Writer Round-up: The best pizza you ever ate

By Jennie

Do YOU watch The Best Thing I Ever Ate? Well, you should, that's for sure. Today, we're letting that show inspire our writer round-up while we poll our writers with the question: what's the best pizza you ever ate?

(Also, bookmark this post for future travel plans!)

1. Yia Yia's Pizza and Beer in Lincoln, Nebraska. "I still dream about their pizza to this day and I had to get one to go the day we moved away, that's how much I loved it." -- Elizabeth.

2. The pear and Gorgonzola pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. "Caramelized pears, Gorgonzola, Fontina and Mozzarella cheeses, caramelized sweet onions and chopped hazelnuts. Topped with field greens tossed in Gorgonzola ranch dressing." -- Raven (whose mouth is watering? just mine?)

3. Zelda's pizza in Sacramento, Calif. "The waitresses are grumpy and it takes forever, but the deep-dish pizza is out of this world---I've never had anything better, even in Chicago." -- Amy

 

4. Hideaway Pizza in Tulsa, Okla. "Their Chicken Florentine is divine." -- Elisabeth

5. Zachary's in Berkeley, Calif. "The first meal I ever had when I moved to Berkeley was Zachary's stuffed chicken pizza (that's deep dish, yo), and it's still way up there on our list of places to take visitors to the Bay Area." -- Leah

 

6. Mellow Mushroom in Auburn, Ala. -- Emily

7. Crossroads Hotel in Hellertown, Penn. "Super-crunchy crust, plain-ish tomato sauce and a proprietary cheese blend that I've never tasted anywhere else." -- Jonna

8. Gino's East. "I'm a huge fan of thin crust, as far as Im concerned, its just the vehicle to get the cheese to my pie hole; one bite of this and I never wanted to eat any other kind of pizza again! Super thin crust, inches thick cheese and so much sauce you didnt need any extra for dipping." -- Christina 

 

9. Home Slice Pizza in Austin, Texas. "It's traditional New York style pizza, but they offer so many toppings I can't even begin to name them all. There's everything from broccoli to chopped clams, which sound horrible but are strangely delicious." -- Natalie

10. Plain cheese pizza from Pagliacci in Seattle. -- Maggie

11. John's Pizza in New York City. "Great brick oven pizza with perfectly cooked thin crust." -- Maura

12. Rusty's Pizza Parlor in Bakersfield, Calif. "Their pizza is the bomb (the perfect amount of cheese all melted and crispy-like on the crust), plus they have potato wedges with ranch dressing!" -- Sarah

13. Papa Del's Pizza in Champaign, Ill. "I crave this place in my old college town called Papa Del's. You could call in and order your pie ahead of time .... good idea because it took about an hour to be ready!" -- Manda

14. Pizza a'fetta in Cannon Beach, Ore. "Everything is made frsh, and you can buy a slice as big as your head. They're also nationally ranked for their yum factor." -- Kerri Anne

15. Papa John's. "Give me a no cheese, extra sauce, extra veggie pizza on thick crust and I'm a happy girl. But I can't even think of any pizza I love more than Papa John's pizza." -- Kristie

16. Bottom's Up Pizza in Richmond, Va. "You wait hours for a table on the weekends, but it is so worth it. The barbecue chicken pizza is divine (homemade BBQ sauce, sweet onions and fresh chicken topped with cheddar), but for something amazingly different, try the Chesapeake (fresh crab-meat and sweet onions seasoned with Old Bay)." -- Katie

*****

Tell us, what's the best pizza you ever ate?

Comments

[Katy]

Gadwall's pizza in North Little Rock, Arkansas is some of the best pizza I've ever eaten. Paper thin crust, perfect amount of cheese--you want to stop eating it, but you can't.

Similarly, Tower of Pizza in Metairie, LA is really incredible. Ditto on their Italian salad.

[heidi]

Pie in the Sky in Stowe, Vermont.

[Natalie (The Sweets Life)]

http://www.restaurantpi.com/ this place is famous is STL, esp thanks to Obama who claims this is his favorite! It really is excellent...I'm hungry just thinking about it!

[Kristabella]

Zachary's in Bizerkeley is the only pizza I've ever tried that can touch real, honest to goodness Chicago-style pizza. Although, not with chicken.

My favorite is Gino's East, for Chicago-style.

