Food / Drink The Official Pizza Review Thread
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I haven't had a ton of Detroit style in all honesty. Out of the 3 or 4 places that I've had in the area, its the best. I definitely want to try more examples.
So I'm driving up to New Haven, CT tonight because it's only like 1.5 hours away. The 3 main places that everyone talks about there are Sally's, Modern, and Frank Pepes. I'm probably going to try Sally's and Modern.
My all time favorite pizza place is Mario the Baker in Stamford. I grew up a few miles from it and it was family tradition that we were there every Friday night. I miss that pizza.
I went to Sally's Apizza first. It's walk-up/take-out only. So I put in an order and he said it was going to be about 45 minutes. Damn, alright, I'll head up to Modern Apizza and try that while I'm waiting.
Modern is a pub style restaurant, and they allowed sit-down and there was no wait or line. I ordered a small pizza with mozzarella. Weird thing for most of these style pizzas is that you have to specifically ask for Mozzarella on it, otherwise it just comes with only sauce and grated Pecarino Romano.
The Pizza actually came out pretty quickly (like 5 mins tops). And it was...disappointing to say the least. The cheese was soupy and runny. The sauce (what sauce?) was either non-existent or I couldn't taste it. The crust had a weird taste to it; I could only describe it as "doughy". It had no structural integrity to it at all and would just flop down and let the cheese just side off.
The Pizza felt kind of undercooked, which is surprising because being burnt is how they do these usually, and it was burnt on the edges. It was also hotter than the surface of the sun, which I normally enjoy, but it just didn't help this one at all.
Overall, this was a bad pizza. I wouldn't hype this place up in any city.
Score: 5.0/10
Sally's review in a little bit.
Modern is a pub style restaurant, and they allowed sit-down and there was no wait or line. I ordered a small pizza with mozzarella. Weird thing for most of these style pizzas is that you have to specifically ask for Mozzarella on it, otherwise it just comes with only sauce and grated Pecarino Romano.
The Pizza actually came out pretty quickly (like 5 mins tops). And it was...disappointing to say the least. The cheese was soupy and runny. The sauce (what sauce?) was either non-existent or I couldn't taste it. The crust had a weird taste to it; I could only describe it as "doughy". It had no structural integrity to it at all and would just flop down and let the cheese just side off.
The Pizza felt kind of undercooked, which is surprising because being burnt is how they do these usually, and it was burnt on the edges. It was also hotter than the surface of the sun, which I normally enjoy, but it just didn't help this one at all.
Overall, this was a bad pizza. I wouldn't hype this place up in any city.
Score: 5.0/10
Sally's review in a little bit.
So after the disappointment with Modern, I wasn't exactly hopeful for Sally's. I ordered a medium pizza, and it was much bigger than I expected. They don't have a place to sit down anywhere, so I took it back to the car to eat there, so excuse the lighting on the photo.
This pizza was *wildly* different than any other New Haven style I've had. It was actually cooked! And all the way through. Cheese? Cooked. Crust? Cooked. Sauce? Exists!
The crust was nice and dark. It was a little bit Chewy, which was interesting. You really had to pull the slices apart, and you really had to bite it good each time. There wasn't a ton of cheese, which helped it cook better. Not soupy, runny, anything. Stayed right on the pizza where it belonged. It's still not Wisconsin cheese, but it was at least better than what I've been having. The sauce was pretty tasty too. It wasn't as sweet as New York Pizza sauce, but it wasn't as flavorful as Chicago style pizza. Kind of a middle ground. Enough to know its there, but not enough to elevate the pizza to a different level.
Overall, this was a solid pizza. I understand why people on this side of the country think this is good pizza. That being said, it wasn't anything groundbreaking. If I lived in New York, I wouldn't make the 1.5-2 hour trip up here to get it. It was worth the drive solely so that I've tried it, but I don't see myself ever craving it or looking fondly back on it.
Score: 7.0/10
This pizza was *wildly* different than any other New Haven style I've had. It was actually cooked! And all the way through. Cheese? Cooked. Crust? Cooked. Sauce? Exists!
The crust was nice and dark. It was a little bit Chewy, which was interesting. You really had to pull the slices apart, and you really had to bite it good each time. There wasn't a ton of cheese, which helped it cook better. Not soupy, runny, anything. Stayed right on the pizza where it belonged. It's still not Wisconsin cheese, but it was at least better than what I've been having. The sauce was pretty tasty too. It wasn't as sweet as New York Pizza sauce, but it wasn't as flavorful as Chicago style pizza. Kind of a middle ground. Enough to know its there, but not enough to elevate the pizza to a different level.
