Detroit-Style Pizza

[DLgal]

So this thread made me buy the 2 pack of the Detroit pizza that Costco sells (Motor City?). We made it last night. It was...fine. Nothing mind blowing. It reminded me of the OLD recipe for Pizza Hut pan pizza, but with a less crispy crust. The crust on the sides was nice and crispy with the cheese, but the bottom was just very bready and soft, but not greasy like Pizza Hut pan pizza is. The flavor of the toppings was unremarkable, to be honest. Tasted like any other frozen pizza. Nothing set it apart. I understand that real Detroit pizza is supposed to use "Wisconsin Brick Cheese", but this one is just mozzarella.

Overall, it was fine. We will eat the second pizza, but won't likely buy it again.

 

[Jennasis]

So this thread made me buy the 2 pack of the Detroit pizza that Costco sells (Motor City?). We made it last night. It was...fine. Nothing mind blowing. It reminded me of the OLD recipe for Pizza Hut pan pizza, but with a less crispy crust. The crust on the sides was nice and crispy with the cheese, but the bottom was just very bready and soft, but not greasy like Pizza Hut pan pizza is. The flavor of the toppings was unremarkable, to be honest. Tasted like any other frozen pizza. Nothing set it apart. I understand that real Detroit pizza is supposed to use "Wisconsin Brick Cheese", but this one is just mozzarella.

Overall, it was fine. We will eat the second pizza, but won't likely buy it again.

Which one did you try? We only like the pepperoni one. The plain cheese was not good at all. I thought it would be like the pepperoni but without the meat. It wasn't. It was so blah. The pepperoni was so much better.

 

[DLgal]

Which one did you try? We only like the pepperoni one. The plain cheese was not good at all. I thought it would be like the pepperoni but without the meat. It wasn't. It was so blah. The pepperoni was so much better.

It was the pepperoni one. I liked the cube pepperoni. That was the best part.

 

[Colleen27]

So this thread made me buy the 2 pack of the Detroit pizza that Costco sells (Motor City?). We made it last night. It was...fine. Nothing mind blowing. It reminded me of the OLD recipe for Pizza Hut pan pizza, but with a less crispy crust. The crust on the sides was nice and crispy with the cheese, but the bottom was just very bready and soft, but not greasy like Pizza Hut pan pizza is. The flavor of the toppings was unremarkable, to be honest. Tasted like any other frozen pizza. Nothing set it apart. I understand that real Detroit pizza is supposed to use "Wisconsin Brick Cheese", but this one is just mozzarella.

Overall, it was fine. We will eat the second pizza, but won't likely buy it again.

Yeah, I tried the Motor City frozen too because the closest real Detroit pizza place to me is too far to go on a regular basis, and it is just okay. Fairly decent for freezer pizza and certainly better than the frozen attempts at Chicago style that I've tried, but nothing like getting the real thing from Buddy's or even Jets. I don't think Detroit style can really be done in a disposable pan.

 

[bcla]

I was very pleasantly surprised when I went to Italy (Rome mainly) to find that the food is quite different from American Italian food. I hate tomatoes and they're so ubiquitous in American Italian food. There's no authentic carbonara to be found near me (unless we make it, which we do quite often now).

I can get carbonara in San Francisco. There used to be this small place at a casino in Lake Tahoe that had some pretty close approximation, although they used bacon instead of pancetta.

 

[cjlong88]

So this thread made me buy the 2 pack of the Detroit pizza that Costco sells (Motor City?). We made it last night. It was...fine. Nothing mind blowing. It reminded me of the OLD recipe for Pizza Hut pan pizza, but with a less crispy crust. The crust on the sides was nice and crispy with the cheese, but the bottom was just very bready and soft, but not greasy like Pizza Hut pan pizza is. The flavor of the toppings was unremarkable, to be honest. Tasted like any other frozen pizza. Nothing set it apart. I understand that real Detroit pizza is supposed to use "Wisconsin Brick Cheese", but this one is just mozzarella.

Overall, it was fine. We will eat the second pizza, but won't likely buy it again.

Making it from scratch was surprisingly easy (I don't really cook or bake a whole lot). If you ever want to give it another chance, this was the recipe I used:

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/02/detroit-style-pizza-recipe.html
I found the sauce from the recipe to be a bit too tangy for my taste, so I just added a bit more salt, pepper, and some other seasonings until it was better balanced for me. I also used just a regular 9x13 inch pan instead of whatever pan they recommend. Brick cheese has such a unique flavor, and it melts so well. I can see why they use it on a traditional Detroit-style pizza. The crust was crispy on the sides and the bottom, yet the center of the dough was soft, almost like a focaccia.

 

[cjlong88]

I can get carbonara in San Francisco. There used to be this small place at a casino in Lake Tahoe that had some pretty close approximation, although they used bacon instead of pancetta.

I still have dreams about the spaghetti carbonara I had in Venice. I wish we could do pasta in the US like they do over there.

 

[Moliphino]

I can get carbonara in San Francisco. There used to be this small place at a casino in Lake Tahoe that had some pretty close approximation, although they used bacon instead of pancetta.

I saw "carbonara" on a restaurant menu near my work, but the description said it had an Alfredo sauce. That's not carbonara!

 

[amcnj]

Over the years I have had many different kinds. The predominant one in my area was the thinner crust Neapolitan style. A cousin growing up loved Sicilian and that was always his birthday meal choice. Many places back then had both types. There were lots of variations in cooking them too. Coal fired, wood fired, gas ovens ....

Later I found places with Grandma’s pizzas, as well as some places that did the cheese first then the sauce.

But as far as I know I have never had a Detroit Style pizza. So I guess I better get on that!

