Nathan Hutsenpiller
·4 min read
If there’s one thing true about pizza lovers, opinions are ripe amongst the loudest of them. A true pizza fan will have a lot to say about who makes the best pie, and depending on the fanatic you’re talking to, there might not be much room for debate. The fact is, pizza can keep its authentic Italian roots, but these days, the popular family meal is about as American as it gets.
In recent pizza related news, Yelp put out a list of Best Pizza Places in the Midwest, ranked from the top spot to 100. Rather than focusing on the tried and true methods followed by the hundreds of east coast pizzerias, Yelp took a stroll through the Heartland’s best and brightest, and the winner is likely to take you by surprise.
It would take us far too long to go over each and every one on the list, however, the top 10 has some pretty interesting picks. At number eight, Brittany’s Brick Oven Pizza of Madison, Indiana is a husband and wife-owned restaurant that serves up quirky pies using unique ingredients. Their popular Schnabel Wobble, is topped with shrimp, bacon, andouille sausage, onion, and étouffée sauce. “It’s shrimp ’n’ grits on a pizza," noted one ecstatic Yelp user. “It’s perfection.”
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Indiana also found itself in the second spot with Futuro out of Indianapolis. Futuro’s best-sellers are described by fans as “crowd-pleasing” and “amazing” with flavors that “work so well together.” The joint employs Detroit-style and Chicago tavern-style pizzas that use creative topping combinations such as bacon, basil and hot honey. Owners Luke Tobias and his wife Sarah St. Aubin transformed Tobias’s pizza hobby into a fully functioning pizza establishment during the uncertain months of the pandemic.
Chicago, Illinois took up both the third and fifth spots withPequod’s Pizzaand Milly’s Pizza in the Pan, respectively. Regularly referred to as the prime example of Chicago-style pizza, the pies at Pequod’s are legendary in their own right. The establishment ranked number one on Yelp Elites’ Top 100 Pizza Spots for 2024 list while not even being a traditional deep-dish pie.
Pequod’s fan-favorite pizzas sport a delicious caramelized cheese crust made by pressing layers of mozzarella between the dough and then baked until dark and bubbly. The pizza is described by manager Jay Esper as “almost a mixture of deep-dish and Detroit-style.” But don’t skip out on Pequod’s sausage, which features a spicy kick and is made in house using a secret recipe.
And finally the top pizza joint in the Midwest according to Yelp isLoui’s Pizza of Hazel Park, Michigan. This family-owned establishment has made it their bread and butter to serve up high caliber Detroit-style pizza for nearly 50 years. Louis Tourtois opened the shop in 1977 after developing his skills at many other local pizzerias during his lifetime. Tourtois’s grandson, Nykolas Sulkiwskyj, now runs the operations, of which he started learning back when he was just 12 years old, stretching pizza dough during his summer vacations.
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“Now I’m building on my grandfather’s legacy,” Nykolas explains. “We still make pizzas just like he did, with caramelized cheese walls around the outside, [using] Wisconsin brick cheese, which has a high butterfat content.”
Yelpers refer to Loui’s Pizza as “hands down the best pizza in Detroit” and a “rich, cheesy” Motor City classic. Lawrence S. notes that “many places claim to have the best Detroit-style, [but don’t] even come close to Loui’s. Start with their antipasto salad and cheese bread…but you came here for the pizza, right? Well, it’s truly amazing. I take all my co-workers and clients here when possible, and every time they are blown away.
You can find the entire list of 100 pizzerias here, along with plenty of quotes, information and menu suggestions included. If you were planning an end of summer cross country road trip, this list will sure as heck come in handy. Just make sure to leave some space in your belly for dessert, or be prepared to have your backseat loaded with empty pizza boxes.
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