Best Pizza Places in the U.S

By Food & Wine

Top chefs and fabled bakers are among the new breed of pizzaiolo who are just as fanatic over the temperature of their ovens to how nearby their ingredients come from. They're elevating pizza around the country from greasy pies in cardboard boxes to inspired creations with crackly, charred crusts topped with house-made cheese and charcuterie. Here, Food & Wine presents the Best Pizza Places in the U.S.



New York City: Co.

Signature Item: Popeye (with pecorino, Gruyère, mozzarella, spinach, black pepper and garlic).
Sullivan Street Bakery founder Jim Lahey is one of the country's elite bakers, so it makes sense that people can't stop talking about his chewy, crisp, ever-so-slightly tangy pie crusts. Lahey's newest project: He developed the menu for Crust, a soon-to-open Neapolitan-style pie spot at LaGuardia Airport. Photo © Squire Fox.



Boston: Santarpio's Pizza

Signature Item: Homemade Sausage Pie.
This super traditional pizzeria, with wood paneled walls covered with pictures of famous athletes, has been around for more than a century. Photo © Amy Swan.



Los Angeles: Pizzeria Mozza

Signature Item: Squash blossoms, tomato and burrata.
Powerhouse team Mario Batali, Joseph Bastianich and Nancy Silverton combine the best California ingredients (squash blossoms and trumpet mushrooms) with Italian tradition (big wood-burning ovens and house-made mozzarella) to form some of L.A.'s best pies. Photo © Larry Sales.



San Francisco: Flour + Water

Signature Item: Margherita (with tomato sauce, Fior di Latte and extra-virgin olive oil).
The puffy, charred cornicione (end crust) is the result of just two minutes in the 800-degree wood-burning oven imported from Italy. Photo © Lesley Kao.



Providence, RI: Al Forno

Signature Item: Grilled Pizza Margarita (with house-made pomodoro, fresh herbs, two cheeses and extra virgin olive oil).
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. Photo courtesy of Al Forno Restaurant.



Brooklyn, NY: Di Fara

Signature Item: Plain pie.
72-year-old owner Domenico DeMarco makes all the pies at this Brooklyn pizza mecca, so they come out with the perfect balance of tomato sauce (made fresh daily), mozzarella and Grana Padano cheeses. A Di Fara spin-off called Tagliare opened in LaGuardia Airport in the fall of 2010. Photo © Shane Mitchell.



New Haven, CT: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana

Signature Item: White Clam pizza.
This longstanding classic, considered ground zero for New Haven-style "apizza," was started by Frank Pepe in 1925, and is now run by his grandchildren. The Original Tomato Pie (without mozzarella) is still on the menu. Photo © Doug Schneider Photography.

Click Here for More of the Best Pizza Places in the U.S.

More from Food & Wine:
50 Best Bars in America
America's Best Burgers
Best Fried Chicken in the U.S.
Best Grilled Cheese in the U.S.
America's Best Ice Cream Spots