Fornino

Di Fara Pizza

Co.

Pizzeria Stella

Picco Restaurant

Motorino

Lucali

ROUND 2

319 Graham Ave., Brooklyn, NY; 349 E. 12th St., New York City, motorino.com Margherita pizza $13, serves 1

east coast

623 E. Adams, Phoenix, pizzeriabianco.com Margherita pizza $11, serves 1

Pizzeria Bianco

6989 Blanco Road, San Antonio, doughpizzeria.com Margherita pizza $12, serves 1

Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

south-southwest 641 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles, mozza-la.com Margherita pizza $13, serves 1

Pizzeria Picco

Great Lake

Motorino

FINAL

the sweet si x teen

Varasano’s Pizzeria

Pizzeria Bianco

Apizza Scholls

Pizzeria Mozza

ROUND 4

M arch madness : p izzerias

Travel to any of these spots and you’ll have some truly spectacular pizza.

Antico Pizzeria Napoletana

Pizzeria Bianco

2Amys

Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

Emilia’s Pizzeria

Apizza Scholls

Delancey

Serious Pie

Ken’s Artisan Pizza

Pizzeria Picco

Pizzeria Delfina

Pizzeria Mozza

ROUND 2

west coast

Pizza Volante

Charlotte, NC

Pie Town

Atlanta

Varasano’s Pizzeria

Dallas

Olivella’s Avera Pizza Napoletana

Miami

Casale

Marfa, TX

Pizza Foundation

Bethesda, MD

Mia’s Pizzas

Houston

Dolce Vita

Dallas

Coal Vines

Atlanta

Antico Pizza Napoletana

Phoenix

Pizzeria Bianco

Houston

Russo’s NY Coal-Fired Pizza

Washington, DC

2Amys

Dallas

Campania Pizza & More

Ellicott City, MD

Coal Fire

San Antonio

Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

Berkeley, CA

Emilia’s Pizzeria

San Francisco

Flour + Water

Seattle

Tutta Bella

Portland, OR

Apizza Scholls

San Francisco

Tomasso’s Restaurant

Seattle

Delancey

Seattle

Serious Pie

San Francisco

Gialina Pizzeria

Seattle

Via Tribunali

Portland, OR

Ken’s Artisan Pizza

Larkspur, CA

Pizzeria Picco

Marina Del Rey, CA

Antica Pizzeria

San Francisco

Pizzeria Delfina

Oakland, CA

Pizzaiolo

Portland, OR

Wy’east Pizza

Los Angeles

Pizzeria Mozza

ROUND 1

Pizzeria Mozza

south - southwest

W est C oast

Best pizzeria

FOR america’s

the search

E A S T C oast MIDWEST

the search

FOR america’s

Best pizzeria

The Rosa

Meet the Pizzaiolo

Chris Bianco

Where did you learn to make pizza?

I started working at a pizzeria in Westchester, New York, when I was 13.

There was no indication that this was going to be my future, but I got to listen to Bobby Darin records and eat free slices. I learned that I like serving people.

the winner

No one thinks to call Phoenix the pizza capital of America, much less the

world. In fact, it would be fair to say that before transplanted New Yorker Chris Bianco opened Pizzeria Bianco in 1994, Phoenix was not even considered the crust capital of Arizona. Now food lovers from around the globe make the pilgrimage and wait three hours for food so good even my Neapolitan friends grudgingly acknowledge that the best pizza in the world is being made in Phoenix.

Arrive a couple of hours before Bianco opens for business and you’ll find a small stone-and-wood building plunked down in Phoenix’s Heritage Square. In front of the

building is a lawn where you will undoubtedly meet other pilgrims who have come to try the pies with the outsize reputations.

Your fellow linemates will ask each other: Are we crazy? How far did you travel? Could any plate of food be worth this kind of time commitment? Are we a bunch of suckers? Your questions won’t be answered for hours.

Once your rear has finally found its way into a seat, you peruse the short menu. The same six pizzas have been on the menu for years now. This is not because Bianco is on autopilot. It’s because he believes each pizza is perfect.

