Best Pizza In The Country: 9 Illinois Joints Make National List

CHICAGO — Another year, another ranking confirming what we already know: The best pizza in the United States is served in Connecticut, New York City and — of course! — Chicago, but quality slices can be found in many other cities as well.

The Daily Meal released its list of the “101 Best Pizzas in America” at the end of September, and restaurants from 30 states made the ranking. The food blog considered nearly 1,000 pizzas and looked for such qualities as a nuanced sauce, well-distributed cheese, a flavorful crust and an overall balance of ingredients.

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The Daily Meal then reached out to a diverse list of pizza chefs, bloggers, critics and writers, and asked them to take a survey on the pizza shops where they actually had eaten.

At the end of the process, Illinois had nine pizza joints make the rankings. The food and dining website ranked Pequod's as the top spot in Illinois and No. 4 nationwide.

The Daily Meal cites "Chicago pizza legend" Burt Katz, the founder of Pequod's, as well as Burt's Place. "One bite of (Pequod's) deep-dish will give you great respect for the man. Known for its 'caramelized crust,' Pequod’s pies earn points for their chewy, quasi-burnt cheese crust that forms the outer edge of this cheesy casserole, adding a welcome degree of texture that probably wouldn’t be necessary if it weren’t nearly an inch thick." The original Pequod's opened in Morton Grove in 1971.

Here's the complete list of Illinois winners.

• No. 4: Pequod's Pizza, 2207 N. Clybourn Ave., Chicago and 8520 Fernald Ave., Morton Grove
• No. 9: Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, multiple locations in Chicago, the suburbs and even other states — "a true Chicago institution."
• No. 21: Piece Brewery and Pizzeria, 1927 W. North Ave. — offers "thin, New Haven-style, counter-stretched pies" plus local brews.
• No. 27: Burt's Place, 8541 Ferris Ave., Morton Grove — another gift to pizza lovers from Burt Katz: "The years have been kind to his legacy at his former spots, but his success has been enshrined at Burt’s Place, which launched in 1989. Burt’s is a more restrained Chicago deep dish — a thinner base, a sensible use of cheese and sauce and that iconic Katz caramelized crust."
• No. 40: CoalFire Pizza, 1321 W. Grand Ave. and 3707 N. Southport Ave., Chicago — dubs itself "Chicago's original coal oven pizzeria."
• No. 48: Vito & Nick's, 8433 S. Pulaski, Chicago — "serving cracker-thin crust pizza since the 1950s" and dubbed the "standard-bearer for thin-crust pies in Chicago."
• No. 67: Pizano's, — six locations in the Loop, McCormick Plaze, on State Street, on Dearborn Street and in Glenview and Milwaukee — another local hit launched by a member of the Malnati family, in this case, Rudy Malnati Jr. (brother of Lou), Pizano's is "known for serving equally good thin and deep-dish pizzas."
• No. 68: Pizzeria Bebu, 1521 N. Fremont St., Chicago —"Bebu doesn’t channel Midwestern tavern-style thin crust. Its 14-inch pies are darker, crackle-crunchy rimmed affairs with a wide range of toppings and a more New York-meets-Neapolitan look."
• No. 79: Bonci, with two Chicago locations (1566 N. Damen Ave. and 61 N. Sangamon St.) as well as Rome and New Orleans — this Roman-style pizza place is a "must-visit," offering "balloon-light crusts that are contrasted by ultra-crispy edges and covered in a myriad of inventive and fresh toppings both beautiful and delicious."

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Connecticut was named the best pizza joint in the nation for the third year in a row.

Connecticut might have had the No. 1 pizza, but New York led the way overall with 28 pizza places on the Daily Meal list. New York was followed by Illinois with nine, California with seven, and Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey all with six.

Here are the top 10 overall pizzas in America:

10. John’s of Bleecker Street (New York, New York)
9. Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria (Chicago, Illinois)
8. Patsy’s (New York, New York)
7. Sally’s Apizza (New Haven, Connecticut)
6. Totonno’s (Brooklyn, NY)
5. Buddy’s Pizza (Detroit, Michigan)
4. Pequod’s (Chicago, Illinois)
3. Razza Pizza Artigianale (Jersey City, New Jersey)
2. Lucali (Brooklyn, New York)
1. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (New Haven, Connecticut)