Original article by the New York Times
Pizza in America has never been better. The wood-fire Neapolitan pizzerias that took off in the early 2000s, and have been spreading ever since, taught Americans to ask more of a dish they already loved.
The ensuing craft pizza renaissance is a rare culinary convergence: born of metropolitan chef culture but not confined to big cities. There are great pizzerias virtually everywhere in the United States, from small New England towns to the Mississippi Delta to rural Iowa to Los Angeles to Alaska. And they’re being opened by chefs from an unusually wide array of backgrounds.
The result is a dish that has become a cooking style of its own, channeling a seemingly limitless number of cultures and ideas.
The following list is a road map to a uniquely American phenomenon — and evidence, perhaps, that the country is home to the world’s best pizza.
Post Office Pies
Post Office Pies came to greater Birmingham when John Hall determined that his best path out of Manhattan’s rat race, where he worked in some of the city’s most prestigious restaurants, was to bring craft pizza to his hometown. The Neapolitan pies are expertly made, often highlighting local produce; one draws on the partner Brandon Cain’s experience with Southern barbecue. Mr. Hall spends less time in Alabama since opening Restaurant Lola in Bremerton, Wash., an opportunity, he said, that would not have been possible had he not first gone into business for himself. “If we had investors, they never would have let me leave,” he said. “But we didn’t need help to make great pizza.”
Amar Pizza – Hamtramck, Michigan
Bird Pizzeria – Charlotte, North Carolina
Bungalow by Middle Brow – Chicago, Illinois
City House – Nashville, Tennessee
Hapa Pizza – Beaverton, Oregon
In Bocca al Lupo – Juneau, Alaska
Leña Pizza & Bagel – Cleveland, Mississippi
The Lincoln Winebar – Mount Vernon, Iowa
Little Donna’s – Baltimore, Maryland
Pizzeria Bianco – Phoenix, Arizona
Pizzeria Sei – Los Angeles, California
Post Office Pies – Mountain Brook, Alabama
Raza – Jersey City, New Jersey
Roberta’s – Brooklyn, New York
Rose Pizzeria – Berkeley, California
St. Pizza – New Orleans, Louisiana
San Lucas Pizzeria – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Scratch Brewing – Ava, Illinois
Short & Main – Gloucester, Massachusetts
The Tillerman – Bristol, Vermont
Yellow – Washington, D.C.
Young Joni – Minneapolis, Minnesota
