Pizza was brought to North America in the late 1800s by an influx of Italian immigrants — and the dish did not really grow in popularity until after World War II, according to the National Park Service and other sources.
Certain areas of the country have since put their own spin on the delicious food item.
With the sudden rise in popularity of Detroit-style pizza, here’s a look at some of the other lesser-known regional variations that might just be the next big pizza trend.
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This is not an exhaustive list, of course — just a tasty sampling.
1. South Shore Bar pizza
A pepper and onion South Shore Bar pizza is commonly found at bars in or near Boston. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Invented on the South Shore of Boston, South Shore Bar pizza differs from traditional pies in a few key ways.
The pies come in one size – 10″ – and are cooked in an extremely well-oiled pan, according to the website Everything South Shore Bar Pizza.
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The crust is essentially fried while it bakes, and the pies are sauced and then topped with “cheddar cheese and just about anything else you’d like to throw on it.”
Instead of the traditional pizza box, South Shore Bar Pizzas are sandwiched between two thick paper plates and put in a brown paper bag, said Everything South Shore Bar Pizza.
“The bars these pizzas come from usually have some sort of wood paneling on the inside, most haven’t updated since the ’70s,” it said.
2. Pizza strips
Pizza strips, also called bakery pizza, are served at room temperature and don’t feature melted cheese. (Matthew West/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
A Rhode Island creation, pizza strips were inspired by Sicilian-style pizza.
They’re also called party pizza, red strips, and bakery pizza.
There’s no melted cheese pulls to be had on pizza strips – the sauce is the main star of the show, and the strips are served at room temperature.
“It’s a much simpler celebration of the most overlooked element of a pizza – the sauce,” said the Providence Journal.
3. New Haven Apizza
New Haven-style apizza does not come with mozzarella as a standard topping and is “charred” in a coal oven. (Rana Düzyol for the Washington Post)
Not a typo – New Haven-style pizza is called apizza.
This is a callback to the dialect of Italian that is spoken in Naples, said the website Eater.
New Haven-style apizza is intentionally left a tad long in an oven (traditionally a coal-powered oven), leading to a charred, thin crust.
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Similar to pizza strips, mozzarella cheese is not a standard topping – it must be requested, said Eater.
While apizza can be topped by anything and everything, perhaps the most famous variety of apizza is the White Clam Pizza from Frank Pepe’s.
It’s topped with fresh clams, garlic, oregano, grated pecorino Romano cheese, and olive oil.
4. Grandma style pizza
Grandma pizza is a Long Island specialty pie. The restaurant Umberto’s in New Hyde Park calls itself the “home of Grandma pizza.” (Raychel Brightman/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Grandma pizza hails from Long Island, New York, and is quite different from its New York Style cousin.
Unlike the large New York-style slices that can be folded over, Grandma pizza is cut into squares.
It is cooked in a square, heavily-oiled sheet pan, according to the website Sip & Feast.
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The “fairly thin” crust is fried while it is cooked, said the website.
Typical Grandma pizza toppings are mozzarella cheese and plum marinara sauce, says the website for Umberto’s, a Long Island restaurant claiming to be “home of Grandma pizza.”
Grandma pizza is finished with garlic-infused olive oil, a sprinkle of pecorino Romano, and oregano, said Sip & Feast.
5. Quad Cities style pizza
Quad Cities-style pizza was invented at a pizza shop in Rock Island, Illinois – one of the Quad Cities. (Goran Kosanovic for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Quad Cities-style pizza refers to the Quad Cities of Rock Island and Moline, Illinois; plus Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa.
The website for Harris Pizza says the Quad Cities were not exactly a hotspot of pizza at the time Harris Pizza opened.
“The concept of pizza was so new to the area that Leonard and Mary Harris had to give it away to get people to try it,” they said.
The pizza is topped with a fairly spicy tomato sauce, ground sausage, mozzarella and oregano — then baked in a hot oven.
It worked: Harris Pizza, home of the “The Original Quad City Style Pizza,” now has several locations throughout the Quad Cities.
Quad Cities-style pizza is served on a malted dough that includes molasses, according to Food & Wine.
The pizza is topped with a fairly spicy tomato sauce, ground sausage, mozzarella and oregano, then baked for a short period of time in a hot oven.
Unlike other styles of pizza, which are cut with either a pizza cutter or knife, Quad Cities-style pizza is cut with scissors, said Food & Wine.
6. St. Louis style pizza
St. Louis-Style pizza cutting action with a pizza cutter on Feb. 17, 2016 in Washington, D.C. (Goran Kosanovic for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
St. Louis-style pizza is yet another variety that is cut into squares rather than wedges.
Unlike chewier, foccia-like pizzas, St. Louis-style pizza features a “thin, crispy and crunch” crust that is completely covered in toppings, according to the website for Imo’s Pizza, the originators of St. Louis-style pizza.
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There is only one kind of cheese used on St. Louis-style pizza — Provel, another St. Louis creation.
Provel cheese was invented in St. Louis in 1947, said the website for Imo’s Pizza, and is a mixture of cheddar, Swiss and provolone cheeses “combined into one gooey, creamy, deliciously cheesy experience.”
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A chef at Imo’s Pizza decided to use Provel, rather than mozzarella, when making his pies, and “it was a hot success,” said the website.
It is unclear as to why the pizza is cut into squares; even the Imo’s website is not completely sure.
“Why squares? Well, it’s just how we slice our pizza in St. Louis,” the site said.
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