<p>Consolation, the one in the Village, of course!</p>
<p>On a graduate school visit I had mashed potato pizza at a bar called BAR in New Haven. It was different, but super delicious. </p>
<p>My favorite pizza in the world breaks every rule in the book. It’s a local place, only one anywhere, and has what some would call a Polish pizza. The crust is soft and quite sweet, sauce tends to the sweet side too, with a cheese that appears to be a blend of American and loaded up with the best paper thin pepperoni. Folded in half, it needs to be held over a plate because it drips greasy, cheesy goop. People tend to love it or be terribly confused by it. I grew up eating it so I didn’t know if I’d acquired a taste for it but when my husband tried it for the first time he deemed it the best pizza he’d ever had. </p>
<p>We got it last night and I had some for breakfast today. :D</p>
<p>Spill, hyperJulie–where is it? Inquiring palates want to know.</p>
<p>Hunt, You said you think there is good pizza in DC and the suburbs. My kids are in DC and Arlington so curious about your favorites? </p>
<p>I don’t like deep dish pizza . Much prefer thin crusts.</p>
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<p>Yeah? Well, we’ve got a place here in Saint Paul where you can get a sausage and sauerkraut pizza. How Polish is that?</p>
<p>The original Patsy’s on First Avenue between 117th and 118th St. in Spanish Harlem.
Coal fired oven 800 degree temperature, ultra thin crisp crust, delicious sauce-not too heavy, myriad of toppings to choose from, but not weird ones like pineapple. :)</p>
<p>I grew up in the Chicago area and am a fan of Lou Malnati’s but it doesn’t hold a candle to New Haven pizza.</p>
<p>I went to U-Mich and thought that Pizza Bob’s was the greatest. Then I lived in Chicago; never a huge deep dish pizza fan but sometimes it appeals. DH grew up in New Haven and raved about the pizza. The first time I had it I didn’t get it- too much hot grease that burned my mouth. Then I discovered white pizza at The Spot behind Pepe’s - I get it with broccoli and garlic and am in heaven. Is that too much like flatbread? :)</p>
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<p>You can get mashed potato and also baked potato pizza at Pizza Luce in Minneapolis. To me potato is like pineapple or chicken - it just wrong on a pizza.</p>
<p>But Pizza Luce in general is excellent - as good or better than the places here in San Diego. Until I discovered Pizza Luce I considered the Twin Cities to be a pizza wasteland, but that small chain has pizza figured out.</p>
<p>“Coal fired oven 800 degree temperature, ultra thin crisp crust.”</p>
<p>That is one of the signatures of New Haven pizza - it’s made in coal fired ovens, too.</p>
<p>“Then I discovered white pizza at The Spot behind Pepe’s -”</p>
<p>The Spot is owned by Pepe’s and the pies are made the same way!</p>
<p>Having come from NY and now living in the PNW, Seattle does not belong on the list at all. Pizza here is abysmal. There are some expensive specialty places doing Napoli-style, but it’s no great substitute for corner pizzerias.</p>
<p>We do have a Brooklyn Brothers Pizza in Everett, about 15 or 20 miles north. They import their stuff from NY.</p>
<p>I have to admit that one of my favorite pizzas was the Nolio at Bertucci’s. It was a white pizza with caramelized onions and small strips of prosciutto over something along the lines of a thin parmesan/lemon cream sauce on a thin crust, baked in a wood oven. Really delicious.</p>
<p>I agree with the person who pointed out that there might be a great pizza in San Diego or Phoenix but that doesn’t characterize the whole city’s pizzaness. So I think the list’s title is misleading. </p>
<p>I grew up in Brooklyn, lived in Chicago, and now in New Haven. </p>
<p>Comparing Chicago to New York/New Haven is like comparing apples to oranges. They are what they are, but different. My pizza snob wife says deep dish is a kind of pizza casserole. Back in New York, there is a pizza style called Sicilian, which is thick crusted but baked like the thin-crusted Neapolitan, not in a pan. </p>
<p>Sally’s has been banned since we went there on a slow night, found a table right away, and then waited a couple of hours while we watched people who came in after us getting served. I guess we didn’t know the secret handshake, even though my wife’s family is from Wooster Street. Now, we are firmly Modern (so called because it’s from the 1930s rather than the 1920s) people. It’s closer to Sally’s–thinner crust–than Pepe’s, and has a more customer friendly approach, plus a well-organized take out operation. And it’s close to where we live. </p>
<p>New Haven gets its pizza authenticity from the fact that most of the locals are from Naples. I recently talked to a 90-year-old woman born in Naples who says no pizza compares to her home town, but that may be a proustian memory. </p>
<p>One thing about New York is its slice culture, not really seen elsewhere. I didn’t really start buying whole pies until I moved away.</p>
<p>A Clams Casino might be my death row last meal–unless it is a hot pastrami on rye, heavy on the horse radish mustard, with a bowl of pickles, and Dr. Brown’s cream soda.</p>
<p>latichever, that hot pastrami on rye better be from the Second Ave. Deli…:D</p>
<p>That must have been emilybee’s entire family with that secret handshake at Sally’s…;)</p>
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<p>Exactly! Everyone else expects you to buy a whole pie (or “dish”) and either take that with you or sit down and eat it there. Either way you have to wait for them to bake it. Instant gratification is so NY :)</p>
<p>DC has a good pizza by the slice place. Wiseguy NY Pizza. A few blocks from the Verizon Center. Nothing fancy but it is nice to be able to just get a slice . Good garlic knots too.</p>
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<p>I think this hasn’t been the case for many years. I’ve been buying pizza by the slice in various cities out here in California since at least the late 70s to early 80s. Heck, I had two slices of pizza for lunch just today. And I don’t think CA is unusual in this respect. We had slices for lunch one day in a small town in Maine while on vacation just last month.</p>
<p>“That must have been emilybee’s entire family with that secret handshake at Sally’s…”</p>
<p>Only if it was a Sunday. ;)</p>
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<p>Pizza Luce is good. We order from there frequently. It’s not as good as Punch which does a terrific authentic Neapolitan-style pizza, but doesn’t deliver. But I will say the original Punch on Cleveland Ave. in Saint Paul far outdoes the branch outlets.</p>
<p>I stand by my previous statement: New Haven pizza is way over-hyped and overrated. Modern Apizza, which someone on this thread particularly touted, is especially abysmal. If you order any veggies on your pie, they come limp and soggy, as if boiled or steamed for an hour before being thrown on top. Blecchh! Sally’s and Pepe’s are popular for being popular; the people who get preferential seating (and there are many, much to the consternation of the even larger throngs waiting in line) think they’re getting in on something special, and the legions standing in line get jealous. After all that, both groups need to convince themselves it really is something special. They need to get out more. They’re being had. Not that Sally’s and Pepe’s are bad pizza. They’re good, just not half as good as all the hype.</p>
<p>And Boston has surprisingly bad pizza for a city with such a large Italian community.</p>