Square-Cut Pizza

[Johnny Angel]

I'm from Chicago, where if you ordered a pizza, it came cut in square slices. Personally, I like it that way, probably because I was raised on it, although I can see how people might prefer the radial slices. But I wonder how the practice of scotching the pizza came about in the first place, and why it's practiced mainly and almost universally in Chicago. Does anyone have a reasonable explaination, or at least a homey anecdote?

[evilhanz]

Here's the answer as suggested by Ledo Pizza, a chain of pizza restaurants primarily based in Maryland.


People often ask why LEDO Pizza is rectangular. The round pizza pans commonly seen today were very new in the fifties. Rectangular baking pans were readily available, hence the square pizza. Since that time, round pans have become the rage as pizza operators are able to cut costs by giving the appearance of more, while actually offering less.


In fact, they have a whole page devoted to this topic: http://www.ledopizza.com/history.html

[evilhanz]

Oh, one other thing, on the OP. Square pizza is not strictly a Chicago phenomenon. I found many restaurants on the East Coast offering the square pizza. A WAG - the affinity for pan pizza might explain why it's more prevalant in the Chicago area. A pan pizza lends itself better to a rectangular baking pan, than a round baking pan, which I've never seen :), and would presumably be more difficult to find.

[Johnny Angel]

I'm not talking about pizza that's baked in a rectangular shape. I'm talking about pizza that's round, but cut in squares.

[Lance Turbo]

I know what your talking about Johnny Angel. I'm a Chicagoan now living in North Carolina and I was just talking about this two days ago.

When I was in the army, I would try to exlpain to people that good pizza was cut in squares and bad pizza (Dominos, Pizza Hut) was cut in triangles. People couldn't wrap their minds around the idea of round pizzas cut into squares.

[stuyguy]

Square pizza = "Sicilian" pizza

Take it from an Brooklynborn Italian-American.

[Toolie]

No!!!! What about those pieces that are extremely tiny because of the unevenness (?) of the squares being cut into a circle??? How can you live with that? Geez. Society.....

[Johnny Angel]

Toolie wrote:

No!!!! What about those pieces that are extremely tiny because of the unevenness (?) of the squares being cut into a circle??? How can you live with that?

It's a metaphor for life.

But what I'm asking is, why squares, why Chicago?

[ZenBeam]

There was a place in Lansing, MI, in the Seventies, and may still be there, which served round pizza cut into squares: Sir Pizza. A search turned up a broken link (http://www.sir-pizza.qpg.com/) which may or may not be them, but also a newspaper article (http://www.statenews.com/editionsspring97/021797/p1_pizza.html) mentioning them from 1997.

I remember they were good, but then I was a kid, Dominoes was good too (but they were nothing like Dominoes).

No idea if they're still cut into squares though.

Oh, and no answer for the OP either, I guess.

[evilhanz]

Originally posted by Johnny Angel
I'm not talking about pizza that's baked in a rectangular shape. I'm talking about pizza that's round, but cut in squares.

Ahh! Sorry, it wasn't clear to me in the OP. The reasons suggested include: 1) you don't have left-over pizza "bones" in the form of crust, 2) greater use of toppings, 3) more slices, and with more slices, 4) it's easier to share. 5) It was also suggested that the square slices are easier to handle and eat.

[mangeorge]

The kids get the edges, parents get the middles because the middles are "too hot" for kids. ;)
They do catch on, sooner or later.
Peace,
mangeorge

[Jackmannii]

In the late '70s a very fine example of the square-cut pizza was offered by Pagliai's of Grinnell, Iowa. They have since expanded to Des Moines.

[Tzel]

Originally posted by Toolie
No!!!! What about those pieces that are extremely tiny because of the unevenness (?) of the squares being cut into a circle??? How can you live with that? Geez. Society.....

Easy, those are for people who have eaten almost enough to be full, and don't have the appetite for a full slice. Sounds like a good setup to me.

[SmackFu]

Perhaps because if you tried that in the Northeast, you would be shot. Square-cuts? Are you serious? Any real pizza is cut in wedges.

[evilbeth]

Originally posted by Lance Turbo


When I was in the army, I would try to exlpain to people that good pizza was cut in squares and bad pizza (Dominos, Pizza Hut) was cut in triangles.

Not always true. I'm not sure about where you live but here, the Dominoes' thin crust pizza is round but cut into square pieces.

[Whammo]

but what about the crust??? if you eat the middle piece you have no crust! thats the best part!

