This column is in honor of October being National Pizza Month! It’s a fun feature about columnist Kirsten Lyons’ preference between New York and Chicago style pizza, as well as some local Milwaukee pizza joint suggestions for readers.
The most paramount debate of all time: Which is better, New York or Chicago style pizza? The two pies are a point of pride for each state. But how do they differ?
The main difference between New York style pizza and Chicago deep dish is their crust, the foundation of any good pie. New York style crust tends to lean on the thinner side while the Chicago style crust is usually thicker.
The flavors are also very different. New York pizza is more simplistic toppings wise, with toppings like featuring mozzarella, tomato sauce, pepperoni or sausage. Alternatively, Chicago pizza is a lot heavier on ingredients. It can be layered with multiple kinds of cheese, vegetables and different types of meat. But which is superior?
Now, in saying this I may be disowned by my friends from Chicago but personally, I do not like Chicago style pizza. Allow me to enlighten you. It’s simply too much. I just don’t need two to three inches of crust stuffed with cheese, meat and sauce. My stomach just can’t handle that and I’m not ashamed of that.
Deep dish is messy and overwhelming and doesn’t have the same satisfying crunch as the thinner crust of New York style. Pizza shouldn’t be something I need to sit down with a fork and knife to eat. It shares more similarities with lasagna than a regular pizza, which we can’t keep turning a blind eye to.
New York style pizza, however, is practically perfect. The beautiful 18” diameter pie is cut up into triangular slices. You can eat it on the go. Picture this, you’re walking down the streets of Manhattan hungry, and alone. And then you see it, “$0.99 fresh pizza.” You’re overjoyed, relieved and finally at peace. It’s not just a pizza, it’s a dream.
While New York pizza is the best, we’re in Milwaukee. If you’re looking for the best pizza in Milwaukee look no further than Milwaukee Magazine’s pizza bracket. Here you can find the democratically chosen best pizza places in Milwaukee.
Ian’s Pizza is a great choice if you’re on a budget. You can even buy by the slice. You can try an assortment of different unique pizzas such as Mac n’ Cheese, their best seller, the Maui Wowie and Drunken Ravioli pizza. Personally, the spinach feta pesto looks delicious to me. Thank me later.
This story was written by Kirsten Lyons. She can be reached at [email protected].
