See the latest pizza trends at the international expo in Las Vegas
USA TODAY’s James Powel was at the International Pizza Expo to get a slice of the latest trends in the pizza industry.
Think of pizza. Pretty simple exercise, right? But while we all imagine some form of crust, sauce and cheese at that prompt, depending on where you grew up, the exact image of that food might be wildly different from the next person.
“Pizza” contains multitudes. It encompasses both the soft, artisan Neapolitan pie and cheese and the saucy gut bomb that is Chicago deep dish. It includes the bare-bones strips of tomato and bread in Rhode Island as well as the billowy, braided-crusted mountain pies in the Rockies.
The best pizza makers in the world convened at the Las Vegas Convention Center the last week in March to put forth their best pies across a range of styles, including Neapolitan, traditional and non-dairy at The International Pizza Expo. The winners of the divisions competed in a final challenge on March 26 to determine the Pizza Maker of the Year. See who won.
There’s no perfect style of pizza that bests the rest. You can construct one in many ways and add a variety of toppings and flourishes, from cheese-crisped edges to no crust at all. To sort it all out, here’s a glossary of some major regional pizza styles in the U.S.
Neapolitan
A thin-crust pie is cooked quickly in a wood oven for bubbly, charred crusts and soft centers. It was created in Naples, Italy, in the 1800s as way to provide a cheap, quick meal, but is now often a premium style pie in the U.S.
Try it: San Giorgio Pizzeria Napoletana, 838 N. King Drive; sangiorgiopizza.com
New York-style
A classic circular pie with a thin, crispy crust, tomato sauce and melted mozzarella. Its large slices are foldable, and the sturdy base of the pie can handle a variety of toppings and sauce variations.
Try it: Classic Slice, 2797 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.; classicslice.com
Sicilian
A rectangular pie cooked in a pan with a thick, spongy crust and rich tomato sauce topping. Cheese is optional, though most American pizzerias include it, and its sturdy bread base can support a host of toppings
Try it: Peter Sciortino Bakery, 1101 E. Brady St.; petersciortinosbakery.com
Detroit-style
A deep-dish rectangular pie with an airy, focaccia-like and crispy crust with a characteristic rim of baked cheese edges. It’s constructed in a rectangular or square pan in an upside-down manner: cheese first (often Wisconsin brick), then toppings then sauce.
Try it: Lisa’s Pizza, 2961 N. Oklahoma Ave.; lisaspizzamke.com
Chicago deep dish
A buttery, pastry-like crust holds in layers of mozzarella, sauce and toppings. Invented by pizzeria Uno in 1943, the deep-dish pie recipe called for baking the pizza in a pie or cake tin, leading to its tall, thick, pie-like crusts.
Try it: While Chicago-based chains like Rosati’s and Lou Malnati’s have Milwaukee-area locations, head up to Chuck’s Place at 406 N. Main St. in Thiensville for authentic and locally made Chicago-style deep dish pie. chucksplacefamilyrestaurant.com
Milwaukee-style
A close cousin to classic tavern-style pizza (some may call it Chicago-style tavern pizza, but we never would), Milwaukee-style pizza is known for its ultra-thin cracker crust. Toppings (sausage, mushroom and onion are the Milwaukee go-to’s) are spread nearly to the edges, and the pie is cut in squares.
Try it: You can find cracker-thin crust at most Milwaukee pizzerias, but for my money, you can’t beat Zaffiro’s Pizza, open since 1954 at 1724 N. Farwell Ave. zaffirospizza.com
Other regional styles
Rhode Island-style is the bare-bones classic: a thick rectangular pie often cut into strips with plentiful tomato sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan.
There’s the Colorado mountain pie, which features an oversize braided crust often topped with honey table-side, and the Quad Cities pizza of Iowa features a malt and molasses crust topped with a spicy sauce and, often, sausage.
With a rectangular Ohio Valley pizza, cold cheese is added to the pie only after it’s baked. California-style pizza is a thin-crust pie marked by its inclusion of nontraditional ingredients like goat cheese, avocado and smoked salmon.
Dining and Cooking