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PaperclipPerfector  17d ago (text post)   2909 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 14, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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New York pizza (by far the most popular US style I guess) and Neapolitan pizza are different, but not so much so that they’re wholly different dishes. For example, they use pretty much the same ingredients and are recognizably the same dish. Even in Italy Sicilian pizza is called ‘pizza [Siciliana]’ and is more different from Neapolitan pizza than New York pizza is.

I would say the most popular US style by far is mass market pizza chains, which is closest to NY style but isn't exactly the same. When I see NY style it's big, floppy slices which have maybe one or two toppings and you fold up to eat. I agree that's not super far off from Neapolitan pizza, but a Papa John's slice loaded down with toppings is a lot further away imo. And of course once you get to Detroit style or Chicago style (the best pizza style by far, don't @ me New Yorkers) it barely resembles the original any more.

NY style is crispy, while mass market Papa John’s / Pizza Hut are floppier, like the original Neapolitan (albeit with a heavier, thicker dough). Yes, you can add many weird toppings, but the Italians do that too (see their beloved “american” pizza with mini hot dogs and french fries on it, unironically a favorite of many Italians). Yes, you can get it with barbecue sauce as a base instead of marinara, but Italians have their own white pizzas that don’t have marinara either. Order a Pizza Hut pizza with tomato sauce and cheese for an Italian and they might call it (quite justifiably) a bad pizza, but it is pizza.

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