125 Pizzas Worth the Calories

As the pizza renaissance rolls on, great pizza is no longer as scarce as it was just five years ago when this blog started. It is a little disturbing to see chains moving into the Neapolitan pizza space, but so far the ones we've tried have been in the good to very good range despite the mass production aspects.

Mashed potato pie at Basic Urban Kitchen, San Diego

While Neapolitan style is still gathering the most buzz, the top 30 in our list is dominated by old-school pies that have been around for decades.

The notable newcomer in our Top Ten is Basic Urban Kitchen in San Diego, where you can get a New Haven style apizza that is as good or better than the originals in Connecticut. 

Some other top-ranked pies are old-school style, but from newer pizzerias: Picco, Via 313, and North of Brooklyn.

The brilliant hybrid pie at Picco in Boston MA

Detroit style at Via 313, Austin TX

Although these pies are ranked, you can expect a world-class pizza experience in almost any of the pies from number one through the mid-thirties on this list.

A NY Slice at North of Brooklyn in Toronto, Canada

Chicago Deep Dish at Louisa's, Crestwood IL

But as always, any pizza here is easily worth the calories, and the top two-thirds also quality as destination pizza: worth the calories and the trip to get there.

American pie at Pizza Brain in Philadelphia

New Haven style at Frank Pepe's

Pizza Styles

• Chicago Deep Dish such as Louisa's Pizza and Pasta (Crestwood, IL) which landed at number 31. 
• Detroit style pie is represented by Norma's Pizza (#8) and Via 313 (#6).
• Trenton Tomato Pie remains a personal favorite, and five Trenton pies are on the list including #1, #15, #16, #44, and #82.
• The NY Slice is represented here, too often to enumerate them all.
• Sicilian style and related pan-baked pizzas are here too, such as the square slice at NY Pizza Suprema (#51).
• Neapolitan pies appear throughout; the best one remains Scuola Vecchia at #9.
• Bar Pies (and related Midwestern cracker crust pies) are here in abundance, from Lee's Tavern in Staten Island (#27) to Vito & Nick's (#37) in Chicago.
• American Pie - my term for a pie featuring a thin rigid crust with thoughtfully applied toppings - is best represented by places like Pizza Brain (#10) and Denino's (#7).
• New Haven style - a cousin to the Trenton Tomato Pie - is holding the #4, #5, and #13 spots here, including the aforementioned Basic Urban Kitchen and legendary pie joints Frank Pepe's and Sally's.
• Hybrid styles are often some wonderful mix of American/NY and Neapolitan. Two of my favorites - LaPorta (#17) and Picco (#3) - are making crazy good hybrid pies.
• St. Louis style? Still missing. I'm eager to try one, but haven't yet.

