Best Pizza in Iowa?

[Herkmeister]

Jerry's in Sioux City?
Lincoln Wine Bar in Mt. Vernon?
Fong's in Des Moines?

 

[dirt33]

Casey's, any location.

 

[HotelAlphaWilcoKilo]

Casey's, any location.

It's been awhile, but Zoey's in Marion and Wig and Pen (Iowa City, barely) both had good stuff. That place in Ames (Great Plains?) was like eating sawdust.

Edit: Edited to give propers to Pagliai's. Ain't nothing wrong with thin crust and I like that they had their troops all in uniform up at the front of the shop, assembly line style.

 

[JWolf74]

Wig and Pen in IC

 

[Big_Palooka]

Bombfire Pizza in Sabula.

 

[hansenhawk]

Might as well get it over with before someone else does it;

Mabe's in Decorah

 

[millah_22]

You guys think you know about pizza, you don't know SHHHH. Quad City style pizza is simply the best.

 

[HawkFantastic]

You guys think you know about pizza, you don't know SHHHH. Quad City style pizza is simply the best.

I googled QC Style and it showed nothing helpful.

 

[longliveCS40]

I googled QC Style and it showed nothing helpful.

Put the toppings under the cheese and cut into strips. That's Q.C. Style.

It's undeserving of being a "style".

 

[Pinehawk]

1. Pagliai's
2. Wig and Pen
3. Tomaso's
4. Herb and Lou's
5. Mabe's
6. Fong's
...

 

[HawkeyeFever62]

There is a little gem of a pizza place in Adair called Zipp's; incredible pizza.

 

[longliveCS40]

1. Pagliai's
2. Wig and Pen
3. Tomaso's
4. Herb and Lou's
5. Mabe's
6. Fong's
...

That's a good list.

 

[JakeJaacks]

Mabe's

 

[chill_hawk]

CR:
Cappys
Tomasos

Mt Vernon:
Winebar

IC:
Wig & Pen
Paglials

 

[Catfish_ Crazy]

Felix & Oscars - Des Moines

Leon's - Webster City

Pickles - Kamrar

 

[naturalmwa]

Put the toppings under the cheese and cut into strips. That's Q.C. Style.

It's undeserving of being a "style".

Add malt crust and spicy sauce and it might.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

1. Pagliai's
2. Wig and Pen
3. Tomaso's
4. Herb and Lou's
5. Mabe's
6. Fong's
...

I'd flip that list and add the wedge somewhere between Mabes and Wig and Pen.

 

[INXS83]

Jerry's in Sioux City?
Lincoln Wine Bar in Mt. Vernon?
Fong's in Des Moines?

Leonardo's in CR. Best crust ever.

 

[Kenneth Griffin]

Fongs is disgusting, not even top 10 in des moines.

Just off the top of my head, Gusto, jersey guys, centro, paesanos and chef D's are all better.

 

[Tom Paris]

Jerry's in Mount Pleasant.

 

[ClarindaA's]

Jerry's in Sioux City?
Lincoln Wine Bar in Mt. Vernon?
Fong's in Des Moines?

J's Pizza in Clarinda.....gotta try it.

 

[gojojo]

Everyone in CR should try Need Pizza downtown. We are having a debate in the office over Tomasso's vs Need; Need is in the lead

I still like Zoey's over Need.

 

[Herkmeister]

Fongs is disgusting, not even top 10 in des moines.

Just off the top of my head, Gusto, jersey guys, centro, paesanos and chef D's are all better.

Geez, I have a few places to go. And I forgot to mention the BBQ chicken at the Tavern. That used to be pretty good. Have not been there in a long time.

 

[longliveCS40]

Everyone in CR should try Need Pizza downtown. We are having a debate in the office over Tomasso's vs Need; Need is in the lead

I still like Zoey's over Need.

Never tried Need but Tomaso's Detroit style is pretty good. For some reason used to be better when they had the little place downtown years ago.

 

[gojojo]

Never tried Need but Tomaso's Detroit style is pretty good. For some reason used to be better when they had the little place downtown years ago.

I know many people that love Tomaso's, but I am not a big fan of thicker crust. Need is a nice in between on New York paper thin and that Detroit style. If you like the Detroit Style you will like Tomaso's better, but you should check Need out. Not only for the za but it's a cool place with lots of good beers. Nice to see DT get more options

 

[millhawk]

Jerry's in Sioux City's overrated along with Paglia's in Iowa City.

