1TCBP: The Country's Best Pizza
Reny PreusskerTop chefs and fabled bakers are among the new breed of pizzaiolo who are just as fanatic about the temperature of their ovens to how local their ingredients are. Check out our picks of the country's top notch pizza spots!
2Brooklyn: Di Fara
Shane MitchellSignature Item: Plain pie
72-year-old owner Domenico DeMarco makes all the pies at this Brooklyn pizza mecca, so they come out with the perfect balance of tomato sauce (made fresh daily), mozzarella, and Grana Padano cheeses. A Di Fara spin-off called Tagliare opened in LaGuardia Airport in the fall of 2010. difara.com
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3New York City: Motorino
Courtesy of MotorinoSignature Item: Pizza with brussels sprouts, smoked pancetta, mozzarella, and garlic
Mathieu Palombino cooked at BLT Fish before he embarked on his pizza tasting tour, traveling from Italy to California, trying pies to perfect his bready, well-salted crust. Toppings vary — from burrata with broccolini and sausage to cherrystone clams with parsley butter. motorinopizza.com
4Brooklyn: Paulie Gee's
Katie Sokoler/GothamistSignature Item: Regina (with Fior di Latte, tomatoes, Pecorino Romano, olive oil, and fresh basil)
Gregarious pizza legend Paulie Gee serves Neapolitan pies with inspired toppings like sweet fennel cream sauce. pauliegee.com
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5Boston: Santarpio's Pizza
Amy SwanSignature Item: Homemade Sausage Pie
This super traditional pizzeria, with wood-paneled walls covered with pictures of famous athletes, has been around for more than a century. santarpiospizza.com
6Chicago: Burt's Place
Nancy HellerSignature Item: Deep Dish Pizza with Caramelized Cheese Crust
At this landmark Chicago eatery, Sharon Katz enforces the strict call-ahead reservation policy and husband Burt works the oven, pulling out pies with a lighter crust and less cheese than most Chicago deep-dish pizzas.
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7New Haven, CT: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
Doug Schneider PhotographySignature Item: White Clam pizza
This longstanding classic, considered ground zero for New Haven-style "apizza," was started by Frank Pepe in 1925, and is now run by his grandchildren. The Original Tomato Pie (without mozzarella) is still on the menu. pepespizzeria.com
8Larkspur, CA: Pizzeria Picco
Adam KubanSignature Item: Margherita (with house-pulled mozzarella)
Pizzeria Picco's wood-fired Neopolitan pies are rumored to be Mario Batali's favorite. Another draw: the quirky olive oil and sea salt soft serve ice cream. pizzeriapicco.com
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9New York City: Co.
Squire FoxSignature Item: Popeye (with pecorino, Gruyère, mozzarella, spinach, black pepper, and garlic).
Sullivan Street Bakery founder Jim Lahey is one of the country's elite bakers, so it makes sense that people can't stop talking about his chewy, crisp, ever-so-slightly tangy pie crusts. Lahey's newest project: He developed the menu for Crust, a soon-to-open Neapolitan-style pie spot at LaGuardia Airport. co-pane.com
10Philadelphia: Osteria
Tam NgoSignature Item: Lombarda pie (with baked egg, Cotechino sausage, mozzarella, and bitto cheese, made from a blend of cow's milk and goat's milk)
The phenomenal pizzas at star chef Marc Vetri's casual spot are fired in an oak-burning stone oven. osteriaphilly.com
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11Portland, OR: Apizza Scholls
John SowellSignature Item: Apizza Amore (with tomato sauce, both fresh and aged mozzarella, pecorino, grana, olive oil, cured pork shoulder, and fresh basil)
Pizzaiolos Brian Spangler, Dan Roberts and Jon Ullrich are so exacting about their craft that they mix their dough by hand daily and won't let customers put any more than three toppings on the nicely charred pies. apizzascholls.com
12Providence, RI: Al Forno
Courtesy of Al FornoSignature Item: Margarita (with house-made pomodoro, fresh herbs, two cheeses, and extra-virgin olive oil)
In 1980, Johanne Killeen and George Germon launched a new era of ambitious cooking in Providence with their thin-crusted grilled pizzas topped with superfresh ingredients. alforno.com
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13San Francisco: Flour + Water
Lesley KaoSignature Item: Margherita (with tomato sauce, Fior di Latte, and extra-virgin olive oil)
The puffy, charred cornicione (end crust) is the result of just two minutes in the 800-degree wood-burning oven imported from Italy. flourandwater.com
14San Francisco: Pizzeria Delfina
Eric WolfingerSignature Item: Margherita
An offshoot of Delfina restaurant, from Craig and Anne Stoll, with Neapolitan-inspired pies with inventive toppings like salt cod. pizzeriadelfina.com
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15Los Angeles: Pizzeria Mozza
Larry SalesSignature Item: Squash blossoms, tomato, and burrata
Powerhouse team Mario Batali, Joseph Bastianich, and Nancy Silverton combine the best California ingredients (squash blossoms and trumpet mushrooms) with Italian tradition (big wood-burning ovens and house-made mozzarella) to form some of L.A.'s best pies. mozza-la.com
16More National Treasures
Shane Mitchell Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
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