There’s no doubt that Chicago is a pizza city. But the suburbs aren’t far behind.
According to a new ranking from Yelp, 16 of the “Top 100 Pizza Spots in the Midwest” were in Illinois. And though the state tied with Michigan for the most represented state on the list, only five of Illinois’ pizza places were in Chicago. The others spanned the suburbs, from Westmont, to Cicero, to Naperville.
In fact, the highest ranking Illinois pizza spot on the list has a location in Chicago but started in suburban Morton Grove: Pequod’s.
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.
Chicago pizza joint Milly’s Pizza in the Pan, where “thick, fluffy Chicago pan-style pies sell out almost everyday,” landed at No. 5 on the ranking. But the top 10 was rounded out by another suburban spot: Westmont’s two-year-old Dough Daddy’s Pizza.
The full list of pizzerias that ranked from Illinois can be found below, with Chicago spots highlighted in bold:
3. Pequod’s Pizza — Chicago
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.