Best Pizza in the U.S.A. Is in THIS City
The best pizza in the entire United States is not in New York City. Or Chicago. It's in Phoenix, Arizona. That's the word from New York food critic Ed Levine who just wrote the book, "Pizza: A Slice of Heaven." This mouth-watering, just-have-to-get-it pizza is from Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix. "In many ways, it's the definition of a perfect pizza," Levine told The Arizona Republic in an interview. When he first ate it while researching his book, he said, "I was blown away."
While this is great news for the little pizzeria in Phoenix, those in the Big Apple are none too pleased. "I know it's not true," L. Goldberg, one of the partners in Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano, boasted to the Republic. Her pizzeria is a descendant of a place called Lombardi's, which was the first licensed pizzeria in America, founded 1905. "It's the water. New York's got the best water. And yeast," she insisted. "Does he cook over coal? We use coal." No, he does not. The stove is wood-fired at Bianco's. But New Yorkers take heart: Owner Chris Bianco was born in the Bronx. "He grew up here, he learned to make pizza here, that makes him one of us," Nick Angelis of Nick's Pizza in uptown Manhattan exclaimed to the Republic.
So if you can't make it to Phoenix, what's the best national pizza chain? For the second consecutive year, that would be Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza, according to Restaurants and Institutions magazine. It operates 850 restaurants in 28 states with plans to open another 100 locations soon. American City Business Journals reports that these rankings are based on customer opinions on food quality, menu variety, value, reputation, service, atmosphere, cleanliness, and convenience. Some 200 of the nation's largest pizza chains were part of the survey.
The best pizza in the entire United States is not in New York City. Or Chicago. It's in Phoenix, Arizona. That's the word from New York food critic Ed Levine who just wrote the book, "Pizza: A Slice of Heaven." This mouth-watering, just-have-to-get-it pizza is from Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix. "In many ways, it's the definition of a perfect pizza," Levine told The Arizona Republic in an interview. When he first ate it while researching his book, he said, "I was blown away."
While this is great news for the little pizzeria in Phoenix, those in the Big Apple are none too pleased. "I know it's not true," L. Goldberg, one of the partners in Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano, boasted to the Republic. Her pizzeria is a descendant of a place called Lombardi's, which was the first licensed pizzeria in America, founded 1905. "It's the water. New York's got the best water. And yeast," she insisted. "Does he cook over coal? We use coal." No, he does not. The stove is wood-fired at Bianco's. But New Yorkers take heart: Owner Chris Bianco was born in the Bronx. "He grew up here, he learned to make pizza here, that makes him one of us," Nick Angelis of Nick's Pizza in uptown Manhattan exclaimed to the Republic.
So if you can't make it to Phoenix, what's the best national pizza chain? For the second consecutive year, that would be Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza, according to Restaurants and Institutions magazine. It operates 850 restaurants in 28 states with plans to open another 100 locations soon. American City Business Journals reports that these rankings are based on customer opinions on food quality, menu variety, value, reputation, service, atmosphere, cleanliness, and convenience. Some 200 of the nation's largest pizza chains were part of the survey.
