Hi Everyone,

My wife and I enjoy the occasional pizza but since moving to Las Vegas several years ago we've encountered a major problem.

Our problem is this:  Neither of us like "New York style" and neither of us like "Chicago style" and these both seem ubiquitous around Vegas, particularly NY style.

In fact, I don't want any particular "style" pizza at all, I just want it a specific way - sort of like how pizza used to be before it was all NY or Chicago style.

No, I moved here from Australia and I guess Im used to pizza being "just so", but my wife grew up in Michigan and Texas and swears that it wasn't always like this.

Note that this is NOT any sort of criticism on the many, many Americans who love NY or Chicago style pizza, it's just not for us.

-

Here's what I'm looking for:

The primary issue I have with NY style pizza is I find the crust far too thin and very wet and soggy - toppings slide around on tectonic plates of cheese and when you pick up a slice instead of staying horizontal the tip points straight down toward the ground. My problem with Chicago style is I find it overly saucy and wet, doughy, more like a savoury pie than my idea of a pizza.

CRUST is my primary issue.  What I'm looking for is a pizza restaurant where you can get a crust that's around three times as thick as a NY style crust, but nothing like a Chicago crust. The crust should be dense and CHEWY with a hint of crispness when you bite into it. It shouldn't be super greasy and shouldn't sag when I pick it up.

The only pizza I have found so far to match my preferences perfectly is at Cefalu Pizza in Old Town San Diego, but I don't expect anyone has tried that and is able to use it as a point of reference, but pictures 18 and 19 here - yelp.com/biz/cefalus-piz… - are an example of the sort of crust I'm looking for (ignore the toppings).

In short, what I need to find is a good pizza place that's neither NY style or Chicago style (Even though I quite like things like California Pizza Kitchen, Im not looking for trendy toppings and expensive gourmet stuff either, I want something I can take home to graze upon).

Any advice would be great.

Round Table Pizza in Henderson.

Thanks guys,

I know I sound picky, it's just a case of growing up with different pizza and liking what you're used to. I'll check those out and don't worry, I won't blame you if it's not what I'm looking for. These are far better responses than I have got elsewhere where I'll just get a list of places where people get their favourite NY or Chicago style pizza that they are quite sure I'll just love if I give it a try.

Will let you know how it works out.

check out the Naked City Pizza Shop inside of Moondoggies on DI and Arville (behind the 7-11)...It's a bit of a dive but the food is really good. They serve a Buffalo NY style pizza, it's square, and the crust is a nice half way between NY and Chicago, about the thickness of Pizza Hut Hand Tossed Crust, but way way better!!!

Try the new pizza place at the Cosmo, the crust is exactly how you described.  It is New York style but it is made the way it is supposed to be, actually good, where the crust is the star.

Chicago Brewing Company in Summerlin....period

Chris, if I'm ever out that way I might have to check it out.

Tricia, is the crust quite thick? Every New York style pizza I have ever had has been either super thin, bendy and wet or super thin, stiff and crunchy. What I'm looking for is medium thickness, rather dense, quite chewy with just a hint of crispness and I can't see a NY style pizza delivering that. Are you sure it's as thick and chewy as I'm after?

August, thanks for the suggestion, but that place looks like it sells Chicago style pizza.

+1 on Round Table.

+1 on the "metro style" crust at metro. It's a pseudo-NY style with a medium thickness crust.

I'd check out Northside Nathan's Detroit Style pizza. It seems to fit most of your requirements. Just have them cut it in triangles vs the traditional square. There's a couple, but the best location is on Lake Mead and Buffalo.

Eric,

I've tried Northside Nathan's and quite like it - probably the best option I have found so far, but not quite a home run. I find it absolutely delicious when brand new, but not a great second day pizza, I also find the inside bits (with no edge) a bit mushy. I really like the edge bits though.

