The Ultimate Guide To Regional Pizza Styles

Widely perceived as the home of pizza, Naples lore claims that the original pizza was invented by Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito in 1889 to honor Queen Margherita of Savoy. Dubbed the pizza margherita, its toppings called to mind the flag of the newly-unified Italy: red tomatoes, white mozzarella, and green basil.

These days, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) requires any pizza bearing the Neapolitan name to begin with hand-worked dough made with soft-grain flour, fresh yeast, sea salt, and water. The pizza must be topped with Italian plum tomatoes and buffalo milk mozzarella, and it must be cooked on the floor of a traditional domed pizza oven. Resulting pizzas, according to Gennaro Esposito, owner and chef of the AVPN-certified A Casa Mia, should be "soft and pliable, not soggy." 

American pizza lovers may be surprised to learn that Neapolitan pizza is sold as whole pies to be consumed with a fork and knife. Neapolitan street pizza is meant to be enjoyed "a portofoglio" (wallet-style), folded in quarters.

In addition to the street food favorite of pizza al taglio, Rome is also home to a second regional style that, at first glance, couldn't be more different. Where al taglio is rectangular, tonda is round; where al taglio is sold as street food, tonda is meant to be enjoyed while seated at a restaurant, and with a fork and knife. That said, despite some perceived similarities to its neighbor to the south, there are significant differences. Unlike Neapolitan pizza, Roman tonda pizza boasts the same crispy, thin crust as Roman al taglio, helping to make it wholly distinct from both.

The best pizza tonda will boast a crust that's charred and subtly smoky, with a pleasant crunch or crackle when you dig in. Much like Rome's other pizza style, tonda pizza can come bedecked with a host of different toppings, from classic margherita to pancetta and caciocavallo cheese. You might also go for that oh-so-Roman staple, the humble but delicious artichoke.

The regional pizza style Jon Stewart famously denigrated as a casserole is yet another one that inverts the typical order of pizza toppings — and that's not the only way it stands out. Chicago deep-dish pizza begins not with the thin pizza dough beloved by most other regions, but with a buttery, flaky base that may be made with cornmeal in addition to wheat flour. The resulting crust is quite rich compared to other styles of pizza. 

This dough lines the deep dish that gives the pizza its name, at which point it is layered with cheese, then toppings, and finally tomato sauce. Given the longer bake time such a consequential pizza needs, this thick coating of sauce helps to protect the cheese and toppings from burning. The resulting pizza may not be a casserole, but it's far more deserving of the "pie" moniker common to this culinary category.

Colorado-style pizza is yet another hearty pizza style, this time invented by Beau Jo's Pizza in the mountain town of Idaho Springs. It starts with a unique dough that's been spiked with sweet honey, forming a hearty base boasting a high, braided crust that resembles the Colorado mountains. This base isn't just designed for aesthetic appeal. Instead, it's essential to support the sheer quantity of toppings diners can add to their pizza. These can include a variety of meats like pepperoni or andouille sausage, veggies like mushrooms or roasted red peppers, and a mix of up to four cheeses including mozzarella, cream cheese, provolone, cheddar, ricotta, and feta.

With so many toppings, it's hardly surprising that this pizza style, much like Roman al taglio, is sold not by the slice but by weight. The restaurant recommends about "a pound per hungry person." To gild the lily, diners can also opt for even more honey to top their crusts, turning what remains of that mountainous, monumental pizza into a built-in dessert.

Greek-style pizza may evoke an image of something topped with olives and feta, but native New Englanders know that this is far from reality. To be fair, this style is not often found outside of New England, something that stems from the fact that, unlike many pizza styles that are still OK even when they're bad, Greek-style pizza can be pretty darn awful if it's not prepared correctly. And to add insult to injury, according to some of its greatest critics, this style of pie is almost always awful. 

That said, when Greek-style pizza is good, it's very, very good. It begins with an olive oil-enriched dough topped with chunky, oregano-spiked tomato sauce. Finished with loads of gooey cheese (often a blend of both mozzarella and cheddar), the resulting pizza boasts a crispy, almost-fried dough base and loads of rich tomato flavor with just the right amount of acid for balance.

