Aggravating “22 Best Pizza Places in US” List Only Names 1 from New York

Since when has California ever had better pizza than New York?

A shocking new survey from the New York Times of all publications has released its annual list of the 22 best pizza places in America. Pizza lovers everywhere are rightfully shocked and a little outraged over who made the cut this year.

The biggest problem is only one New York pizza parlor made the cut, as did New Jersey. Meanwhile, the list completely ignored Connecticut and instead highlighted a joint from Massachusetts and Vermont. Even Alaska secured an entry!

Meanwhile, California managed to nab 2 nods, thus completely invalidating this list.

While some may argue the NYT was trying to elevate lesser-known pizza joints, others feel that the publication is choosing to highlight "craft" or "bougie" pizza that's popular with the TikTok generation and not the traditional kind that most Americans actually want to eat.

The only New York pizza joint to earn a pat on the head was Roberta's in Brooklyn and what NYT wrote about it gives a lot of levity to those flaming the article.

There was a pizza with tuna, another with bacon and eggs and a pineapple-topped version of Hawaiian pizza called the Da Kine. It sounded at times like a dorm-room joke, but the smoky, blistered crust was excellent and the ingredients first-rate.

As for Chicago, which tends to but heads with the Empire State for the coveted pizza title, the sole joint to earn recognition was Bungalow by Middle Brow.

The crusts are fragrant and flavorful, with sturdy undercarriages, and the Neapolitan pizzas are always memorable, whether they’re topped with the barest amount of ingredients (order at least one with tomato sauce and yuzu oil) or the makings of a German potato salad, to name just one in the never-ending parade of specialty pies.

New Jersey's single entry was a tiny joint called Race, which earned high marks for its "white pie topped with honey from New Jersey bees and toasted, blight-resistant hazelnuts grown in East Brunswick by plant biologists at Rutgers University."

As for other locations to secure some love from NYT, who clearly craves "Instagrammable" pies over actual flavor, were City House in Nashville, Here's Pizza in Oregon, The Lincoln Winebar in Iowa, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, Little Donna's in Baltimore, Post Office Pies in Alabama, Good Luck in Juneau, and Young Joni in Minneapolis.

In all, I have never felt so disappointed in a list of the best pizzas in America and am inclined to think some entries paid their way to earn a slot on the annual roundup.

It's incredible that New York, Chicago, and New Jersey had just one entry each while Connecticut was snubbed entirely. Not to mention, if you scroll through the article, some of those "featured pizzas" look downright disgusting.

Read More: Did You Know America's 3rd Oldest Pizzeria Is in Central New York?

If anything, most of the pictured pies in the article look like pizzas influencers order just to tap their nails on the crust and talk in their signature ASMR voices for clicks. In short, the New York Times' roundup is a sham.

I'd rather break dry linguine noodles in front of a bunch of Italian grandparents than taste any of these "fancy" pies featured on this list.

Meanwhile, check out this roundup from last month that featured a whopping six New York pizzerias on its "best in the U.S." list.

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