Regional Pizza, How It's Done In America

Pizza is commonplace in menus around the world, being one of Italy's best exports. And while there are the staple menu regulars, everyone still has their favourite. In America they go one further and have regional variants of the savoury decorated dough-based dish - we took a look at who does what.

New York is unequivocally the epicentre for pizza in the United States, with the country's first licences pizzeria being NY's infamous Lombardi's which opened its doors in 1905. Some of the best associated slices in the Big Apple:

The 'New York Slice' - the quintessential NY street food. A thin crispy crust Margherita style pizza served up from gas ovens on the go.
The Brick Oven 'Neopolitan-style' - an evolution of the classic Naples-style pizza, made in coal-fired brick ovens cooked slower for longer - expect charred crust and simple toppings.

Philly and New Jersey - the tomato pie has developed somewhat of a cult following in this part of the mid-Atlantic, although the end result varies between the two regions. In Philly expect a bakery style pizza, a large rectangular pizza using a thick focaccia crust. In New Jersey it's more about thin crust and then an inverted topping, with cheese on first followed by a topping of tomato.

Over on our trendhub we've taken a look at other regional pizzas around the U.S. including Chicago, Detroit, California, Colorado and Rhode Island amongst others. Read the full report here.

One of New York's most celebrated pizzeria chefs, Matt Hyland the name behind Emmy Squared and Emily, has recently put a twist on the regional favourites in New York, bringing a feel of Rhode Island-style pizzas to the Big Apple. Read the news over on Eater here.