America's Best Pizza? Says Who? Here's Your Chance To Set The Record Straight, Or Forever Hold Your, Er, Slice
UPDATE: The private voting by our panel has concluded. While we've seen some terrific voting by American pizza lovers, we'd love to hear some more opinions before closing the public survey. So we'll be keeping the survey open until noon, Friday August 14. Until then, vote away!
If you love pizza, like me, you've been on a quest for the perfect slice since the moment you took a bite from your first one. It's an unending search, but one we document every year at The Daily Meal by publishing a rigorously researched list of the 101 Best Pizzas in the country at that moment. It's no easy task, but it's a fun one, and given Americans' devotion to making, eating, and debating this beloved food, it's also a privilege. As we set out once again on our annual search for the 101 Best Pizzas in America, for the first time, we're reaching out to every pizza lover in the country to weigh in with their picks. That's right: We want you to vote.
To be clear, we'll still be publishing our annual best-of list within the next few months, partially based on the same methodology we established in 2012: input from a panel of esteemed pizza experts. But this year, we'll factor your votes into our coverage as well.
How does voting work? Be warned: You must be pizza obsessed. Check out the link to the survey included below. You'll find a list of almost 750 pizzerias across America that we compiled over four years of research conducted personally by our editors, contributors, and other trusted pizza-loving friends, and supplemented by combing through reports of heralded pizzerias by respected critics, writers, websites, magazines, TV shows, and bloggers across America. Vote only on pizzerias you've been to, and vote for the number indicated in each geographical region.
Who have we noted in the past as America's best pizza? For two years, the honor has gone to New Haven's Frank Pepe, with Di Fara (Brooklyn), Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix), and Una Pizza Napoletana (San Francisco) close behind. But who knows? Maybe that will change![pullquote:right]
Like you, we love tradition, but we're also open to constructive criticism (at least a little). So while, without bragging too much, we think it's hard to believe anyone has curated a more contemporary and thorough list of the best pizzas for consideration, we're still open to the question we'd ask if we were reading this article elsewhere: "Did they miss any spots?"
The answer (this from someone who ate 43 of last year's 101 pies) is "probably." Whatever your opinion on the Neapolitan craze, whether New York City tap water factors into its delicious pies, or how much anyone should take anything from Chicago seriously, whichever pizza you proselytize, one thing we all must agree upon is that there's too much great pizza in America for anyone to do this alone. Which is why, in addition to asking you to vote, we're hoping you'll write in any spots you think we missed. And if you think you have the bona fides to be on our expert panel, there's a section to tell us why. You may be invited on as an expert.
We just ask that you vote with roof-of-your-mouth-scalding honesty, and that you do so before noon on Friday, August 14, when the survey will close.
Tell your friends. Tell the pizzerias. Spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, or with big clouds of smoke created by waving 12-inch wide rounds of stretched-out dough.
So here's to a perfect crust, a tangy sauce, the appropriate amount of cheese, and toppings done right. What's your take on the 101 Best Pizzas, America? Time to pizza up.
VOTE: 101 Best Pizzas in America for 2015
The original survey closure deadline of midnight Thursday, July 9 was extended to Friday, August 14 on July 15.