One of the great things about pizza is its variety. Depending on which pizza toppings you use, your pizza can be Italian, Asian, Mexican or Greek. Hearty or healthful. Gourmet or grass roots.

But if you’re like us, you have a few favorite pizzas that you end up making over and over again. So maybe it’s time to shake things up with some tasty pizza toppings that are out are of the box — the pizza box that is.

Zucca restaurant in Los Angeles makes a fabulous pizza with roasted butternut squash, goat cheese, caramelized onions, and smoked prosciutto. How good is that! To roast the squash, dice it, place it on baking sheet, drizzle with melted butter or olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. You can puree the squash to make a sauce, or just smash down the chunks with a fork.

Another great pizza restaurant is Sonsie in Boston. They make a pizza with grilled corn, smoked bacon, and brie, fontina, and Gruyere cheese that’s just incredible. You can grill the corn on your barbecue, or do it indoors on a grill pan. When it caramelizes, it gets incredibly sweet. And the contrast with the smoky bacon is wonderful. Cut the corn off the cob to use it as a pizza topping.

Squash blossoms are a popular appetizer in Rome. Stuffed with bread crumbs, cheese, and maybe a little anchovy, they’re fried until crispy. Pizzeria Mozza, also in Los Angeles, makes a pizza with squash blossoms, tomato, and burrata cheese. If you haven’t had burrata cheese, it’s basically mozzarella cheese with a heavy cream center. When you cut into it, the creamy center oozes out over the plate. Another Mozza specialty is Gorgonzola, fingerling potatoes, radicchio and rosemary.

Two of the most popular pizzas at Serious Pie in Seattle — part of the Tom Douglas restaurant family — are Penn Cove clams, house pancetta, and lemon thyme, and guanciale (bacon from pigs’ cheeks), soft eggs, and dandelion greens. We’ve had Capriciossa pizza on the Isle of Capri with an egg broken over the top of the pizza just before it goes into the oven.

If you find it challenging to get five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, try experimenting with different vegetable pizza toppings.

For something delicious but different, try roasted yams, fried sage, and brown butter. To brown butter, heat it in a heavy-bottom stainless steel pan over medium heat. When it turns medium brown, remove it from the heat and place the pan in a sink full or cold water to stop the cooking process. For even more flavor, add lemon juice and garlic. Slather it over the dough with a pastry brush, and save a little to drizzle over the top when it comes out of the oven.

To fry sage, take whole, fresh sage leaves and saute them in hot oil for about 20 seconds, or until they turn crisp and brown around the edges. These are absolutely delicious and require very limited effort to make.

Read more pizza topping articles here.

Prosciutto & Arugula Pizza Image Flickr: Sebastian Mary
White Pizza with Basil Image Flickr: nate steiner

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Although Naples is known as the physical and spiritual home of pizza, Rome has many terrific pizza restaurants.  And having pizza in Rome should be on every visitors to-do list.

Roman pizza is thinner and crispier than Neapolitan pizza.  And you’ll find more pizza toppings in Rome than you will in Naples, where there are really only two kinds of pizza – marinara and margherita.  Most Rome pizza restaurants also serve pasta, salads, and antipasto.

Capricciosa pizza has artichokes, mushrooms, prosciutto, olives, and whatever else the chef feels like adding.  Quattro Stagioni, which means “four seasons,” is divided into quarters, each with different toppings.  Both are well worth trying.

From simple, storefronts with communal tables to charming trattorias with table clothes and terraces, Rome’s pizza restaurants offer something for everyone.

The following is our list of Rome’s best pizza restaurants:

-       Close to Piazza Navona, Da Baffetto is the most popular pizzeria in Rome.  You’ll probably have to wait for a table, and then, you’ll likely share it with others.  But once you’re seated, you won’t have to wait long.  And you’ll think the pizza was worth the hassle.  It’s the perfect texture, the toppings are intensely flavorful, and the cheese-to-crust ratio is perfect.  To accommodate all the fans, Da Baffetto opened a second location on Piazza del Teatro di Pompeo.

-       Da Vittorio in Trastevere serves Neapolitan pizza with a thicker, chewier crust.  Lots of pizza toppings are available and you can combine them in dozens of ways.  You can nibble an antipasto while you wait, and enjoy a salad on the side.  Da Vittorio is always packed, but you can reserve a table, which will reduce, but probably not eliminate, your wait time.  Trastevere is hopping at night, so Da Vittorio is a fun place to start or end an evening.

-       Also in Trastevere, Dar Poeta serves traditional Roman pizza, but also offers fancy pizza toppings like Grand Marnier and apples.  Yum.  The yeast-free, slow rising dough is made from a secret recipe and you can order either thin or thick crust.  They make several kinds of bruschetta, which help take the edge off.  And for dessert, order the Nutella and ricotta-stuffed calzone.  Since Dar Poeta doesn’t take reservations, be prepared to wait.

-       Opened in the 1930s, Est Est Est is a family-owned place as noted for the hospitality as the pizza.  I remember years ago when I was in Rome with a cold, one of the guys at the hotel where I was staying convinced them to open before dinner so I could get a bowl of chicken soup.  When I returned several nights later, everyone in the place was singing Arrivederci Roma with the waiters.   Unlike other Roman pizzas, there’s has a thick crust that’s cooked in a pan.  Est Est Est is a fun place with a typical Roman ambience.

-       Those staying near the Termini rail station will find La Gallina Bianca convenient.  They’re open for lunch and dinner, which is rare.  And they have a wood-burning oven, which turns out perfectly crisp pizzas.  There’s a also a nice selection of pastas and traditional trattoria dishes.    You can dine inside or out, and there’s a good selection of wine available too.

-       The success of Da Baffetto encouraged the daughter to open her own pizzeria, La Montecarlo, around the corner from the original location.  Not only do they serve excellent thin-crust pizzas with the usual Italian pizza toppings, they also serve good wine and delicious home-made desserts.  Expect to wait for a table.

-       For the most imaginative pizza toppings in Rome, go to Pizzarium, a carry-out place not far from the Vatican Museums.  The dough used here is left to rise for 72 hours, and the rectangular pizza slices are sold by weight.  Organic vegetable pizza toppings like eggplant, potatoes, and asparagus compete with coppa, pancetta, and sausage.  You’ll have to eat your slice standing up, but you can wash it down with a small-batch beer.  While you’re there, get a loaf of sourdough bread for your breakfast.

Read about the best Italian restaurants in Rome here.

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