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We pick the Top 10 pizza places in the USA. Been to any?

Thin crust, fried Montanara, cheesy Capricciosa or traditional Margherita. We pick the top 10 pizza places in the USA. Got a favourite? 

Thin crust, fried Montanara, cheesy Capricciosa or traditional Margherita. We pick the top 10 pizza places in the USA. Got a favourite? 

1. Philadelphia: Pizzeria Vetri

Pizzeria Vetri

At this pizza spot by Marc Vetri, one of the country’s best Italian chefs, the Neapolitan pies come with thick, chewy crusts and toppings like prosciutto crudo and roasted fennel. The rotolo, not to be missed, are pink, fatty slices of house-made mortadella and ricotta wrapped in pizza dough, topped with Sicilian pistachio pesto.

 

2. Oakland, CA: A16 Rockridge

Oakland, CA A16Rockridge

Chef Rocky Maselli runs the kitchen here as well as at the A16 flagship in San Francisco. What separates the Oakland spot from the original is the massive Stefano Ferrara wood-burning oven—which cook pizzas in 90 seconds—and a few different pies such as the Montanara Rockridge (lightly fried pizza dough topped with smoky tomato sauce, burrata and basil).

 

3. Santa Monica, CA: Milo & Olive

Santa Monica, CA Milo & Olive

Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan’s burgeoning food empire includes this bakery cum pizzeria featuring Nathan’s excellent breads and whole–grain pie dough, which are topped with seasonal—and often unconventional—combinations like braised bacon with peach, Fontina and thyme.

 

4. Somerville, MA: A4 Pizza

Somerville, MA A4 Pizza

At Best New Chef 2000 Michael Leviton’s A4, the food menus are simply and clearly delineated into two categories: Pizza and Not Pizza. The stellar wood-fired pies of the former come with addictively charred, blistered sourdough crusts made with a 12-year-old starter.

 

5. Robbinsdale, MN: Pig Ate My Pizza

Robbinsdale, MN Pig Ate My Pizza

This pizza spot in a suburb just outside Minneapolis pulls off its funky, unorthodox pies with brio. Crusts include thin and deep-dish brioche, and toppings range from pulled pork shoulder to potato chips.

 

6. San Francisco: Del Popolo

San Francisco Del Popolo

Jon Darsky, a former pizzaiolo at San Francisco’s excellent Flour & Water, has repurposed a 20-foot shipping container to create his impressive mobile pizza restaurant. The setup includes a handmade wood-burning oven from Naples that’s protected with massive air bags during transit.

 

7. New York City and Buckhead, GA: Don Antonio by Starita

New York City and Buckhead, GA Don Antonio by Starita

Roberto Caporuscio, of New York’s Kesté, has partnered with his mentor, Antonio Starita, a third-generation Italian pizzaiolo. Their midtown pizzeria serves 50 different pies—including fried montanara.

 

8. New York City: Nicoletta

New York City Nicoletta

New York pizzerias love to tout their Italian bonafides, but chef Michael White’s new restaurant references a far less famous pizza destination: Wisconsin. White worked at Domenico’s in Beloit as a teenager and says the pies at Nicoletta resemble the crisp-crusted versions he ate there. “There’s no need to fold over the slice, like you do with floppy New York–style pizza,” says White. Even the mozzarella is from Wisconsin. “We’re all trying to capture those childhood tastes, right? I’m chasing the pizza of my youth.”

 

9. Providence, RI: Al Forno

Providence, RI Al Forno

In 1980, Johanne Killeen and George Germon launched a new era of ambitious cooking in Providence with their thin-crusted grilled pizzas topped with superfresh ingredients. Their signature margarita pizza is topped with house-made pomodoro, fresh herbs, two cheeses and extra virgin olive oil.

 

10. New York City: Forcella

New York City Forcella

Though it sounds like an abomination, montanara, or fried pizza, is a Neapolitan tradition. The dough is deep-fried, then topped and baked, adding a depth of flavor. In 2011, Giulio Adriani introduced New Yorkers to the delicacy at Brooklyn’s Forcella; he’s since opened a Manhattan location.

 Where in the world did you have your favourite pizza?