I've had Detroit pizza in Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania. I loved them all, but I have never experienced Detroit pizza in or near Detroit. That void remains, but trusted pizza epicures in the family visited the Motor City in April 2023, and here is their guest review.
The characteristics of the classic Detroit style pizza—square crust that’s airy on the inside and both crispy and chewy on the outside, with caramelized cheese spread all the way to the edges, tomato sauce on top of the cheese—have been traced back to a 1946 innovation at a Detroit bar called Buddy’s Rendezvous. The original location is evidently still going strong, and there now are more than 15 satellite locations around Michigan.
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| "Detroit Public TV" pizza |
We found ourselves conveniently near the Dearborn restaurant and stopped in to try out this now-renowned regional variety of pizza. Fortunately, expansion from a neighborhood bar to many branch locations has not compromised the quality of Buddy’s offerings. Obviously appreciated by the locals, the dining room was perhaps 80 % full at 4:20 on a Saturday afternoon with some tables occupied by a single diner, others pushed together to accommodate a group of around twenty.
Although the quality of the pizza is the foremost consideration in any evaluation, other items can greatly enhance the dining experience. Nearly a dozen (apparently local craft-brewed) draft beers were available. Since we are not beer drinkers, we were delighted to find Blake’s Triple Jam Cider also on tap. A Michigan brand, Blake’s is one of the very best ciders around, and it is an outstanding accompaniment to pizza. The very good and very generous house salad easily served both of us, and the garlic Parmesan dressing was first rate.
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| The Margherita |
Buddy’s offers many variations on the classic pie, but our knowledgeable server, Crystal Luna, helped us navigate the menu and fully explained the options. We chose a pair of “four-square” pizzas; as the name suggests, each is divided into four slices. An “eight-square” pizza is a popular and more economical option, but our choice made it possible to select two different types and provided more of the highly desired corner slices.
Our “Detroit Public TV” pizza was a brilliant example of why Detroit style pizzas have earned the respect of pizza aficionados. We had enjoyed Detroit style two or three previous times in Ohio and Texas, but found the thick bread crust to be too filling. Buddy’s offers a thinner multigrain crust option, which satisfied completely, both in taste and texture. It retained the combination of airiness and crispness that characterizes the more traditional crust. But since it is lighter, it does not fill you up as quickly (and allows you to eat more slices, a definite advantage!).
Pepperoni is put right on the crust, a layer of Motor City Blend cheese (Fontinella, Asiago, and Wisconsin brick) is added, dollops of tomato sauce are applied, and a second type of pepperoni tops it off. The pepperoni is sliced very thin and the slices on the top get a pleasant crispiness in the oven. The end result was a truly memorable pizza.
Our second pizza, while good, suffered a bit by comparison with the other. We chose Buddy’s version of the Margherita pie, and this classic does not lend itself quite as well to the Detroit approach. The cheeses were not quite flavorful enough and did not caramelize well. A bit of Parmesan added at the table provided a welcome flavor boost. We enjoyed it, but it did not rise to the “destination pizza” level of its counterpart. Buddy’s has many other delicious sounding options on the menu and allows you to customize ingredients as well, so on a second visit, we would delve further into the menu. And a second visit is very much to be hoped for…and a third…and a fourth…
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