Renowned (and beloved!) across the country, New York pizza is a standout. The thin-crust pies boast a crispy bottom with a touch of char and loads of air bubbles, topped with a simple, brightly-flavored tomato sauce and an even layer of low-moisture mozzarella. Within these confines, the style offers loads of variation in terms of quality and approach, inspiring creators like Dave "El Pres" Portnoy to commit to trying a wide variety of the hundreds of local offerings.

While it is possible to buy New York pizza whole, this style is particularly beloved as a single-slice street food. Slices are delivered on a paper plate for as little as a dollar (though the infamous dollar slice may be an endangered species). Diners fold the piping-hot slices to retain all the molten cheese and toppings, which can run the gamut from sausage to vegetables. Pie shops also usually provide shakers of grated parmesan and red pepper flakes for patrons to add as they like.

Originally hailing from DiCarlo's in Steubenville, Ohio, Ohio Valley pizza is perhaps best known for its use of cold toppings on the hot pizza — including cold grated cheese. Baffling? Maybe. Divisive? Definitely. 

Reviewers point specifically to the issue of slimy pepperoni, made so when it comes into contact with warm steam in the box. Some even deem the pizza to be "adult Lunchables." But those who grew up on this style — namely Pittsburghers — are ready to sing its praises.

To make this distinctive style, a yeasty dough base is baked in thick squares in two goes: once with tomato sauce, and then a second brief time with even more sauce and a touch of cheese. In a step that likely emerged to keep the cheese from burning in the hot oven, cold provolone and other toppings are added only after the pizza emerges from the oven for the final time.

Quad Cities pizza probably needs a bit of help with its marketing campaign, in large part because most Americans aren't just unfamiliar with the pizza hailing from this region but even with the area itself! Straddling the Illinois-Iowa border, "the Quad Cities" are Rock Island and Moline, Illinois and Davenport, and Bettendorf, Iowa. Perhaps best known as the home of John Deere, this relatively unknown region is also home to a fairly unique pizza style.

Quad Cities pizza begins with a molasses-spiked pizza boasting a lovely nuttiness, topped with a scant layer of spicier tomato sauce that. This base is finished with a generous layer of lean, fennel-spiked sausage and loads of cheese. The resulting pizza is typically cut into strips with scissors before serving. It's unfortunately tough to find outside of its home region, so if you ever happen upon it, be sure to snag a strip or two.

Beach pizza may evoke images of a slice with an unpleasant graininess to it. While there should be no sand in Salisbury Beach pizza, this lesser-known New England pizza style is a bit divisive for folks who didn't grow up with it. A staple of Salisbury, Massachusetts — specifically the eponymous beach once known as the home of the country's first modern roller coaster, the Sky Rocket — these rectangular slices see a brittle base topped with sweet tomato sauce and a relatively small amount of cheese. Turophiles can pay a surcharge for extra cheese, which is melted thanks to a quick second trip through the oven.

Fans of this style often have an allegiance to one of two purveyors: Tripoli, credited as the style's inventor in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Cristy's. But when you take nostalgia out of the puzzle, the differences are minimal. Tripoli's sauce is slightly sweeter, while Cristy's crust is a bit softer.

St. Louis pizza stands out from other regional pizza styles in several ways, beginning with its ultra-thin base. Indeed, while many pizzas purport to be "thin-crust," it's hard to compete with the cracker-like base of a St. Louis pizza, which boasts no yeast. The crust is further hidden thanks to a local penchant for spreading sauce and toppings to the edge, which renders the typical party cut associated with the style a fair approach to slicing.

But perhaps what makes St. Louis pizza the most unique is the cheese. Many employ Provel, a trademarked blend of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone, invented in St. Louis in 1947, which melts into a luxuriously gooey mass atop the pie. Additional toppings are added without parsimony, leading some to claim that St. Louis pizza has more in common with nachos. However you slice it, though, one thing is for sure: It's delicious.