In addition to the plain Margherita and Marinara pies, there’s the Wiseguy (smoked mozzarella, roasted onion and fennel sausage), the Sonny Boy (fresh mozzarella, salami and olives), the Biancoverde (fresh mozzarella, parmesan, ricotta and arugula) and Bianco’s

masterpiece, the Rosa, topped with an oddly delicious combination of parmesan, red onion, rosemary and Arizona pistachios. Yes, pistachios—inspired by a sesame seed-and-parmesan pizza Bianco sampled in Liguria, Italy.

The fresh salads and vegetables add to the restaurant’s appeal, as does its upbeat energy. The diners laugh and talk loudly (mostly about the food), and you feel honored to be here, watching Bianco do his thing. If you love pizza, it’s like the rush music lovers get out of listening to John Coltrane play saxophone. Bianco, the pizza whisperer, is rapidly going about his business with an intensity usually displayed by air traffic controllers. After taking one bite, you will agree that you are sitting squarely in the best pizzeria in America, maybe the world. And you will cancel tomorrow’s plans and do it all over again.

BIANCO’S DRINK PAIRINGS WITH MARGHERITA (tomato and cheese) • light pilsner • lambrusco (inexpensive sparkling red wine) • Mexican Coke (It’s made with pure cane sugar instead of corn syrup, so it’s not as sweet.)

WITH SMOKED MOZZARELLA • pinot noir • wheat beer WITH WHITE PIZZA (no tomato sauce) • chardonnay NEVER DRINK • lemonade, or anything acidic

THE PIZZERIA TEST Bianco says he can tell a lot about a pizza joint by trying one pie in particular. “The marinara pie is the roast chicken of the pizza world,” he says. With just crust, sauce, sea salt, garlic and herbs, “it’s the most difficult pizza to do. There’s really no room to hide.”

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How did you end up in Phoenix?

I was in New York, and I was cold and tired. There are a lot of things I love about New York, but it was a battle. The cold was bad for my asthma. I wanted to see what else was out there. I found I have a real connection to the desert. I still love to disappear into it. pizzeria bianco photogr aphy by mark peterman/get t y images.

And the best pizza is being made... where?

How to make good pizza

by Chris Bianco

THE CRUST

THE SAUCE

THE CHEESE

Ditch the metal pizza pans and buy a baking stone, which concentrates heat and helps wick away moisture from the crust. You’ll also need a wooden pizza peel to transfer pies to and from the stone. Buy an allpurpose regular or organic flour (King Arthur makes good ones) and buy in small quantities, because freshness matters.

Use granular yeast—it’s more consistent. Don’t overhandle the dough and don’t use a rolling pin. Stretch the dough with your hands until it’s as thin as you can get it.

A good sauce doesn’t require hours of simmering on the stove.

Start with the best quality canned san marzano tomatoes you can find. (I like La Bella brand.) Canned tomatoes are an artisanal product: They’re blanched and skinned, so they’ve already been par-cooked and they’ll roast in the oven. There is no need to heat or warm them beforehand. Empty the can, drain the tomatoes and crush them with your hands or pulse them in a food processor a few times.

I add sea salt, black pepper and a little extra-virgin olive oil.

When you want a creamy cheese that melts in gooey pools across your pizza, nothing beats fresh mozzarella. I use cheese made in-house, but you can find fresh mozzarella in most grocery stores. Buy the best quality unsalted fior di latte (fresh cow’smilk mozzarella). Take it out of the water, blot it, tear or slice it and use it while it’s still cold. I tend to use cheese sparingly on my pizzas, but it’s a matter of personal preference.

web

Find our favorite pizza recipes at rachaelraymag.com/march.

What keeps you excited about pizza?

This will disappoint pizza aficionados, but here’s the truth: It’s not really about the pizza.

It’s about working with organic farmers with good intentions who are trying their best, and sharing that collective experience. But pizza has served me well, and I hope I’ve served it well.

Where do you see yourself going in the future?

It’s important for me to pass on what I’ve learned to another generation of pizza makers. If I’ve raised the bar at all, it’s only so that others can dance on it.

reheating leftovers Preheat your oven (or toaster oven) to 450° and, for the crispiest crust, arrange the pizza directly on the oven rack. (Place a baking sheet below the rack to catch any oil.) Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble. Watch closely so the pizza doesn’t burn.

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