TripAdvisor: Best Pizza Parlors in the U.S.
With the thin-crust deliciousness of its pies, Juliana’s in Brooklyn was the favorite pizza place among TripAdvisor users. (Photo: TripAdvisor)
New York and Chicago have been locked in a rivalry for pizza supremacy for decades, and the travel site TripAdvisor looked to settle the matter by calculating millions of reviews to determine the favorite cities and restaurants for a slice.
And the results are … more or less deadlocked. While deep-dish-loving Chicago took the No. 1 spot as the favorite pizza city in the U.S., thin-crust-happy New York placed three pizza restaurants in the top 10, including the No. 1 choice, while the Windy City had none.
Who makes the best pizza of all? That honor goes to a relative newcomer: Juliana’s Pizza in Brooklyn, the creation of famed pizza entrepreneur Patsy Grimaldi, who opened it in 2012.
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder was the highest-rated Chicago pizza place, though it didn’t crack the top 10. (Photo: TripAdvisor)
TripAdvisor compiled the rankings by factoring the quantity and quality of pizza restaurant reviews, giving extra weight to reviews from the past year. Also, the ratio of pizza restaurant reviews to non-pizza ones was taken into account.
“Using time-tested techniques and premium ingredients, the top-10 U.S. pizzerias are successful as they always keep their eyes on the pies,” said Brooke Ferencsik, TripAdvisor’s director of communications. “These popular pizza joints toss up mouthwatering and sometimes unique takes on the American staple from apricot-sauced pies in Alaska to white clam creations in Connecticut.”
Here are the top-10 pizza restaurants, including a trademark dish for each:
1. Juliana’s Pizza, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Be sure to try: The classic Margherita, which comes from a brick-lined coal oven.
Related: Is This New York City’s Best Pizza?
2. Pizza Time of St. Augustine, St. Augustine, Fla.
Photo: TripAdvisor
Be sure to try: Grandma’s Sicilian Pizza, as well as the garlic knots.
3. Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria, Anchorage, Alaska
Photo: TripAdvisor
Be sure to try: The Amazing Apricot, topped with apricot sauce, cream cheese, carrots, and chicken.
4. Kesté, New York
Photo: TripAdvisor
Be sure to try: The Marinara, in either regular or gluten-free varieties. All the pies are made in a true-to-specifications Neapolitan oven.
Related: 10 Pizzeries in One Weekend: the Ultimate New York City Pizza Crawl
5. Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, San Francisco
Photo: TripAdvisor
Be sure to try: The famous Margherita, if you get there early: Tony’s makes only 73 of them a day, and they go fast. If you miss out, another heralded choice is the Cal Italia, with prosciutto, Asiago, mozzarella, Italian Gorgonzola, Croatian sweet fig preserve, Parmigiano, and no sauce.
6. Pizzeria Regina, Boston
Be sure to try: The Giambotta, a 3-pound pizza that includes pepperoni, Regina sausage, salami, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and mozzarella.
7. Antico Pizza Napoletana, Atlanta
Be sure to try: The San Gennaro, with salsiccia sausage, sweet red peppers, bufala mozzarella, and cipollini onions.
8. Bill’s Pizza, Palm Springs, Calif.
Be sure to try: Bill’s Favorite, with pesto and red sauce, pepperoni, salami, Sicilian sausage, onion, and tomato.
9. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, New Haven, Conn.
Photo: TripAdvisor
Be sure to try: The white clam pizza, a signature dish that includes fresh clams, grated cheese, garlic, olive oil, and oregano.
10. John’s Pizzeria-Bleecker St., New York
Be sure to try: The Margherita, an old-school thin-crust favorite made in a coal oven.
Yup, there were no Chicago pizzerias in the top 10, but if you’re wondering about the top-rated pizza joint there, it’s Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder in Lincoln Park.
Chicago fared better in the top-reviewed pizza cities, where it took first prize. Here are the top-10 cities, with top-rated choices for each:
1. Chicago
Where to go: Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria-River North, Giordano’s
2. New York
Where to go: Juliana’s Pizza, Kesté, John’s Pizzeria-Bleecker St.
3. New Haven, Conn.
Where to go: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, Modern Apizza, Bru Rm At BAR
4. Orlando
Where to go: Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, Via Napoli, Red Oven Pizza Bakery
5. San Francisco
Where to go: Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, Il Casaro Pizzeria and Mozzarella Bar, Za Pizza
6. Washington, D.C.
Where to go: We the Pizza, Matchbox Pizza, Pizzeria Paradiso
7. Las Vegas
Where to go: Project Pie, Pizza Rock, Secret Pizza
8. San Diego
Where to go: Basic, Buona Forchetta, Pizza Port Ocean Beach
9. Phoenix
Where to go: Pizzeria Bianco, Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana – Phoenix, The Parlor Pizzeria
10. Miami Beach
Where to go: Visa-O1 Extraordinary Pizza, Giotto Maestro della Pizza, Blocks Pizza Deli
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