Overall, this was a solid pizza. I understand why people on this side of the country think this is good pizza. That being said, it wasn't anything groundbreaking. If I lived in New York, I wouldn't make the 1.5-2 hour trip up here to get it. It was worth the drive solely so that I've tried it, but I don't see myself ever craving it or looking fondly back on it.
Score: 7.0/10
Now that I've tried the big three New Haven pizzas, I can say that the style as a whole is just okay. I actually prefer New York style pizza to it. I can confidently say that Chicago still reigns Supreme when it comes to pizza and I'll argue with anyone that says otherwise.
I'm actually glad they call it Apizza, because it's definitely not pizza in the American sense of the word.
Also, I can't STAND when these people out here pronounce Mozzarella "Moot-zer-ell". You're not from Italy. Stop it.
I'm actually glad they call it Apizza, because it's definitely not pizza in the American sense of the word.
Also, I can't STAND when these people out here pronounce Mozzarella "Moot-zer-ell". You're not from Italy. Stop it.
NY thin crust, for the most part, isn't really any thinner than Chicago style. Chicago just makes the dough differently, so it has more structural integrity. Ignore the crust for a moment though.
The sauce in Chicago has real flavor to it. It has several additions with seasoning, spices, etc. NY sauce is tomato water with sugar added.
Then the cheese. Wisconsin cheese is the best cheese on the *planet* and that's an objective statement.
If you put those ingredients onto a NY style crust, the pizza would be infinitely better.
New Haven Apizza doesn't even deserve to be in the conversation IMO.
The sauce in Chicago has real flavor to it. It has several additions with seasoning, spices, etc. NY sauce is tomato water with sugar added.
Then the cheese. Wisconsin cheese is the best cheese on the *planet* and that's an objective statement.
If you put those ingredients onto a NY style crust, the pizza would be infinitely better.
New Haven Apizza doesn't even deserve to be in the conversation IMO.
Anyone had Labrioa on Michigan Ave? I saw a random targeted ad for it, and it looks pretty solid. I've never heard of it before, but they have a claim like "best rated deep dish in Chicago" which I find a little ridiculous. I wanna try it but going down on Michigan Ave sounds like a nightmare.
Michigan Avenue is fine right now. Use spot hero and park in the Millennium Park garage. If anything, it's probably a decent time to visit Michigan Ave. I doubt there would be any wait to get a table at most restaurants.
Back in New York, for hopefully the final week. Felt like trying something different while I'm still here. Most slice places have Sicilian and/or Grandma style pizza. They are square slices. Sicilian is thick, Grandma is thin. Tried a sicilian slice today. The location is one I've been to several times for thin slices. I ranked it as 6.5 and 8.0 (which I must've just been starving because it's not that good.) The Pizza here is a solid 7.0 pretty consistently for thin, despite the guy behind the counter being visably high on some sort of stimulant.
I can understand why New Yorkers like thin pies. They don't do thick ones well. The crust is way too fluffy and airy. It doesn't do well with the whole "reheating of the slice" concept they do either. Dries the crust out too much. Then the bland cheese and boring-as-hell sweet sauce aren't enough to make up for all the bread.
I'm glad I tried it, only so I can continue to shit on New York pizza. These guys are definitely one trick ponys. I won't be getting this style again.
Score: 5.0/10
I started eating it before I remembered I wanted to review it. Thus the pieces missing.
I can understand why New Yorkers like thin pies. They don't do thick ones well. The crust is way too fluffy and airy. It doesn't do well with the whole "reheating of the slice" concept they do either. Dries the crust out too much. Then the bland cheese and boring-as-hell sweet sauce aren't enough to make up for all the bread.
I'm glad I tried it, only so I can continue to shit on New York pizza. These guys are definitely one trick ponys. I won't be getting this style again.
Score: 5.0/10
I started eating it before I remembered I wanted to review it. Thus the pieces missing.
I heard this place is pretty good and traditional: https://www.yelp.com/biz/l-and-b-spumoni-gardens-brooklyn?osq=Sicilian+Pizza,
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Has anyone had Millys in Chicago?
You apparently have to order this shit days in advance in order to get one. Saw a dude post this photo of it and it looks pretty damn good. Just don't know about the idea getting on a waiting list to eat pizza.
You apparently have to order this shit days in advance in order to get one. Saw a dude post this photo of it and it looks pretty damn good. Just don't know about the idea getting on a waiting list to eat pizza.
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