Maybe try the khachapuri at Big Mama's Pizza on Flamingo (just east of Maryland behind Chase Bank and Baja Fresh)?  It's a Georgian comfort food.  I believe the crust is made with egg.  Haven't had it but saw it there and it looked interesting.

Mike I know what you mean with the pizza in Vegas. I'm from the St. Louis area and there were at least 10 mom and pop shops that cranked out some pretty fab pizza. All had their different little nuances..New York style and Chicago style pizza were not mainstays like here in Vegas. With that, here are the ones that offer a little something different than the Vegas norm. Like Chris mentioned earlier Naked City Pizza has really hit the mark for me. Great crust and toppings, they aren't afraid to throw some groceries on the damn thing. Sauce is excellent too. Downside is, it's in a dive bar that IS smokey. Judging from the pics of the SD place, you'll like Naked City. yelp.com/biz/naked-city-…
Casa Di Amore is a contender yelp.com/biz/casa-di-amo…
La Piazza of offers a very nice thinner crust pie...maybe a little too thin for what you are looking for-but NOT NY style, a strong pizza none the less. yelp.com/biz/la-piazza-l…
If you discover something that knocks your socks off, keep us posted. It's not all about NY, Cali, and Chicago.

My vote is for METRO PIZZA, it's a winner!

An update here -

We tried Metro Pizza tonight and I have to say it's a vast improvement on what I have been getting. We got the "Metro" crust. The crust was tasty rather than the usual blandness, nice and yeasty and the toppings seemed to be of very high quality.

And yet.... it's still not quite a home run. I'd eat it again, but it's still a bit too "wet" to be exactly what I'm looking for. I don't know if it was just our pizzas but although it was SUPER thick on the outside, the inside of the pizza was rather mushy and thin and the slices definitely pointed straight down toward the ground when I picked them up rather than staying generally horizontal.

On the upside, this definitely tastes good and at least it's a vast improvement on what I've been eating, but the search continues!  Thanks for the suggestions so far, I'm really glad to have tried Metro and look forward to trying some of the others.

Yeah Mike, thanks for the update. I almost mentioned Metro as well but, I feel the same way you do...good pizza that still somehow misses the mark a bit. Still one of the better pizza places in Vegas though. Mat, it amazes me we have people from all over the country that move here and we still somehow have an incredibly narrow selection of styles of pizza here. Pizza, like BBQ, and chili, can vary greatly, many of which still rock the house. It seems we are really missing that cultural and regional variety that so many other cities offer in the pizza world.

not trying to be a snarky asshole......but are you sure the pizza you're looking for exists? it seems like everything you try isn't a ~home-run~ no pizza place is perfect dude.

Steve,

I'll give Naked city a try if I can.

Philippe,

No, I'm not sure if it exists in Vegas, that's the entire point of this thread. I have had pizza that meets my specifications in Australia and in other states, but so far haven't found it in Vegas.

Everyone who suggested Metro,

Thanks again, it's a huge improvement on anything I've had so far and it's especially good cold which is really important for me as my wife's a vegetarian and we usually get our own pizzas and graze on them for days. lol

Naked City is very good, but the Crust won't be what you're looking for.  You won't be able to hold it up.....it will wilt due to the weight of the tremendous amount of Cheese & Toppings they put on it.  Here's a picture I took of the Royal.....
yelp.com/biz_photos/P8uE…

There's no way it will meet your Crust requirements.  Great tasting Pizza though.

LOL@Angela. Is that sarcasm bb?

Peter's right about Naked City - I like the stuff but dang, i could've used a roll of paper towels to soak up all the cheese/sausage grease ( i used about 5-6 napkins ..seriously )  on the top of the pizza - you would have to burn the crust somethin' fierce to hold up to all that weight/grease.

Costco pizza - good call !

I just had a the Thin Crust Pizza (well done) at Amore Taste of Chicago.....it might be what you're looking for.  The Crust of the Pizza is thicker than NY, thinner than Chicago.  There's a lunch special of $4.95 for a Personal Pizza, which was more than enough for 1 person.  At $4.95 it's a steal and a great way to sample the Pizza without going "all in".

