The 'top' Chicago-style pizza isn't found in Chicago, according to Yelp analysis: 'Huh?'
(NEXSTAR/KTLA) – The best Chicago-style pizza, ironically, isn’t in the Windy City, according to a new ranking by Yelp.
In honor of National Deep Dish Pizza Day earlier this month, the analysts at Yelp attempted to identify the "top 25 spots for Chicago-style pizza" based on the ratings and reviews of the site's online community.
Surprisingly, however, only a single restaurant in the top ten was actually located in Chicago, and it wasn't even in the top spot.
The top ten in the rankings, as determined by Yelp, were listed as follows:
- Heirloom Pizza – Monterey, California
- Carmines Pie House – Jacksonville, Florida
- Vero Chicago Pizza – Queen Creek, Arizona
- Two Cities Pizza Company – Mason, Ohio
- Tony’s Little Italy Pizza Company – Placentia, California
- Taste of Chicago – Addison, Texas
- Tortugas Pizza – Birmingham, Alabama
- Masa of Echo Park – Los Angeles, California
- Bourbon House Pizza – Florence, Kentucky
- Michael’s Original Pizzeria & Tavern – Chicago, Illinois
There were only three other Illinois restaurants included in the complete rankings: Georgio’s Chicago Pizzeria & Pub in South Barrington (at No. 14) and Bacino’s of Lincoln Park (No. 19) and Pequod’s Pizzeria (No. 20), both in Chicago.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the rankings caught the attention of local news outlets in Chicago, as well as PMQ Pizza, a trade publication for restaurateurs and pizzeria owners.
But while the magazine acknowledged a possible collective "Huh?" from the pizza industry, the author went on to acknowledge Yelp's methodology, which took into account reviews from customers who merely mentioned Chicago-style or deep-dish pizza in their comments, regardless of location.
"One should also keep in mind that Yelpers often review not just the pizza itself, but the overall experience, including the service and the atmosphere, at the pizzeria. And many of them have never actually set foot in Chicago and can only review the pizzas they know," the author of the PMQ Pizza article wrote.
Any confused Chicagoans also might find relief in the fact that Yelp, earlier this year, released a list of the "Top 100 Pizza Spots" which was much kinder to the Windy City. That list was also based on feedback from only Yelp's "Elite Squad," or Yelp users considered to be among the site's most passionate and trustworthy.
At the top of that list? Pequod's Pizzeria in Chicago.
“You can’t truly say you have a favorite Chicago-style deep dish pizza if you haven’t been to Pequod’s," one of Yelp's "Elite Squad" members claimed.