[MrsBagley]

Campisi's in Dallas (several locations, including Frisco). Not only do they have outstanding pizza, but the rest of the menu is equally as good. If you haven't been to the "original", Campisi's Egyptian Lounge and felt like you might be in a scene from The Godfather, you haven't lived!!

http://campisis.us/

[Jess]

The best pizza I've ever had is at a restaurant in Kaiserslautern, Germany, called Firenze. It's owned by an Italian guy who's lived in Germany for years, and the pizza is authentic and indescribably delicious.

[the Grumbles]

Pizza eating has been ruined for me! My husband was the manager at a local wood-fired pizza place for a few years. There's NOTHING that can compare to having your pizza custom made just to your tastes.

Lemon shrimp and asparagus! Figs and prosciutto with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes! *swoon!*

Imagine the crust and sauce applied exactly the way you like it. Now pizza doesn't taste as good anywhere else. And he doesn't work there anymore so it will forever be an unfulfilled craving.

(But don't get me wrong, I still eat it everywhere I go. Not-as-good pizza is still... pizza. And pizza is awesome.)

[Heather]

Carbones Pizza in St. Paul, Minnesota. http://www.carbonesonrandolph.com/

Old school, greasy, cheesy goodness. Need I say more?

[Jen]

My favorite pizza is Alaskan-style (I'm not even sure what means, exactly, I think because some of topping options include caribou sausage?) pizza from The Klondike Cafe in my hometown of Arroyo Grande, CA. It's one of those dark, basement parlors, with peanut shells on the floor and old-school pinball machines in the back, and everyone always went there after softball games and for kids' birthday parties, and the pizza is just AWESOME. I'm headed home for a long weekend in a couple weeks, and I think I need to make a stop there for a fix. YUM.

[Sensibly Sassy]

The best pizza I ever ate was at a truck stop in Italy on the way into Florence. It was a simple margherita pizza but all of the ingredients were so rich with flavor I swear my heart skipped a beat.

[Someone Being Me]

Did you ever eat at Mr. G's in Bryan or College Station when you went to A&M? It is pretty freaking good and Mr. G is a character.

[Arina]

2 Amy's in Washington, DC. Hands down. I haven't lived there for years, but they're still my standard for Margherita Pizza. My mouth is watering... http://www.2amyspizza.com/

[Laurie]

I have to second Elizabeth's comment about Yia Yia's in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is TO DIE FOR!

[Elsha]

I have a hard time picking a favorite, but if you're in Colorado, Beau Jo's is worth a stop.

[Mandee]

I have to second Arina on 2 Amy's. Love their mozzarella, prosciutto and arugula pizza. The first place I ever had that pizza was at Otto in NYC. I took one bite and told my sister, "this is the best food I've ever put in my mouth."

But I think a recent find right here in Atlanta trumps them both - Antico Pizza Napoletana. Y'all, this place is haunting my dreams. So incredibly good.

[HollyLynne]

Mulberry St. Pizzaria in LA has one with pesto, ricotta and sundried tomatoes that is TO DIE FOR.

[Carrisa]

The Bacon Cheeseburger pizza from Joe Momma's in Tulsa, Ok.

Mustard, hamburger, bacon, cheddar and mozzarella, onion, tomatoes, and pickles. It's so amazing.

[Kate]

I don't know if "best" is the right word, but "most insanely delicious thing that you've ever eaten at 2am when the bars close in College Station, TX" would have to be Antonio's Pizza. Cheap, huge slices, and they have awesome toppings like roasted potato and cheddar (my favorite!). I miss that place.

[Jill~luckyduck21]

My hands down favorite is Gino's East. Zachary's is my runner up.

[deanna]

Mellow Mushroom is my favorite too. They aren't just in Auburn anymore-though I hate to admit that might be the best one. You can find them throughout Alabama and a few other places as well. Yum, now I'm wanting to go this weekend!

[Mofo43]

BooHoo This breaks my heart!! I love pizza and have a gluten allergy. My pre-gluten favorite was from a little place in North Wildwood, NJ called Dolce Italia. My gluten free favorite is Jules Thin Crust. It tastes like real dough.

[Kate]

Hnds down, the white cheese pizza with fried sage leaves at Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles. I still dream about that pizza and would hop a cross-country flight for it. Better than anything I tried in Italy, for reals.

[Amy]

Apart in Chicago. Once I realized we were moving I ordered it 3 times a week for lunch for myself. New Haven pizza is good and famous too, my fave being Modern.