For those that have never been to Italy or never eaten authentic Italian style pizza fired in a wood oven, the switch to true Italian pizza can be a bit surprising.  The pizzas at California Pizza Kitchen would outrage most Italians.  If you try to ask for an New York style pizza or a Chicago style pizza you will get a strange quizzical look unless the pizzeria owner happens to have family in New York or Chicago.  There are two different regional styles here, Roman style and Neapolitan or Napoli style.

What makes the differences are mostly the dough and the toppings.  Dough is hand tossed here. Period.  And it is tossed as thinly as angel wings for the Roman style.  The Napoli style is a touch thicker than a New York style.  You will only find thicker crusts in the pizzerias that sell slices by weight.  Cuz then they make more money with the same amount of toppings.  I have yet to find a deep dish style pizza in the Chicago tradition, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

You will not notice a significant difference in pizza sauce, except in the quantity, generally just enough is used to complement the flavors of the toppings.  There will not be tomato sauce oozing all over your plate.  There are also a significant amount of white pizzas.  When the flavor of tomatoes does not blend well with the toppings the pizza will be sauceless, or very occasionally have a white sauce.

Toppings are the difference people tend to notice first.  Yes, mozzerella is used, and in the better pizzerias they use a low water content mozzerella because the water doesn’t leach out and make the crust soggy. But, and this is a big but, the amount used is a lot less than anything you will see at Round Table or Pizza Hut.  Far and away the most popular pizza is the margharita, tomato sauce, mozzerella and basil.  Most pizzerias will have about 20 different types you can order.  You will find pork products of every incarnation on pizza, pepperoni, sausage, prosciutto etc.  You will also find anchovies, capers, mushrooms and most types of vegetables.  You will find egg.  Give it a shot, it’s actually quite good, anyone who likes a bacon and egg breakfast should try it at least once.  If you are looking for BBQ sauce or chicken you will be looking for a long time.

Unless you are eating a thick slice from a by the slice pizzeria people here eat the pizza with a knife and fork, at least until getting to the outer crust.  And most places do not slice the pizza, with the thinner crust it cools faster and slicing before it goes to the table makes it cool even faster.  Drizzle some of the olive oil infused with peppers over your pizza if you are a fan of spicy food and you will be in pizza heaven