Its New York verses Chicago in the battle for the best pizza!

Some of the best New York Style pizza can be had at Knockout Pizza in Mira Mesa in San Diego, it’s quick, tasty and has some imaginative toppings and most will agree- when out for a quick lunch- there are few things that hit the spot like a nice hot slice of cheesy pizza.  So when you argue about the pizza that people like and love and are super loyal to- you’re starting a war!

“I like New York style pizza”, you say, “I like being able to fold my pizza into a little hat.  It’s better flat and foldy”, you say.

New York pizza has a place of honor as the nation’s favorite- according to New Yorkers… and what do we know and like about New Yorkers…? Any one?  I’ve been a New Yorker I’ve lived among them as one of them.  It’s like another world there.  You have New Yorkers and then you have Americans.  They like their streets crowded, their strangers rude and their food collapsible.  The New York lifestyle is as busy and dense as they are themselves. And the food has evolved in much the same way. It has to be many things- it has to be cheap, filling and you have to be able to eat it with one hand without making a mess while trying not to fall over on the subway. While food in New York has its greats, carnival treats on Coney Island, haute cuisine in restaurants with a 3 month wait list and the umber rich customers that get the VIP jerk treatment.  The pizza has evolved here like a bug in an isolated cave- because it had to change in order to adapt and survive.  This is utilitarian pizza, where ingredients are combined not for the taste but because they won’t fall off.  Do I blame the pizza?  No! I blame the way it’s being treated.  I blame the disregard for the sanctity of the food.  New Yorkers have adapted their food to suit their lifestyles.  Chicagoans have changed their lifestyles to accommodate the sit-down fork, knife, and multiple napkin demands of the pizza.  They slow down and sit and relax, something New Yorkers seem to be unwilling or incapable of doing.  The food in Chicago has taken over and assumed dominance over the day – not the other way around.  The food will not be folded up and told what to do, you try to fold that pizza you’re gonna be wearing it.  In Chicago, the food is important, it will not be rushed, that’s why you can put the runniest, leakiest, most staining ingredient, the tomato sauce, right on top, because it is safe there.  It will be spilled or smeared or shown the disrespect that one shows a slice of New York style.  There’s a reason you don’t respect it.

Lefties has been serving real serious, sit down style deep dish pizza pie for ten years and has never deviated or changed the recipe, which is impressive for a California restaurant, where everything is always a fad or experiment.  Good food never goes out of style, and the classics must be honored.  This is a classic, in the true sense of the word- it passes the test of time, it remains unchanged, it becomes more beloved.

You feeling craftsy?  You wanna fold things and make little origami tub toys? Get some paper. You don’t fold your pizza.  You’re not making swans with it, Martha Stewart.  You wanna have a meal, get real pizza and get serious.  Are you kidding me New York?  I know you’re in a hurry, but folding pizza?  You do realize it changes the flavor because now there’s a double up on the crust, which may not even be any good, and then, no matter what, the first thing you taste is the crust.  You’ve made a cheese and tomato Panini sandwich.  Congratulations.

Folks, we have a clear winner in the battle between New York Style and Chicago style- we have a fantastic real meal of a pizza versus arts and crafts.  Congratulations Chicago! You win the Food Fight Plaque and the Challenge!  Sorry New York, better luck with the next thing- maybe you could start folding up those pizzas into little airplanes so they’ll be easier for me to toss..