 

[amcnj]

only thing I know about city Pizza

NY - to thin, and dont tell me to fold it and half
Chicago- its like a pile of goo, to thick
Calafornia - I used to think you couldnt make a bad pizza until they started putting healthy junk on it

So what style do you prefer? What is your “go to” pizza?

 

[mrodgers]

So weird. This forum is mostly a bunch of females and I'm reading a pizza thread on Detroit pizza.

Just before seeing this thread, on a garage and tool forum, mostly a bunch of males, I was reading a thread on pizza which was overrun with specifically talk of Detroit pizza.

And by the way, neither a Chicago pizza casserole nor a Detroit pizza sandwich is pizza . Pizza I insist on being made with pizza crust, not bread dough

 

[bcla]

I've heard of them but probably haven't tried it. There's a place called Square Pie Guys in San Francisco that has them.

https://squarepieguys.com
I'm rather disturbed of the idea that the name was really about using automotive drip pans or metal automatic trays for pizza.

Tried it for the first time today. Had one with a white sauce and mushrooms (How Mush-Room) - just the kid and me. It was really good. We went to their newest location at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. They have some sidewalk/outdoor seating with views of San Francisco Bay. They only sell whole 8"x10" pies cut into four slices.

There's another place that supposedly does it, but I'm not sure what their connection is. but this place sells slices.

 

[Colleen27]

Tried it for the first time today. Had one with a white sauce and mushrooms (How Mush-Room) - just the kid and me. It was really good. We went to their newest location at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. They have some sidewalk/outdoor seating with views of San Francisco Bay. They only sell whole 8"x10" pies cut into four slices.



There's another place that supposedly does it, but I'm not sure what their connection is. but this place sells slices.

That actually doesn't look like a bad attempt at Detroit style, despite the white sauce. I'm going to have to mention the new location to my daughter and have her check it out. Her girlfriend is from Idaho and I know DD has explained Detroit pizza (and Vernors and Faygo Redpop) as things she misses most about home, so I'll bet they'd be excited to head over there to try it.

 

[bcla]

That actually doesn't look like a bad attempt at Detroit style, despite the white sauce. I'm going to have to mention the new location to my daughter and have her check it out. Her girlfriend is from Idaho and I know DD has explained Detroit pizza (and Vernors and Faygo Redpop) as things she misses most about home, so I'll bet they'd be excited to head over there to try it.

These are photos from Yelp, but I think they describe everything.

They have sidewalk seating and a parklet taking up former street parking.

This gives a pretty good overview. It's San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park across the street. Of course it's Ghirardelli Square, which used to be a bunch of tourist trap places, but has turned into a pretty good place for food in recent years.

 

[Her Dotness]

You who like it can have my share. More for you!

I've converted to NY-style since marrying a boy from Brooklyn.

Warning: If ever in St. Louis, do NOT order a STL-style pizza. They are round but cut into squares, have weirdly sugary sauce and a locally famous cheese called Provel which I swear smells like dirty gym socks. YUCKOLA!

 

[Colleen27]

These are photos from Yelp, but I think they describe everything.



They have sidewalk seating and a parklet taking up former street parking.



This gives a pretty good overview. It's San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park across the street. Of course it's Ghirardelli Square, which used to be a bunch of tourist trap places, but has turned into a pretty good place for food in recent years.

That does look good. The idea of vodka sauce on pizza intrigues me, I may have to make a stop there myself next time I'm out there visiting. My daughter loves Ghirardelli Square, touristy as it is. The cheese shop is wonderful for a college kid who thinks of charcuterie as a midnight snack, and she's taken her freshmen (she's an RA for a freshman dorm) to their outdoor movie nights as one of their "get to know the city" activities.

 

[bcla]

You who like it can have my share. More for you!

I've converted to NY-style since marrying a boy from Brooklyn.

Warning: If ever in St. Louis, do NOT order a STL-style pizza. They are round but cut into squares, have weirdly sugary sauce and a locally famous cheese called Provel which I swear smells like dirty gym socks. YUCKOLA!

Since I was ordering at the bar (needed that to pay cash) I could at least get recommendations compared to ordering at the table using a personal device) they said that one was good but it depended on whether one thought that "hot honey" on a pizza was a good thing.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

They say that non-Italian pizza is a crime against humanity... I say that thick crust is delicious too

 

[bcla]

That does look good. The idea of vodka sauce on pizza intrigues me, I may have to make a stop there myself next time I'm out there visiting. My daughter loves Ghirardelli Square, touristy as it is. The cheese shop is wonderful for a college kid who thinks of charcuterie as a midnight snack, and she's taken her freshmen (she's an RA for a freshman dorm) to their outdoor movie nights as one of their "get to know the city" activities.

Sounds like you've been there. It's right at ground level with McCormick & Kuleto's (part of the McCormick & Schmick's chain) above. It's a great location since there's just the park between it and San Francisco Bay.

I know the cheese shop (The Cheese School) you mention. It's nice and everything, but that place is just plain overpriced. I'm guessing it comes with the location. My go to cheese place is Cheese Board in Berkeley, which also has great pizza. But it is kind of sad that Cowgirl Creamery closed its shop at the Ferry Building.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

DH & I also had our first Detroit style pizza a couple weeks ago. We arrived at our hotel in Onalaska, Wisconsin, after most restaurants had closed. Reading this thread previously had peaked my interest, plus we're always up for trying something new. When I found a restaurant that was open & checked the menu, we decided to give it a try. Sadly, it was terrible. Neither of us finished our first piece. The rest went in the trash. My advice. Don't try Detroit style pizza in Onalaska, WI.