We just got back from traveling in the South of France, and as you’d expect, the food was fantastic. One of the most enjoyable parts of our trip was visiting the fantastic food markets. Each town has its own market day, and some have a market every day but Sunday. The Saturday market in the town of Arles is one of the best is the area. And there’s a permanent market in Antibes that’s open every day but Sunday.

The restaurants here serve lots of fresh seafood and other ingredients that you find in the market — vegetables, herbs, and olives. Because the South of France is so close to Italy, there’s also lots of pasta, dishes with tomatoes, and pizza.

There’s a pizza restaurant in just about every small town, and many of them having wood-burning ovens. They don’t make traditional Neapolitan pizza here — the crust is thicker and there are more pizza toppings. But they do create a delicious pie.

We were a little surprised by the pizza toppings, which don’t vary a lot. Nowhere did we see pepperoni, Italian sausage, or the usual pizza meats. Here, as in Spain, it’s all about the ham. Jambon cru, which is like prosciutto, is the most popular choice. Some places, you’ll see specific types of ham, such as Serrano or Iberico ham from Spain.

Seafood, especially ancovies, are also popular toppings. But you’ll also see tuna and calamari.

Most places offer both white and red pizzas. White is sauced with crème fraiche, which is absolutely delicious. The white pizzas are best with vegetables like caramelized onion and mushroom.

The French are known for their fabulous cheeses, and here’s where they make their mark. Unlike in American and Italy, mozzarella isn’t the star of the show when it comes to pizza cheeses. Emmental, which is similar to Swiss cheese, and is made in Switzerland, is very popular. Chevre, or goat cheese, is also used a lot, and it’s frequently combined with arugula.

Gruyere, Fontina, Reblochon, Comte, and Roquefort all makes delicious pizzas.

Many of the pizzas we had has a black olive in the center, and virtually all of them had a drizzle of excellent local olive oil. This really brought all the flavors together and improved the overall taste. A carafe of olive oil with chili peppers is served with your pizza. It’s pretty spicy and adds a nice zing.

We found an artisanal olive oil at our local farmers market and we’ve started drizzling it over our pizzas. It wasn’t inexpensive, but it was well worth the money.

The best pizza we had in the South of France was at La Cantina in Saint-Remy-en-Provence. The town itself is quite charming, one of the cutest in the region. And the restaurant was surprisingly quite modern. But the pizzas there were some of the best we’ve ever has, anywhere.

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When most people think of Chicago pizza, they think of the deep-dish pies with cheese on the bottom.  But the best pizza restaurants in Chicago make all kind of pizza.  You’ll find organic, designer pies with gourmet pizza toppings, Neapolitan pizzas baked in wood-fired ovens, and square-sliced tavern-style pizzas covered in Italian sausage.

No discussion of Chicago Pizza is complete without mentioning Pizzeria Uno.  The first Chicago-style pie was served here in 1943, and it was an immediate hit.  So much so that they opened Pizzeria Due on the next block.  The dough is made each morning, and the sauce-to-cheese ratio is just right.  They make healthy, flatbread pizzas here too.  You can choose multi-grain crust and top it with roasted eggplant, spinach, and feta.  But why bother?  If you come to Chicago and want to try a Chicago-style pizza, go to Pizzeria Uno, order a deep-dish with “the works” and repent later.

Lou Malnati’s is the other legendary Chicago deep-dish pizza restaurant.  Lou’s dad, Rudy Malnati, was the chef at Pizzeria Uno, and some even credit him with inventing the deep-dish pizza when he worked there in the 1940s.  The first Lou Malnati’s opened in Lincolnwood in 1971.  Today, there are 30 Lou Malnati’s in the greater Chicagoland area.  But if you don’t live in Chicago, no problem.  They ship pizzas on dry ice to anywhere in the United States.   The buttery crust travels pretty well.

Bacino’s specializes in stuffed pizzas, and several of them are pretty healthy.  The owner, Dan Bacin, is committed to uses the freshest ingredients, and everything here is made from scratch.   Spinach, broccoli, and mushroom are popular selections, but plenty of meat toppings are available.  Bacino’s has been the top selling pizza at the Taste of Chicago for the last 30 years.  The wine list is also a cut above.

