The ‘Pizza’ de Résistance

Pizza is ubiquitous. You can’t go far without running into a mom-and-pop pizza place or a national chain. But the LloydPans Innovation Team started to wonder which parts of the United States preferred one style of pizza over another. Some were obvious, like Chicago-style and Detroit-style. But what about places like New Hampshire and Hawaii? We took a deep dive, with help from The Washington Post (which featured our Detroit-Style Pans not too long ago), to identify once and for all which style of pizza reigns supreme and which regions stick to their old favorites. Grab a slice; let’s get started.

The Washington Post examined Yelp reviews from across the country to identify which styles of pizza were mentioned most. It should come as no surprise that New York City is the unrivaled pizza capital of the U.S., with the highest concentration of independent and small-chain pizzerias in the country. But interestingly, if you break it down by state instead of city, New Jersey actually tops the list. Though pizza is indisputably popular across the country, the Deep South is a veritable wasteland for small, independent pizzerias.

Upon further examination, The Washington Post found that most American pizza is basically New York-style, which topped the list of favorites among 41 states, and Washington, D.C. Neapolitan-style pizza and its cousins wood-fired and brick-oven took the second spot as the pizza of choice in Colorado, Vermont and Wisconsin. Chicago-style came in third, a favorite in Illinois, Iowa and, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Arkansas.

That left Michigan, Missouri and Connecticut, three states that are fiercely loyal to their regional pizza styles: Detroit, rectangular with a thick, doughy crust; St. Louis, with its provel cheese and cracker-thin crust; and New Haven, locally known as apizza and noteworthy for its coal-fired, thin crust.

If you remove New York-style pizza from the equation, people generally lean toward unique local styles or deep-dish pizza. Neapolitan claims the top spot, followed by Chicago-style; Greek-style; and, the old stalwarts, St. Louis-style, Detroit-style and New Haven-style.

“But,” you may ask, “what about that most divisive pizza style of all: Hawaiian?” People have strong opinions as to whether pineapple belongs on a pizza. It may surprise you to know that if you factor out New York-style and Neapolitan-style and factor in Hawaiian-style, Hawaiian is rated No. 1 in 18 states. Chicago comes in second, with Detroit, Sicilian and Greek rounding out the list.

No matter your region’s preferred style or your personal favorite, LloydPans has what you need to create your next culinary masterpiece. Browse our selection of Detroit-Style Pans, Chicago-Style Pans, Quik-Disks and more. We can’t wait to see what you work up!

Photo Credit: Melissa Hom for the Washington Post