The two best are El Fredo's in Sioux City and Wig and Pen IC.

North Zone in Sioux City is right up there.

 

[noles123]

TJ's Pizza in Clermont

 

[HawkFantastic]

J's Pizza in Clarinda.....gotta try it.

Have. Pure. Garbage. If you like no flavor and finely shredded meat (not chunks), then it's your thing.

 

[torbee]

Put the toppings under the cheese and cut into strips. That's Q.C. Style.

It's undeserving of being a "style".

I get that people don't necessarily like it, but that is bullshit.

It is a distinctive style, with a distinctive malty crust.

Here's some info from a pizza blog that listed it as one of seven distinct Midwest pizza styles:

Back-of-the-napkin report
Oven:Gas-fired stone deck, usually by Rotoflex
Cheese(s): 2.5% milk-fat content Wisconsin mozzarella, and alot of it
Key practitioners:Harris; Frank's; Wise Guys; Roots (Chicago)

Scott's take
The crust ranges up to 16" in diameter, and has "a nutty sweetness to it", which Scott says is due to the malt syrup used in the dough. "The dough is slow-rise, which means that the yeast eats off that malt at a cold temperature and gives [the crust] the complexity of a sourdough", even though it's way sweeter. "People tend to fight over the crust because it's so sweet," he says. Note: tradition dictates that a Quad Cities pie should be long strips cut with big kitchen scissors, not a pizza wheel.

Aerated sausage pillows? Aerated sausage pillows!
When it comes to toppings, Quad Cities gets full-on Midwest with it, hiding a super-fine layer of ground sausage beneath that Wisco mozz. "We buy what’s called 'cushions [of sausage]'", says Scott, then "grind it once and cook it. After we’ve cooked it, we put 50lb bags of flour over it to draw as much grease out as possible. Then we grind it again, and it actually gets really fluffy and aerated. Like a pillow.”

If you've ever referred to the Quad Cities as part of "the flyover states", now is a good time to start making amends.

I will concede that it can be an acquired taste, but it is a legitimate regional style and one that is quite popular in Iowa and Illinois.

 

[ClarindaA's]

Have. Pure. Garbage. If you like no flavor and finely shredded meat (not chunks), then it's your thing.

try the bavarian...it's sauerkraut and ham.....different strokes for different folks.

 

[HawkFantastic]

try the bavarian...it's sauerkraut and ham.....different strokes for different folks.

Work with somebody that said that one was good.

 

[CoachRickVice]

Wig and Pen in IC

This

 

[ClarindaA's]

Work with somebody that said that one was good.

just be prepared for the after shocks

 

[aflachawk]

Jerry's in Sioux City?
Lincoln Wine Bar in Mt. Vernon?
Fong's in Des Moines?

Lincoln wine bar? Tried it once, will not do it again.

 

[CeMar_Clone]

Put the toppings under the cheese and cut into strips. That's Q.C. Style.

It's undeserving of being a "style".

I never miss getting a Harris pizza in the QC. Zoeys is probably the best Pizza I have had in the CR/IC area, but it does not compare to Harris. Zoeys would be my 2nd best pizza.

So many pizza joints server sausage in chunks which sucks. Sausage is to be served finely ground.

 

[StormHawk42]

Gusto is pretty legit. I like their non-traditional flavors.

 

[linkshero]

If thread title was yeasty, wheaty, pizza shaped bread loaf tasting of crap that has no problem taking 2 hours to deliver.....Great Plains would get my vote.

I like W&P...and Geyer's, for the State Fair like atmosphere.

 

[Herkmeister]

Felix & Oscars - Des Moines

Leon's - Webster City

Pickles - Kamrar

Leon's in Webster City is a solid call. Their deluxe is as good as I have had.

 

[Speedway1]

My ranks for this year are
1 Zipps In Adair
2 Angellini's in Keokuk
3 Mabes in Decorah
4 Wig n Pen in Coralville
5 Caseys's Flatbread! all over

 

[dbq hawk 32]

try the bavarian...it's sauerkraut and ham.....different strokes for different folks.

Wait... Canadian bacon and sauerkraut isn't a common topping?

Watershed cafe in dubuque belongs on this list.