by
Debating who has the best deep dish pizza seems almost as touchy as discussing same-sex marriage, religious freedom or Iran's nuclear program.
Just defining the menu item sparks lectures about depth, dough and baking utensils.
Passions are stirred by Wednesday afternoon's summary of a Thrillist commentary by Nicole Rupersberg, who insistis Detroit has "the absolute superior, most exalted and sacred of all deep dishes." She dismisses Chicago versions as "an insult to all other deep dish pizzas in the world."
Here it is, Zach Rollins and others, by popular demand: Buddy's -- "Detroit's #1 square pizza since 1946."
Dozens of readers comment on social media and at our site, with more than a few objecting to the photo that represented the home team. "Why is this a picture of Little Caesars and not Buddy's Pizza?" asks Zach Rollins. (Answer: Because Thrillist's writer mentions it prominently.)
Others post a pizza primer. "Chicago is deep dish. Detroit is a square pan pizza. It's apples to oranges," Mark Fritz of Bloomfield Hills says on our Facebook page. "When did pan pizza become deep dish?" asks Detroit photographer Tony Barchock.
Most commenters take sides in the city vs. city bake-off and some tell their go-to pizza makers. We heard from a few Chicago partisans, including John C. Victor:
"There is no room to brag about Little Caesars over Giordano's. It's like comparing a 1990 Toyota Celica to a brand new Corvette."
This anecdote, one of our favorite reactions, is from Tim Brumbaugh of Grosse Pointe Park:
"When my wife and I lived in Chicago, we longed for Detroit pizza. In the four years we've been back, the words we've never uttered have been: 'I really could go for Chicago pizza.' "
Here's more from pizza partisans, displayed in two categories:
Motown vs. Chitown
- I got all the cooks into Jet's Pizza here in Chicago. -- Hyon Zavecz (moved from Troy)
- NY and Chi pizza can‘t hold a candle to Greek (Detroit) style. -- Freddy Gouthro
- I have always hated Chicago style pizza. It's like eating some bread sticks with a gallon of sauce dumped on it. – James E. Horton
- Chicago deep dish is what it is, cheese slop with a rusty ass crust. . . . Chitown thin wins. – Sean Matela, Detroit
- Even PizzaPapalis kicks the ass of their Chicago style. – Paul Chesney, Harrison Township
- The flavor [of Chicago pizza] is good but I have definitely needed water after too big of a bite! -- Tanya Lundberg, Northville
- Detroit is my hometown and I will always be partial to the original Buddy's in Hamtown. – Rich Lawrence
- Thick fluffy dough is not deep dish! I hate Chicago like any red-blooded Detroiter, but when did pan pizza become deep dish? – Tony Barchock
- I'm a diehard Brooklyn pizza lover (thin crust) but when I tried Buddy's and Nikki's Detroit square pizzas I almost converted. That Chicago stuff is a cake, not pizza. – Abe Kadushin, Ann Arbor
- As a Detroiter in Chicago, I can honestly say there is no room to brag about Little Caesars over Giordano's. It's like comparing a 1990 Toyota Celica to a brand new Corvette. I've never had a Chicago pizza that was “so dry you would choke while biting it." – John C. Victor
- Detroiter here. Chicago is deep dish. Detroit is a square pan pizza. It's apples to oranges. Both are good. I prefer Detroit style but Chicago is really good too. New York pizza is better than all of them! -- Matt Fritz, Bloomfield Hills
Favorite local pizza shop
- Vito's in Lincoln Park and Pizzapapolis the two best in the area! -- Ron Dombrowski, Dearborn Heights
- Loui's in Hazel Park. – David Brunea
- Buddy’s and Loui’s. – Jon William
- Paul’s Pizza in Southwest Detroit. – Danny Marr
- Loui's, Cloverleaf and the Original Buddy's are still the best of them all. -- John Nagridge
- Uncle Andy’s Berkley, under $10 and best sauce. – Michael J. Spencer
- Gino's East. – Matthew Krist
- Cloverleaf [Market in Southfield]. -- Eric Cortright
- PizzaPapalis. – Mike Robbins
- Buddy’s. -- Emma Dale
- Stosh's on Van Dyke in Centerline. Drive-thru pick-up! Great pizza!! Between 9 and10 Mile. – Robert Hutyra, Warren
- Original Buddy's Pizza on Conant [northwest Detroit]. -- Joseph Szewczyk, Detroit
- Detroit Style Pizza Co. [Roseville and Clinton Township]. -- Terry Magnatta ·
- Sweetwater Bar [downtown Detroit]. – Tom Katopodis
- Pizza Uno in Chicago and Buddy's in Detroit! – Jonathan McClinton, UM grad in London, UK
- The Home Run Inn makes the Best pizza in Chicago and is light years better then anything in Michigan. -- "Circa53," comment at our site
[The writer's personal vote: Primo's in Birmingham.]
And for the last words, here's a discussion-closer from Nick Przybyla of Dearborn Heights:
“Deep dish sucks. Don't matter what city you are in.”