Bricks Chicago has been serving gourmet, thin-crust pizzas since 1997.  Try a Creole Shrimp Pizza with spicy shrimp, pesto, red peppers, mozzarella, and gouda or a Sweet Heat with chicken breast, bacon, diced jalapeno, smoked gouda, barbecue sauce, and mozzarella.  If you don’t like any of the specialties, you can create your own with interesting pizza toppings like Maytag bleu cheese, pureed artichokes, or banana peppers.  Bricks has a good selection of microbrews on draught and in the bottle.

Fans of Neapolitan pizza should head to Coalfire.  The coal-burning oven here reaches temperatures up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit, which produced a crispy, yet chewy crust with a little bit of charring.  In a departure from the Naples way, the pizza is topped with cheese first, and then tomato sauce.  Three topping or fewer are recommended — the crust can’t hold up to more than that.  The white pizza with ricotta, mozzarella, Romano cheese and fresh basil is delicious.    And the Pizza Margherita may be the best in Chicago.  Coalfire used to be BYOB, but they’re now serving beer and wine.

The first certified, organic pizza restaurant in the Midwest, Crust serves inventive flatbread pizzas that are cooked in a wood-burning oven.  Try a cocktail made with one of their vodka infusions.  Start your meal with brussel sprouts with crispy bacon, tapenade, roasted peppers, kalamata olives, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, goat cheese, and flatbread pieces, or a winter beet salad.  Then try a pizza with slow-cooked beef brisket, house-made barbecue sauce and pepper jack cheese, or a Carbonara with bacon, béchamel, caramelized onions, peas, and a sunny-side up egg.

Famous for its stuffed pizzas, Giordano’s has been in business since 1974.  Two brothers from a town near Torino, Italy, named the restaurant after their mother, who made a double-crust pizza that inspired the pies served here.  The flaky, buttery crust is what set Giordano’s apart — that and the prodigious amounts of stringy, mozzarella packed inside it.  For something different, try the shrimp pizza.

One of the other great places in Chicago for Naples-style pizza is Sapore di Napoli.  They import many of their ingredients from Italy, including Molino Caputo 00 flour, Bufala Mozzarella, and Calabria salami.   Although the tomatoes aren’t the traditional San Marzanos from Campania, but Stanislaus from California.  In keeping with Neapolitan tradition, toppings are simple and few.   Try Quattro Formaggi with mozzarella, Italian gorgonzola, fontina, and Parmigiano Reggiano or Patate e Rosmarino with sliced potatoes and rosemary.   Save room for some of their delicious gelato — there are more than a dozen flavors nightly.

The Art of Pizza serves deep-dish, thin-crust, and stuffed pizzas.  They also serve Italian-style subs on yummy bread, ribs, wings, and pasta.  But the deep-dish pies, voted best in the city by the Chicago Tribune, are the big draw.  Try the Southwestern stuffed pizza with barbecue sauce, ground beef, onions, and bacon.  Or the special with sausage, onions, mushrooms, and green pepper.  For dessert, have a creamy, ricotta-filled cannoli.

Members of all the Neapolitan pizza associations, including Associazione Pizzauoli Napoletani and L’Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, Spacca Napoli makes authentic Naples-style pizza in a custom-made, wood-burning oven.  In business since 2006, they import their flour, San Marzano tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil.  There’s an assortment of novel appetizers like new potatoes, tuna, cucumber, and capers or white anchovies over arugula, cherry tomatoes, and olives.  A nice selection of Italian wines, and some lovely desserts.  When the weather’s nice, you can dine outside on the terrace.

Find more great pizza restaurants here.

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Unlike Neapolitans or Chicagoans, New Yorkers embrace all kinds of pizza. From Roman-style pies with a cracker-thin crust to chewy, Sicilian slices, New York’s pizza restaurants serve whatever kind of pizza you want.

They’ve been making pizza here since the turn of the century with hand-tossed dough, light on the sauce. The classic New York pizza is baked in a coal-fired oven, which gives it a slightly smoky flavor.

You should fold your slice and avoid utensils. But however you eat it, it will likely be one of the best pizzas you‘ve ever tasted. Don’t leave the city until you try at least one slice.

Here’s our list of the best pizza restaurants in New York City.

Di Fara’s Pizza is worth the trip to Brooklyn. Owner Dominick DeMarco was born outside Naples and he imports many of his ingredients, including San Marzano tomatoes, from Campania. He creates each pie by hand, as he has for 50 year now. He makes his own sauce using both canned and ripe tomatoes, and it might be the best in the city. He stretches the dough, adds slices of buffalo mozzarella and other pizza toppings, places it on a paddle and pops it in the oven. When it comes out, he grates on some Grana Padana and Parimigiano-Reggiano cheese, adds some fresh herbs, and drizzles some olive oil on top. Expect a long wait.