[GaryM]

In St. Louis, square cut pizza is popular. One of the local outfits, IMO'S, advertises "the square beyond compare". When I lived in NYC 35 years ago, Sicilian Pizza was rectangular and cut into squares.

[BunnyGirl]

ZenBeam, my friend, have no fear. Sir Pizza is alive and well and still serving up the best pizza in town (DeLuca's started using cheaper ingredients and have gone way down hill). And they are still square-cut, round pizzas with toppings all the way to the edge.

Now, Sir Pizza breadsticks, truly food of the gods, but that's another thread!

[Philster]

Originally posted by stuyguy
Square pizza = "Sicilian" pizza

Take it from an Brooklynborn Italian-American.

Ay! Sicilian pizza is also know for having a fuller crust.

Stuyguy, these "Americans" (ah-meh-ti-cans) don't have a clue.

Real pizza is either round with a thin crust , Neopolitan (Nap-lo-tan), or Sicilian.

Anything else is bogus. Chicago....ha...give me a break.

The best Neopolitan pizza comes from down da shore on da boardwalk. The best sicilian comes from neighborhoods in New Yawk, Philly, and such.

Ignorant midwesterners.

[Hamadryad]

When Pizza Hut was offering the "Edge" pizza, it was a circular pizza cut into squares. I sort of liked it; the crusty bits at the edges were nice and snacky, and the middle pieces didn't have all that excess crust that gets in the way while you're trying to enjoy the sensation of blisteringly hot pizza sauce sliding out from under the cheese and onto the back of your hand.

[Max Torque]

Whenever I order a thin crust pizza from Domino's, it comes square-cut rather than wedge-cut. No idea why.

[c_goat]

So what do you get if you order a "slice" of pizza? Do they have different prices for the middle/edges since they would be of significantly different sizes? How many cuts do they make? Info please!

[Spritle]

Originally posted by evilhanz


Here's the answer as suggested by Ledo Pizza, a chain of pizza restaurants primarily based in Maryland.


People often ask why LEDO Pizza is rectangular. The round pizza pans commonly seen today were very new in the fifties. Rectangular baking pans were readily available, hence the square pizza. Since that time, round pans have become the rage as pizza operators are able to cut costs by giving the appearance of more, while actually offering less.




According to their advertising, "Ledo's pizza is square because they don't cut corners."
:)

[troub]

Originally posted by Jackmannii
In the late '70s a very fine example of the square-cut pizza was offered by Pagliai's of Grinnell, Iowa. They have since expanded to Des Moines.

I know of a Pagliai's in Carbondale, IL. I don't know if it is the same "chain" or not. Very good pizza.

[Johnny Angel]

c_goat wrote:

So what do you get if you order a "slice" of pizza? Do they have different prices for the middle/edges since they would be of significantly different sizes? How many cuts do they make? Info please!

Pizza-by-the-slice comes in radial slices. That's how you know it's pizza-by-the-slice. I always thought it was wierd how people on television always ate pizza-by-the-slice.

[Crafter_Man]

Marion's Piazza is the #1 pizza joint here (Dayton, OH), and they cut the pizza into squares by default. They've been cutting their pizzas this way for 30 years.

[Palandine]

Originally posted by GaryM
In St. Louis, square cut pizza is popular. One of the local outfits, IMO'S, advertises "the square beyond compare".

Imo's, eeeewwwwww! (which makes me a St. Louis heretic, I guess)

They use Provel cheese, which I've been told is a strictly St. Louis thing-- a hybrid of provolone and mozzarella that i think has really tacky melting qualities.

Give me Pizza-A-Go-Go or Fortel's Pizza Den (both also square cut) any old day of the week for St. Louis pizza. heck, give me Papa John's.

No answer for the OP. :)

[elmwood]

In Buffalo, pizza in the form of a large rectangle, cut into squares, is very common -- it's called "party pizza" in the local vernacular. Round pizza in Buffalo is often cut into 10 or 12 "strips," rather than wedge-shaped slices as is the norm elsewhere in the country.

[Skwerl]

Originally posted by Palandine
Originally posted by GaryM
In St. Louis, square cut pizza is popular. One of the local outfits, IMO'S, advertises "the square beyond compare".

Imo's, eeeewwwwww! (which makes me a St. Louis heretic, I guess)

They use Provel cheese, which I've been told is a strictly St. Louis thing-- a hybrid of provolone and mozzarella that i think has really tacky melting qualities.

Give me Pizza-A-Go-Go or Fortel's Pizza Den (both also square cut) any old day of the week for St. Louis pizza. heck, give me Papa John's.

