Did you know that February 9 is National Pizza Day? With that in mind we hit up some of our favorite pizza joints in the city. Our tasty tour began in one of Seattle most diverse neighborhoods.
"This is Bar del Corso on Beacon Hill and we are a wood fired pizzeria with a kitchen," says Jerry Corso, chef & owner of Bar del Corso. His take on pizza has made this place a popular pick ever since they opened three years ago.
"It is Neapolitan in style. A Neapolitan is cooked in a wood fired oven in about 90 seconds. We cook at around 850 degrees very hot. What I like and how we are a little bit different some Neapolitan pizzeria fire in oven is that we like to get some color on the bottom of that crust so it's not soggy," says Corso.
The pizza specials change daily, but the standards are always on the menu.
"The pizza is called the fuggy. It's sliced mushrooms, carmine mushrooms in this case, house made sausage and the fontana. Another popular pizza is the Corno Di Carra. It has the house made sausage, pickled goat horn peppers, mozzarella and a little bit of garlic."
"Really that's what makes the pizza is when you try not to over load it," says Corso.
A truly American made pizza can be found in Seattle University Village.
"This is Delfino's Chicago Style Pizza and it's been around since 1992," says Jay Cascio, owner of Delfino's Chicago Style Pizza.
"Chicago style pizza is really defined by a few things. Number one you have to have a good crust. Number 2 the sauce. Number 3 top quality fresh ingredients, and number 4 if you're truly authentic oven," explains Cascio.
The oven used a Delfino's is almost as old as the Chicago style itself.
"Chicago style pizza was invented in Chicago back in 1943 and back in 1947 this oven was built for the specific reason of cooking Chicago style pizza. Chicago style pizza take about 30 minutes to cook because they're so big. They're so plump, they're so full. So you need an oven to distribute that heat evenly to cook them slowly in a 600 degree oven," says Cascio.
With almost every pizza coming in around 5 pounds, you'd be hard pressed to walk away hungry.
"There are a lot of deep dish places, but very authentic Chicago style in the northwest and we're happy and lucky to be number one," says Cascio.
For Seattleites who've spent years searching desperately through the rain for that perfect slice, look no further than Capital Hill's Italian Family Pizza. We're willing to bet even East Coasters will find themselves impressed.
Italian Family Pizza has that simple, authentically East Coast quality that we all have in mind when we dream about the perfect pizza. These slices aren't cut in squares or served "flatbread style." Fold them in half like a real East Coaster!
Toppings are simple unpretentious classics which value taste over trend. To put it simply, you won't find a "maple bacon pizza" anywhere near this menu. The Calozzis' dedication to tradition is abundantly clear when you check out their white pizza. A rarity in the Northwest, this white pizza isn't made with Alfredo sauce like those other fakes! Mozzarella, fresh cheese, olive oil and pecorino romano is more than enough and it is delicious!
3057 Beacon Ave S
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 395-2069
University Village
2631 NE University Village St
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 522-3466
1028 Madison St
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 538-0040
