When it comes to pizza, Chicago and New York City usually come pie-to-pie in terms of topping lists. But a new ranking shows that Illinois’ biggest pizza rival may right here in the Midwest.
In a new list from Yelp, titled the “Top 100 Pizza Spots in the Midwest,” Illinois and Michigan tied for the most represented state in the ranking, which also spanned pizza shops in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
And though New York style pizza often gets a lot of attention, the ranking specifically called out the Midwest as the “birthplace of some of America’s most iconic and beloved types of pies.”
“The region has given us hearty Chicago deep-dish pizza and popular Detroit-style pan pizza (big, bold squares baked in steel pans with a cheesy, caramelized crust),” editors wrote. “Also trending this year: thin-crust Midwestern pies. Those include Chicago tavern-style pizza (cut into small squares or triangles called party or cocktail slices) as well as classic St. Louis pizza, featuring an even thinner, crispy unleavened crust topped with distinctive Provel cheese instead of mozzarella.”
According to the list, Illinois and Michigan each had 16 pizza shops represented. In Illinois, a handful of the pizza shops were in Chicago. In Michigan, the majority were in Detroit, or served Detroit-style pizza, the list said.
The No. 1 spot on the list belonged to Loui’s Pizza in Hazel Park, Michigan, which has been serving “superb Detroit-style pizza for almost 50 years,” editors wrote. The pizza joint that earned the No. 2 spot was Futuro in Indianapolis, which started at-home during the pandemic and serves both Detroit-style and Chicago tavern-style pizzas, the list said.
Illinois makes its first appearance at No. 3, with the beloved Pequod’s, which first started in Morton Grove.
The list goes on to say that the legendary pies are often hailed as “prime examples of Chicago’ style pizza,” with a crust described by Pequod’s manager Jay Esper as “almost a mixture of deep-dish and Detroit-style.”
“It’s unique because of the soft, fluffy middle combined with the crunchy crust and caramelized cheese edge,” Esper said.
Another popular Chicago pizza shop landed at No. 5 on the list: Milly’s Pizza in the Pan, where “thick, fluffy Chicago pan-style pies sell out almost everyday,” the ranking said.
To round out the top 10, a suburban pizza shop makes an appearance at No. 9: Westmont’s two-year-old Dough Daddy’s Pizza.
The full list of pizzerias that ranked from Illinois can be found below:
3. Pequod’s Pizza – Chicago and Morton Grove
5. Milly’s Pizza in the Pan — Chicago
9. Dough Daddy’s Pizza — Westmont
12. Zazas Pizzeria — Chicago
28. baked — Galesburg
30. Forno Rosso Pizzeria Napoletana — Chicago
32. Freddy’s Pizza — Cicero
33. Pomodoro E Mozzarella — St. Charles
40. Gianorio’s Pizza — Winfield
41. George’s Deep Dish — Chicago
54. DeSalvo’s Pizza — Evanston
58. Nature’s Best Cafe — Naperville
61. Sal’s Pizza Company — Algonquin
67. Pie Life Pizzeria — Glen Ellyn
70. Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria — Schaumburg
73. Elio Pizza on Fire – Addison
According to editors, the list was created after community managers evaluated businesses in Yelp’s “pizza” category with a large concentration of reviews. Spots were than ranked according to a number of factors, including total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning certain keywords and more. The full list from Yelp can be found here.