Our Top 125 Pizzas

1	DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, Robbinsville NJ
2	DiFara Pizza, Brooklyn NY
3	Picco, Boston MA
4	Basic Urban Kitchen, San Diego CA
5	Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, New Haven CT
6	Via 313, Austin TX
7	Denino’s, Staten Island NY
8	Norma's Pizza, Manheim PA
9	Scuola Vecchia, Delray Beach FL
10	Pizza Brain, Philadelphia PA
11	North of Brooklyn, Toronto Canada
12	Al Forno, Providence RI
13	Sally's Apizza, New Haven CT
14	Patsy’s, East Harlem, NY
15	Gennaro's Tomato Pies, Philadelphia PA
16	Papa's Tomato Pies, Robbinsville NJ
17	La Porta Ristorante, Edgemont, PA
18	Pizzeria Vetri, Philadelphia PA
19	Jerk Oceano, Lantana FL
20	Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco CA
21	Joe and Pat's, Staten Island NY
22	2 Amys, Washington DC
23	Regina Pizza, Boston MA
24	Capofitto, Philadelphia PA
25	Santarpio’s, Boston MA
26	Tacconelli’s, Philadelphia PA
27	Lee’s Tavern, Staten Island NY
28	Apizza Scholls, Portland OR
29	Motorino, Manhattan NY
30	Forcella, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY
31	Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix AZ
32	Louisa’s Pizza and Pasta, Crestwood IL
33	Grimaldi’s, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY
34	Totonno's, Coney Island, Brooklyn NY
35	Conte’s Bar, Princeton NJ
36	Rubino's Pizza, Columbus OH
37	Vito and Nick's Pizza, Chicago IL
38	Pane Bianco, Phoenix AZ
39	Zuppardi's Apizza, West Haven CT
40	Nick's New Haven Style Pizzeria, Boca Raton FL
41	Nomad Pizza, Hopewell NJ and Philadelphia PA
42	Modern Apizza, New Haven CT
43	Lombardi's, Manhattan NY
44	La Villa, Morrisville PA
45	Holy Tomato Pie, Blackwood NJ
46	Copper Oven, Ovid NY
47	Arturo’s, Greenwich Village, NY
48	Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, PA and FL
49	Rize, Broomall PA
50	Seventh Hill Pizza, Washington DC
51	NY Pizza Suprema, Manhattan, NY
52	John’s, Greenwich Village, NY
53	Osteria, Philadelphia PA
54	Cambridge 1, Cambridge MA
55	Zavino, Philadelphia
56	It’s Nutts, Titusville NJ
57	Roberta's, Brooklyn NY
58	Collegeville Pizzeria, Collegeville PA
59	Domenica, New Orleans LA
60	Don Antonio by Starita, Manhattan, NY
61	Vecchia Pizzeria Napoletana, Phoenixville PA
62	Pieous, Austin TX
63	Lorenzo’s, Philadelphia, PA
64	Lucca Grill, Bloomington IL
65	Artichoke Basille’s, Greenwich Village, NY
66	Stella Public House, San Antonio, TX
67	Home Slice, Austin TX
68	Zero Otto Nove, Bronx NY
69	Patsy’s, New Rochelle, NY
70	Stella, Philadelphia PA
71	Kate & Al’s, Columbus NJ
72	Pete’s Pizza, Columbus NJ
73	Dough Pizzeria Napoletana, San Antonio, TX
74	Pupatella, Arlington VA
75	Bufad, Philadelphia
76	Comet Ping Pong, Washington DC
77	Tucci’s Fire N Coal Pizza, Boca Raton, FL
78	La Sicilia, Belleville, NJ
79	Primanti Brothers, Fort Lauderdale, FL
80	L&B Spumoni Gardens, Brooklyn NY
81	New Park Pizza, Queens NY
82	SLiCE, Philadelphia
83	Tosca Café, (Throgs Neck), Bronx NY
84	Grimaldi’s (national chain)
85	Sizzle Pie, Portland OR
86	Bar 35, Honolulu HI
87	Spatola's Pizza, Paoli PA
88	Pizzeria Pesto, Philadelphia
89	DOCG, Las Vegas NV
90	Tommy's Pizza, (Throgs Neck), Bronx NY
91	Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, Houston TX
92	Tony Baloney's, Hoboken NJ
93	Wolfgang Puck Express (national chain)
94	Massimo’s, Hamilton NJ
95	Wiseguy NY Pizza, Washington DC
96	La Brea Bakery, Anaheim CA
97	Barbuzzo, Philadelphia PA
98	Brick Oven Pizza 33, Manhattan NY
99	MOD Pizza (national chain)
100	Grande Pizza, Boca Raton FL
101	Rosati's, Bloomington IL
102	Jules Thin Crust, CA and PA
103	Luigi’s Coal Oven Pizza, Fort Lauderdale FL
104	Rustica, Philadelphia PA
105	DeLorenzo’s Pizza, Hamilton NJ
106	Bertucci’s (regional chain)
107	Franzone's, Bridgeport PA
108	Corropolese Bakery Tomato Pie, Norristown PA
109	Pica's, Upper Darby, PA
110	Snap Custom Pizza, Exton PA
111	ZaZa, Little Rock AR
112	Napolese, Indianapolis IN
113	Tony Roni's, Willow Grove PA
114	Clank's Bar, Marcus Hook, PA
115	Milito’s, Downingtown PA
116	Sauce, Phoenix AZ
117	Marra’s, Philadelphia PA
118	Pizza by Elizabeth, Greenville, DE
119	Grotto Pizza, Dewey Beach, DE
120	Uncle Oogie’s, Philadelphia
121	Lenny’s, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn NY
122	Monical's Pizza, Bloomington IL
123	Bazbeaux, Indianapolis, IN
124	Felicia's Pizza Kitchen, Ardmore PA
125	California Pizza Kitchen (national chain)