Angela,  I've tried Sam's Club pizza and wasn't thrilled - tasted like something from a food court. Edible, but not something I'd ever want a whole one of. I wonder if Costco's are any better.

Keith, I think the grease reports puts the kiss of death on Naked city for me. I wonder if it depends which toppings you choose?

The sort of pizza I'm looking for definitely exists, I just don't know if it's in Vegas.

You have to remember that I'm not arguing for right or wrong about what makes good Pizza. I have no doubts that Americans would go to Australia and be horrified at the pizza options, just as I can't find anything positive to say about NY style or Chicago style. (although I have definitely had good pizza of some undefined style on several occasions in other states, most recently at the place in San Diego). It's all about what you grew up with.

I think one of the issues I'm encountering is the tendency here for the crust to be MUCH thinner toward the centre of the pizza than around the outside. Our "metro" crust was an inch and a half thick around the outside but was no thicker than the edge of a NY style pizza in the middle.

I wonder if it's to do with cooking temps and things also. When I lived in Australia we had a place called "Pizza King" down the street. Not the greatest pizza, but I'd kill for the crust right now. When I ordered that I could go in at 1AM when no one else was in the shop and I'd just about eat the walls while waiting for extremely long time it took for the pizza to go through the oven. I've actually been quite surprised at the very quick cooking time Pizza seems to have in US pizza places. At metro we waited only a little over 20 minutes from the time I placed the order till the time we walked out the door - I'd expect to wait at least 45 mins for similar pizzas back home. And yet the pizzas at pizza king were never hard, dry or burned. Could it be anything to do with lower cooling temps and longer cooking times that's giving me my preferred result?

Again, before anyone gets offended - this isn't about what's right - it's about what I like. I'd chalk it down as an "Australian thing" if my wife didn't swear to similar experiences growing up in the US and if I hadn't had pizza I enjoy here.

Actually - does anyone know of a pizza place where when you order the pizza it takes freakin ages to cook? lol. Maybe this is what I need.

@Mike - I think the Amore Taste of Chicago Pizza might be up your alley....here's a pic of the one I had today.  I just looked at the pictures of the Pizza you originally posted from San Diego and it looks close to me.
yelp.com/biz_photos/8olG…

I'd be willing to meet you there for lunch so I can get your reaction to the Pizza.  It's only $4.95, I'll buy!

@Mike - All of us have recommended pretty much every notable pizza place in Vegas to you. Have you even ever tried NY Style in NYC or Chicago-style in Chicago? If not then it's pretty unfair to write them off because you didn't like recreations of them you've found elsewhere.
Was EVERY pizza place you ever tried in Australia like what you're looking for? It doesn't sound like you've found this pizza you're looking for in a wide variety of restaurants, and no two pizza places are alike (unless we're talking a nationwide chain). Sorry, but your expectations are overly strict and somewhat subjective.

This isn't a debate about the merits of the various styles of pizza or the relative authenticity of the recreations here in Vegas. It's all about what I can get and what I want. Of course it's subjective, how would searching for something to satisfy my own personal tastes be anything else? NY Pizza in NYC might be the best thing I've ever tasted, but exactly how does that help me out here? If I'd repeatedly made statements like "God, all NY style pizza is shit, I don't know how people can eat it" I'd understand your problems with my point of view, but as it stands it's completely irrelevant to the discussion.

Most pizza places in Australia generally met my tastes to some degree or another. There were good pizza places and bad pizza places, but in Las Vegas it's different.  I'm not posting this thread to troll or be difficult, I made it precisely because, and I quote you here - "It doesn't sound like you've found this pizza you're looking for in a wide variety of restaurants, and no two pizza places are alike" - this is exactly why I'm posting it here. I haven't found it in a wide variety of restaurants and every place differs to some degree. This is why I called on the Yelp community, to find out if there's some hidden place where I can find what I'm looking for. It doesn't have to be a "notable" pizza place, it might be some dump in an obscure strip mall that most Las Vegans think is terrible because they (understandably) want their own preferences catered to. Who knows?