No answer for the OP. :)

*Gasp!*
Being a St. Louis native, I've grown up on square slices. I've come to equate square with quality, actually. And provel is the best cheese for pizzas, IMHO. I'd take a thin square topped with provel over a fat triangle topped with mozzarella. Provel melts smoother.
Anyway, legend has it Imo's does squares because Ed Imo, the founder, was formerly a tile layer, and subconciously sliced the pizza into squares, like tiles. I don't know the veracity of that tale, but it sounds good.

[mblackwell]

When Pizza Hut was offering the "Edge" pizza, it was a circular pizza cut into squares. I sort of liked it; the crusty bits at the edges were nice and snacky, and the middle pieces didn't have all that excess crust that gets in the way while you're trying to enjoy the sensation of blisteringly hot pizza sauce sliding out from under the cheese and onto the back of your hand.

It wasn't nearly as good as Donato's, the Ohio chain that sued Pizza Hut over the "Edge" trademark.

[mblackwell]

I forgot to say that a Donato's advertizment says they cut it into pieces instead of slices because "thats where the word 'pizza' comes from."

[tbea925]

Originally posted by troub
I know of a Pagliai's in Carbondale, IL. I don't know if it is the same "chain" or not. Very good pizza. [/B]

Mmmmmmmm. Pag's Pizza.


Reminisces about too many nights at the Hangar.

[squeegee]

Originally posted by Philster
Originally posted by stuyguy
Square pizza = "Sicilian" pizza

Take it from an Brooklynborn Italian-American.

Ay! Sicilian pizza is also know for having a fuller crust.

Stuyguy, these "Americans" (ah-meh-ti-cans) don't have a clue.

Real pizza is either round with a thin crust , Neopolitan (Nap-lo-tan), or Sicilian.

Anything else is bogus. Chicago....ha...give me a break.

The best Neopolitan pizza comes from down da shore on da boardwalk. The best sicilian comes from neighborhoods in New Yawk, Philly, and such.

Ignorant midwesterners.

Actually, pizza was invented in Chicago. By a Mexican guy, no less.

Italy...ha...give me a break.
Ignorant Europeans. :)

[squeegee]

Actually, pizza was invented in Chicago. By a Mexican guy, no less.

Italy...ha...give me a break.
Ignorant Europeans. :)

Oops. It seems deep dish pizza was invented in Chicago in the early 20th century.

Thin-crust pizza seems to have originated in Naples in the 1600's (after the Neopolitans decided American tomatoes were pretty good grub to put on thin bread).

I stand corrected (by myself).

[GaryM]

Originally posted by Palandine
[QUOTE]

Imo's, eeeewwwwww! (which makes me a St. Louis heretic, I guess)

They use Provel cheese, which I've been told is a strictly St. Louis thing-- a hybrid of provolone and mozzarella that i think has really tacky melting qualities.

Give me Pizza-A-Go-Go or Fortel's Pizza Den (both also square cut) any old day of the week for St. Louis pizza. heck, give me Papa John's.

No answer for the OP. :)
Fortel's is great pizza. But I live in North County and it's quite a haul to get there. Had it once and liked it! Would go again.

[yamo]

Grew up in NYC. Been to Chicago. Chicago don't know from pizza. I got your deep dish right here! Chicago pizza is a calzone with amnesia.

[Cisco]

Originally posted by evilhanz a round baking pan, which I've never seen

Have you ever been to pizza hut?

Originally posted by Max Torque Whenever I order a thin crust pizza from Domino's, it comes square-cut rather than wedge-cut. No idea why.



If you pile a couple toppings on a thin crust pizza and cut it into wedges it will break when you pick it up.


-Cisco the pizza guru

[PeeQueue]

Chicago style pizza? Bah! Who wants that junk? In my day, there was 2 pizza parlors on every block, and every one was better than the last. I've never found better pizza anywhere than there was where I grew up in Brooklyn.

PeeQueue

(Just trying to stir up the rivalry a bit more.)

[Zor]

All this reminds me of something I read a few years ago... some Chinese company sued an Italian company for claiming that pizzas were invented in Italy. Their argument was that when Marco Polo staying in China, he loved a Chinese dish where meat and vegetables were placed on a round piece of dough and baked. When he returned to Italy, he tried to reproduce that dish, but didn't have the necessary ingredients. He ended up using whatever he could find, and then topped it all off with cheese, and voilà, pizza as we know it was born, all ripped off from the Chinese :D

[manhattan]

Please keep the "my pizza is better than your pizza" stuff in IMHO and the "remember this place?" stuff in MPSIMS.

Thank you