Another Brooklyn favorite, Franny’s is run by a married couple who are committed to using locally sourced ingredients, many of which are organic. Sources are listed on the menu. If you’re looking for a California pizza, this is the closest you’ll find in New York. Their crust is thinner and crispier than most, and the pizzas emerge from the wood-fired brick oven lightly charred. But what really sets these pizzas apart are the toppings. The sausages are house cured. The vegetables are seasonal and fresh from the market — if artichokes are available, get them. If you love clams, the little neck clam, chile, and parsley pizza is about as good as it gets. Franny’s also serves a dozen appetizers and a couple of pasta dishes each night.

Rumor has it that when Frank Sinatra wanted a pizza, Grimaldi’s was his go-to place. The pizzas here are baked old-school style in a coal oven. This results in a thin, crispy crust that’s blistered and charred around the edges, and a distinctive, smoky taste. They make their mozzarella and ricotta on site, roast their own peppers, and simmer their own sauce. Antipasto, salads, and calzones are also available. The Old Fulton Street location has great views of the Brooklyn Bridge, which is nice since there’s usually a long wait.

Formerly of Sullivan Street Bakery, Jim Lahey, owner of Co. (pronounced “company”), takes a hands-off approach to his crust. He barely mixes the dough, and then lets it rise without ever kneading it. Their tag line “Our pies are not always round,” is a statement of fact. Most of the time, they’re amorphous blobs of deliciousness. The light, airy crust is topped with crushed San Marzano tomatoes or béchamel, veal meatballs, caramelized onions, quail eggs, guanciale, or roasted cauliflower. If you don’t want pizza, order a plate of wonderful artisanal cheeses and salumi.

A Staten Island tavern that’s been owned by the same family since 1937, Denino’s Pizzeria is famous for its crust. In fact, their motto is “In crust, we trust.” While most pizzerias use cornmeal to slide the pie on and off the peel, Denino’s uses bread crumbs. After being cooked in a brick oven, the crust is thick and chewy on the inside, crunchy on the outside. The most popular pizzas here are the MOR (meatball, onion, and ricotta), and the Garbage Pie with sausage, meatballs, pepperoni, mushrooms, and onions.

In business since 1929, John’s is a New York legend. Every serious pizza lover, which is to say every New Yorker, has had a pie from John’s. And most have come back for more. Everyone from Jack Black to Regis Philbin is a fan. Their pizzas are coal-fired with a crisp crust and tasty toppings like fresh garlic, fennel sausage, and ricotta. Calzones, a couple of pastas, a side salad, and meatball subs round out the menu. John’s doesn’t accept credit cards and it doesn’t sell slices, just whole pies.

If you’re looking for an authentic Neapolitan pizza, come to Kesté on Bleeker Street. The owner, Roberto Caporuscio, is the president of the Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani, which means he learned pizza making in Naples and follows the precise guidelines of the organization. The oven is made with mud imported from Campania and it produces a charred, blistered crust with high sides that are lighter than air. The balance of mozzarella to San Marzano tomatoes is perfect. And his Pizza Margherita is the best you’ll find this side of Italy. Although it’s not traditional, the butternut squash puree, smoked mozzarella, and artichoke pizza is sensational.

The first licensed pizzeria in New York, Lombardi’s is the place to try authentic New York-style pizza. They’ve been in business since 1905, and they’re still making pizzas the way they did then — in a coal-fired oven. The pizza toppings here include sliced, homemade meatballs, sautéed spinach, Citterio pancetta, Rosa Grande pepperoni, imported anchovies, wild mushrooms, house-smoked peppers, and San Marzano tomatoes. The white pizza with three cheeses is delicious, and the calzones are excellent.

Find more recommended pizza restaurants.

1) Di Fara’s Pizzeria
2) Franny’s
3) Grimaldi’s Pizza
4) Co.
5) Denino’
6) John’s
7) Keste
8) Lombardi’s Pizza

View Best pizza restaurants in New York in a larger map

Di Fara Pizza Marggherita Image Flickr: SpecialKRB
Grimaldi’s Pizza Image Flickr: brianholsclaw

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