Hi Angela,

We've only so far tried Metro so far but will keep everyone updated. I really appreciate all the help. Unfortunately since she's a vegetarian and I'm not we end up with about three days worth of pizza every time we order them so Pizza is about a once per week maximum for us lol.

I just ordered a Meatlover's Pizza from Ambrosia Cafe ( yelp.com/biz/ambrosia-ca… ) and the crust can best be described as you have described how you like your crust. Three times thicker than New York style, but not as thick as Chicago style. Dense and chewy with a snap, not soggy and not a loaf of bread. They have a signficant amount of vegetarian friendly pizza and other food...being a Mediterranean restaurant. Angela h.'s review even praised the Flafel :)

I am biased toward Ambrosia Cafe, as I have publicly stated in my reviews, but I swear Mike ... this is the kind of pizza you are describing. So, you from Sydney or Melbourne? "Good On Ya" for choosing to make Las Vegas your home :)

Mike,
I grew up in Michigan and I have to agree with you and your wife.  I cannot find a pizza place like the ones we had in Michigan.  I, too, am not a fan of Chicago style pizza or deep dish pizza.  blech.

Metro pizza is probably the closest.  However, for flavor I really like Grimaldi's.  It's not the crust that we are both looking for, but the flavor is great.  Those are the only two that I can find so far that I like and I have lived here for 5 years.

Some of the other pizza places turn out to be really greasy, really "bread-y", etc. so the happy medium is lost.  When I went back to MI in August, we ate some pizza and I fell in love all over again.  I didn't realize how hard it was to make pizza!

Love this thread...please keep it going!

OH-
p.s. I HATED Chicago Brewing Company's pizza.  *gag*
p.p.s. North Side Nathan's is good... but since we usually don't eat square pizza, I was instantly turned off.  Seriously though, I didn't know that you can request it differently!!
p.p.p.s. BJs- like their food.  But not their pizza.
p.p.p.p.s Biaggio's Pizzeria- I gave it a good rating after eating it.  Then an hour later, I realized that it really was not good pizza.  I need to go in and edit that posting.

Lindsey,

It's great to hear that others have shared quests similar to mine and that in this thread I'm not being treated as some Johnny-come-lately complainer insulting the local cuisine as has been the case in other forums.

I've been here four years myself and we have only just started the "pizza quest" in earnest.  I am taking everyone's suggestions into consideration and will be trying them one by one if they are convenient to my house. We've actually got a Grimaldi's opening up just down the street fairly soon so we will be giving that one a try.

This thread has been useful. I lived in San Diego and I have eaten at Cefalu so I know what youre looking for but I don't know where to find that here. You aren't crazy for asking as I sometimes too just want that kind of crust. I'll eat at some of these suggestions and if it's close, I'll let you know.

Ken,

It really is. I think pizza is the most subjective food in the world.

Jade,

Again, I'm really glad that this thread has been useful for others and entertaining for still others. I didn't want to be the lone dissident rejecting everyone's favourites. LOL. My wife and I had Cefalu when we were in San Diego last year and I thought it was good the first day and is the best "second day pizza" I've eaten in the US. I also really liked Cafe Coyote for Mexican across the street!

Angela, Yeah that link of Cefalu is one I mentioned (but didn't link to) in my original post - That one you linked looks really great.

See that image Angela linked it more or less exactly what I'm looking for. It's thickish without being "deep pan", the crust looks dense and bit chewy and isn't so think you can just about see through it in the middle. I also value the fairly even spread of toppings (when we went to metro most of the toppings where in the middle section of the pizza, although this could just have been lazy prep) and the fact that even though there's quite a few toppings it doesn't look "wet" like they ran it through the dishwasher before serving.

