A Vegan Chicago Style Pizzaria in New York
When I was in Chicago a couple of months ago, it struck me as odd that one style of pizza would completely dominate an entire city. Why would everyone in Chicago prefer pizza that has its toppings baked into the middle of its deep dish crust, with the tomato sauce on top of the crust? Because it’s the best?
Maybe, but then why would everyone in New York prefer pizza on really, really thin crust? Because they want the worst? Doesn’t seem likely.
There are a lot of reasons for someone to live in either Chicago or New York, and it can’t possibly be that everyone moves to Chicago because they like deep dish, and everyone moves to New York because they like thin crust.
Full disclosure: when I think about the pizza I had in Chicago, I do feel a slight tug toward the Midwest. Not enough to completely uproot my life, however!
Economically, it seems to make no sense that one style could dominate each. It’s not like it’s a natural resource issue, as all the key ingredients are the same. It’s choice, not necessity, that compels each pizzaria to copy the style of every other pizzaria in the city.
Yet there has to be variety in the tastes of people in these respective cities. A restaurant that came into either city and offered the opposite of whatever the city was known for should be able to make a killing. So why hasn’t anyone done it?
I suspect that it’s not impossible to find thin crust pizza in Chicago, though Joe tells me that when he was growing up there, he only heard tale of New York Style thin crust pizza, and he dreamed of the day he could try it. So it can’t be that easy to find.
And worse, in New York, Chicago style pizza apparently only exists (and I’ve asked Yahoo Answers!) at Pizzaria Uno, the chain that developed the Chicago style. How can there not be one Chicago pizzaria expat here setting up shop to bring a taste of the heartland to the bustling East Coast?
I wouldn’t mind resorting to a chain pizzaria to obliterate that slight Midwest tug, except that cheese is already baked into all of Pizzaria Uno’s crusts, making it completely impossible to buy vegan Chicago style pizza in New York… the city that has everything!
So I’m going to start a completely vegan/whole wheat Chicago style pizzaria in Brooklyn. No cheese, thin crusts, or Yankees allowed! Try and stop me.
You can’t.
5 years ago