I've listened to a lot of you extoll the virtues of your pizza toppings, but not one of you has even touched the real "meat" of the pizza which is and always will be the ingredients used in the basic construct of the pizza. Some pizza crusts are better than others for reason that are very hard to enumerate since there are so many of them.

But, the best crust really depends on which type of pizza you are going to get. For all around eating, I prefer the "Sicilian" crust, which is almost more of a "bread" base, rather than the cracker style crusts that Dominos and Pizza Hut like.

The second most important piece of the pizza problem, is the pizza sauce. There are a lot of different schools of thought on how the sauce should be made, and put on the pizza.

Some subscribe to the idea that the sauce should not be cooked prior to being placed on the pizza, others that it is also useful as a pasta sauce. I prefer the raw sauce myself that cooks on the pizza when the oven is at the right proper "Vesuvius" temperature.

And the final piece of the pizza equation is the cheese that is used. I prefer slightly aged mozzarella cheese, nothing more, or less. Those of you who subscribe to the idea that a multicheese pizza is better are simply deluded. The BEST Pizza ever has nothing on it but sauce and cheese, and some of them don't have the sauce, just the cheese and perhaps some first rate Olive Oil infused with Garlic.

In all cases, I will put crushed red pepper on my pizza. That's just because I Love crushed red pepper.

OK, GO!

I like my crusts light, fluffy, almost like a mini-bread stick you can pop in some red sauce and chow down.

Raw Sauce goes on the pizza before it is cooked. I like it with a bit of zing, so crushed red pepper always goes on top of the sauce.

As for cheese, I use a thin layer of grated parmasean wedge (not the kraft stuff you get in a can), another thin layer of chedder, and then a heaping pile of mozzarella, the more the better.

Toppings, pepperoni, bacon. All that is needed.

Two ways to cook, 450 in the oven for about 10 minutes. Just enough to be bottom supportive with out being too flimsy. 2nd way is to grill it. Take the raw dough, shape it how you want, then toss it on a hot grill for about 5 min. Take it off, add sauce/toppings on the grilled side (nice and flat now) and then pop back on the grill until the cheese is a metly paradise.

I am a pizza Republican, and New York hates me for it.

I prefer the deep-dish Chicago style of pizza. It's smaller in diameter, but there's more substance to it. It's thick. More bang for your buck. It's absolutely delicious.

But here in New York, they have Big Pizza. It's large, round and THIN. It's like toast. It's flimsy and unsatisfying. Screw that. I'd rather have a smaller, more efficient pizza than a large, spread out one.

Much to the horror of my colleagues, I even prefer Domino's or Pizza Hut over New York pizza.

There, I said it. New York pizza is gross.

jesus christ marie, THATS A CASSEROLE

I was never a fan of New York Style pizza myself. They like eating their fluff offa crackers is all I can think about it.

Chicago deep dish is more of a Greek style, rather than an Italian style though.

I suppose the you would prefer eating your pizza like Josey and use a fork and a knife for it. :)

Chicago Deep Dish lends itself to that style of eating very well since there is so much oil on the crust from the pan.

Italian is done dry on the floor of the oven as a general rule.

Keep going, folks. Somebody is going to be able to hit the nail on the head eventually. :)

wonderbread, ketchup and bologne.

fluffing one percenters.

Must be a new Canadian Version I've not see before, eh? LOL

If I could get away without crust....I would. I hate crust. I eat the toppings and sauce.

Go Chicago-style or go home.

I prefer my pizza on a bread like, thick crust with seasoning in the crust. The pizza sauce should be pre-cooked. I like to take the pre-baked, homemade crust and top it with olive oil (brushed evenly), sauce, sausage [not "Italian" sausage (as available in the US)], sandwich slice pepperoni, sauce, diced onions, diced green bell pepper, and more sauce. I then top all of this with provolone cheese and sometimes grate a little parmesan cheese on top of that.

Also sometimes add red/yellow peppers (diced) and/or chicken (shredded/sliced).

I am a big fan of pizza sauce. A dry pizza, no matter the toppings, is just not appetizing.

My pizza ends up being quite thick and eaten with a fork, but it is delicious.

are all these threads part of some internet nerd inside joke?

All you non-Chicagoans realize that Chicago style deep dish pizza makes up a very small portion of the per capita consumption here, right?

Every time I talk to someone about pizza and they hear I'm from Chicago they almost always assume that our pizzerias serve nothing but deep dish (with rarely a mention about stuffed pizza, and yes, there is a BIG difference).

Pizza here in Japan just fluffs with my head. As I mentioned in the other thread, it's waaaaay overpriced. A medium is a US small(at chains like dominos), and costs like $15 for cheese, or $20+ for toppings. And that's for dominos, pizza hut and pizza-la(a Japanese chain).

There are a LOT of Italian restaurants where they serve great Napolitan style pizza, however. Pretty much what Cerb was describing above, but thin crust. Margherita pizzas everywhere. Not bad at all, but doesn't really sing to me like super cheesy and oily American style pizzas.

Deep dish pizza is almost non-existent. I HAVE found a few specialty places that serve it, and it's quite good, but just not the same. And while it is expensive, it is comparable to the chain shops...so obviously worth it.

Personally, I'm a pepperoni guy. Any mix of cheese is fine with me. Cheese in the crust is great! Or at the very least, a seasoned and fluffy crust. Deep dish is amazing as well, with the crisp crust due to the oil is lovely. I even like New York style! As long as it's got cheese and pepperoni, I'm all for it.

Speaking of Japanese pizza, while they copy the style of other countries, the toppings are wholly original.
http://en.rocketnews24.com/...-crazy-pizzas-from-japan/

These are legit pizzas I could order right now. Things like potatoes, mayo, tuna and corn don't belong on a pizza. Whole fluffing clams in the shells....wtf are they thinking? And the worst part? THEY THINK THESE ARE AMERICAN FLAVORS!

Honestly, I think of stuffed pizza when I think of Chicago style because a Northwest take and bake place served that as their 'Chicago Style'. Papa Murphy's is great :D

The best thing to eat is not always a pizza. There is a restaurant in Lester, PA called Romano's. They make an Italian baked sandwich called a "Stromboli". It was the original Stromboli. There are a lot of knock offs, but this is actually the best sandwich I have ever had to eat. The secret is that the dough they use to make it is actually an Italian Bread dough, not a pizza dough.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit South East Pennsylvania and don't stop at this place to try this sandwich, you will be forever deprived of one of the greatest treats mankind has ever come up with.

Guess i am strange... i like thin crust... crispy. even worse... my daughter is eight and has never liked pizza. Every friday at school is bring your lunch. She hates tomato sauce, cheese too.

You done fluffed up with that one.

I like my pizza crust with a bit of substance. I tend to like wood-fired pizzas. I like my sauce heated briefly, just enough to aid in releasing the oils from the herbs. Raw will work but it has to be made up several days ahead of time. As for cheese mozzarella is best in light quantities.