I also really like the floury look to the crust. It looks slightly dense but a little airy with a nice chew to it and like I could pick it up without having to limbo dance under the slice to get the tip in my mouth. Another huge plus is that it's not very greasy looking. I swear some of the pizzas I've ordered in Vegas look like likely candidates for new BP Oil drilling ventures.

@ Mike - I am also a crust fanatic. I do NOT think Settebello and Grimaldi's are what you're looking for, however both have amazing chewy perfect crust and are my 2 favorite pies in town. Although they might not be your "type", if you're way into crust you absolutely must try them. Settebello is unlike any pizza I've had outside of Italy.  If you're looking for crust with flavor and chew absolutely don't waste time at Biaggio's. It is literally the most flavorless cardboard disgusting crust I've eaten in Las Vegas. It is very far from a crust-lovers pizza!!

@ Mike - I should also add that the crust at Grimaldi's and Settebello while flour-y will require a limbo dance to eat which I know makes you unhappy! :) Another add about Biaggio's is it's by far greasiest pizza I've ever eaten in my life. I also hate greasy pizza so that grossed me out about it.

I can't wait to try Cefalu & Pizza Port in late March when I'll be back in the San Diego/North County area.  This special crust thing has got me curious now.

i woldn't suggest Settebello for what you are looking. It's authentic or as real as pizza is like in Italy, thin and in a brick oven. I wouldn't pass up alot of Pizza places out here thay say NY style beacause most of them are not even close to what NY style pizza is. Verrazono's makes a Sicilian stlye that has a thicker crust but it's not deep dish

Settebello crust gets soggy, fast.  Wasn't in love with it.  I am going to take Christopher's recommendation and try Ambrosia's this week, as I haven't tried their pizza yet.

San Diego UYE road trip? I love pizza port, the beers are awesome!

I will be in San Diego (Carlsbad) March 24-27...planning to hit Pizza Port on the 24th and Cefalu on the 26th. Hopefully you guys can make it that weekend.

Just don't get your hopes up about Cefalu. I might be biased toward it because it's my perfect crust lol. Others might not be so thrilled. I hope I haven't built the place up as this Mecca of pizza when there could be 1000 places in SoCal that serve similar crusts :)

My wife and have have tried Settebello and it's not what we're looking for. Not because it's bad - as "floppy: pizza goes it was tasty and the ingredients were clearly of the highest quality. My problem with it, on top of it not generally being my type of crust, is it doesn't fill the "Take it home and scarf it down on the sofa while watching TV" niche that pizza is all about for me.

Looked at the photos of Pizza Port and they look right up my alley also. Plenty of fresh looking ingredients, the right type of crust, not wet or oily. I always like how the cheese is sort of melted in with it all and not sliding around in some greasy, congealed slab.

Ok I tried Ambrosia Pizza, and I really didn't like it, the crust was kind of bland and a little soft, and it had a butt ton of cheese.  I had a vegetarian pizza and the toppings were not fresh.  The mushrooms were from a jar or a can.  Also, it was way way too expensive compared to other places.  I have no idea why anyone would order a pizza here when there is an insanely good pizza place down the street on Jones, Prima Pizza which is the best I've had in this area.

Just my opinion!

Tricia.

I don't trust Ambrosia because they are one of those places who relentlessly crams their menus into the doors of our apartment complex, regardless of how often management complains or they are kicked out for trespassing. When a business behaves like this for free advertising I worry about what other shortcuts are being taken in the kitchen and other areas.  When they appeared on restaurant.com  I decided to risk it and buy a gift certificate, only to find a sign on the door saying they don't honour restaurant.com certificates. Needless to say they have pretty much done their dash with me even before I've so much as caught a whiff of their food.

