I really like pizza. I figure I've eaten an entire football field worth of pizza in my life. That's a lot of pizza.
When I'm at home I eat pizza, when I travel I like to eat pizza. A couple weeks ago I was up in Seattle and drove an hour out of my way just for a slice from one of my all-time favorite pizza joints.
It's so hard to rank the best pizzas I've ever had. There have been so many, and like many things... context matters. A $1 slice of backroom pizza is objectively not good pizza. But at 2 A.M. after stumbling out of The Brown Jug it seems like the tastiest pizza in the world. A slice of Giordano's deep dish after a long day walking around Chicago is hard to beat. Even eating a cold slice over the sink on the way out the door to work has it's time & place (specifically in the morning & over the sink).
I can objectively recall the worst pizza I've ever had. It was a ham pizza from a place called Habib's in Florianopolis, Brazil. The crust was floury cardboard, the sauce was the sauce from a can of spaghetti-o's, the ham was gross, and the cheese was a melted Munster-like cheese and Philadelphia cream cheese. It was atrocious. It was so bad, that I mentioned it in my post about going to Brazil. I was able to find a picture of it on their website.
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| I know this looks bad, but the actual pizza was much, much worse. |
So instead of trying to figure out the best pizza I've had, I present the top 5 pizza places by amount I've consumed over the past 30 years.
1 - Cottage Inn Pizza - Ann Arbor, MI
When I was in school there was a Cottage Inn Pizza two blocks away. They had a $5.99 large carry-out special that would be $6.35 after taxes. I probably ordered 200 large pepperoni pizzas from Cottage Inn over the course of three years. Factor in the CIAYCELBs (Cottage-Inn-All-You-Can-Eat-
2 - Woodstock's Pizza - San Diego, CA
When we decided to buy a house in San Diego my now-wife got really excited that there was a Woodstock's Pizza nearby. I was unfamiliar with the pizza chain that exists in several university towns in California. My wife grew up eating at the one near UC Davis, and now we routinely frequent the one nearby our house that serves SDSU. Woodstock's makes a great pizza, but it's their specialty pies that really put them over the top. The only downside is that it's a bit pricy, but it's well worth it for the best pizza within city limits.
3 - Central Market Pizza - Poulsbo, WA
Central Market is a grocery store that I used to live by. They have a take-out pizza operation. Their pizza is the best pizza on this list. I long for Central Market Pizza. Their crust is downright perfect. If you're ever in Poulsbo, make a stop at central market for a slice of the Central Market Swiss and the Buffalo Chicken.
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| Zola is seen here enjoying a CIAYCELB with me in June 2013 |
4 - Costco Pizza - Nationwide
Not the best pizza, but everywhere I've been we've had Costco Pizza. There was a Costco a few miles from my high school and we used to go there often as seniors when we had open lunch. It's hard to beat the blend of quality, quantity and value from Costco Pizza. Even now, I'll sometimes head to the Costco down the street from my office to grab a slice for lunch.
5 - Hungry Howie's - Detroit Metro Area
My mom liked Hungry Howie's because they would do flavored crusts. This would actually get us as kids to eat our crusts and they were decent, albeit slightly greasy pizzas. I have fond memories of those yellow boxes of hot above-average pizza.
Honorable Mentions:
Little Caesars (The Hot & Ready was a game changer in my development as a man)
Pizza Hut (Haven't been to one in years but in my younger days I could take down their lunch buffet with ease)
Totino's Pepperoni Pizza (not a pizza place, but I've housed plenty in high school & college)
If you have a pizza place you think I should try then mail me one of their pizzas and I will eat it.