Ambrosia is a pizza place ? Prima was ok for the run of the mill corner place ( i'ver had a slice there a couple times )  

For the SW i give props to Familia on Durango.  I was stoked to see Grimaldi's is opening up a place on Rainbow near the Hooters.  

Mike - why get upset about Ambrosia making the rounds at apt complexes ?  It's not exactly free advertising - they had to print the flyers and someone had to stuff the ads in mail boxes, cars etc. Granted, i was always a fan of offering a free food night at some of the local apt, condos and mobile home parks when they had association/manager meetings back when i owned a bar/grill - the benefits usually outweigh the cost.  But i remember getting some complaints about flyers when i had some of my employees place them on cars, apt bulletin boards and the like.  But for every complaint, i'd have at least 30-40 people using the coupon affiliated with the flyer.

It's not mailboxes, it's front doors. They aren't allowed in here and after they have done their rounds their menus are blowing all around the parking lots because people open their doors, the menus drop to the ground.

It's the same philosophy as an email spammer who tells you to "just hit delete if you aren't interested". Not many people complain and you'll sell your product, but remember for every complaint there's a bunch of people grumbling about the trash in our doorstops and in the parking lot. At any given time I have material from 3 or 4 different places littering the bottom of my stairwell. Our complex has self closing gates that require a special opener and has a strict no solicitation policy for a reason. It's part of why I choose to live in such a complex.   Remember, this isn't stuff that appears in mailboxes, if it was in the mail room I'd have no problem at all with it.

I don't really care that Ambrosia leaves stuff on my door.  I wouldn't have known they deliver to my house otherwise.

Does anyone have photos of some pizza from Red Rock Pizza

Just passed by Red Rock Pizza....planning to hit it tomorrow, will have pics afterwards.

@Tricia - Thanks for the update on Ambrosia.  I was going to check it out, but I don't want to drive all the way over there if it's a waste of time.

I can't wait to try Cefalu in San Diego now.....counting down the days until I get to try this mysterious Crust.

@Matt - Yeah, it looks like I'm on another Pizza bender....last year's bender added 10 lbs of unwanted bodyweight and it took me weeks to burn off the calories from that adventure.  I'm looking forward to Red Rock Pizza.....there use to be one by my old house near Spring Mtn & Durango, but they closed many years ago.  I'm not sure this is the same company or Pizza....but I remember a Spicy/Peppery Sauce and decent Pizza.....we'll see.  I'll be sure to take plenty of pics.

I was driving down Craig today and saw at least 4 Pizza joints between Jones & Allen.  I added them to my "hit list".  There are a few Pizza places from last year's bender "hit list" that I didn't get a chance to visit.....and now with the SD/No County Pizza joints, I can go on an interstate bender, LOL.

Pictures of Red Rock Pizza posted:

yelp.com/biz_photos/SQ8T…

I thought it was very good Pizza, but doesn't meet @Mike's criteria.

Naked City is today's groupon, for $10 you get $20 worth of food, you can try it out for half price

gr.pn/eOBSPI

@ P -great pics - sausage/pepperoni - I LIKE IT !  and the lil pools of grease ...MY KIND OF PIZZA !

The guy @ Red Rock seemed cool, but he was by himself.  If it got busy, I don't know if he'd be able to handle special orders properly.  I prefer to walk in anyway.  I don't think I'd order the Pizza delivered as it would probably get too soggy if they had multiple orders to deliver and you had to wait 45 min or so.

@Mike - Have you been able to try any of the places recommended on this thread this week?  I hope you find what you're looking for because I want to try it too!  LOL

Heading to San Diego tomorrow morning.....1st on my list is Cefalu Pizza, then I will follow up with Pizza Port in Carlsbad.  Will report back with pics and reviews.  Can't wait to finally give these 2 a try.....

We just had a pizza at Kona Grill for happy hour, and the crust seemed something like what you described.  It's worth a shot, especially when it's only $6 at happy hour.  The only thing was that it wasn't cut into triangles, but I'm sure that's negotiable.