Growing up in WI, I used to think great Pizza was a place called "Rocky Rococo". We had a crappy pizza places in college so Rocky's was a welcome change. I didn't get great pizza until I visited New York years later. The best I ever had was a place called Joe's Pizza" on Carmine Street in the Village (Greenwich Village) and a close second was a small pizzeria in NJ called Kinchley's. Joe's: Kinchley's: https://www.kinchleyspizza.com/ What is the best slice of pizza you have ever had?
The best I ever had was here in Tucson at a restaurant named Sauce. https://www.saucepizzaandwine.com/
Any 'carbon-sooted' - aroma flavored, thin crust slice from a street vendor in Manhattan, lol... (at least that's my sentiment when in Chicago 'deep dish' pizza territory)
We have a chain here called MOD pizza. It's like a subway for pizza. You tell them what you want on it and I am usually saying "a little more please". You pay the same price for the size you request.
I really couldn't tell you, other than the fact that it's in a suburb just west of the city - my sister seems to like the place (I don't) & it takes neigh on a lifetime for them to make the damn thing... What I can tell you is that Cosmos in Stony Brook, NY (long Island) across the train tracks / station from SUNY (State University of NY) has amazing 'thin crust' pizza! Port Jefferson / ('Port Jeff' harbor) is a popular destination, just one stop past Stony Brook on the LIRR (for those that might venture out that way) ...
P.S. - (imho) a Chicago 'deep dish pizza' should be more aptly named an 'Italian Shepherd's pie'... just want to go on the record - in this important distinction, lol...
Never had a real pizza. Plenty of chains and frozens. Papa Johns is okay. And DiGiorno (frozen)rising crust supreme as well as some of their specialty pizza's, are satisfying. Home Run frozen pizza's aren't too bad either. Some day I hope to have a real pizza and a Philly cheese steak. If they're as good as they say, I may have to move.
The best pizza I ever had was in New York, but damn I can't remember the place. So I would have to say Grimaldi's Pizzeria is the best pizza. For pizza delivery, Hungry Howie's because of the seasoning options on the crust.
I will endorse a Philly cheese steak(having been born and lived in Philly for 24 of my 28 years.). There's nothing more enjoyable. Also, Philly is known for its soft pretzels.(Due to us German-Americans populating the area.) Philly cuisine is like nothing else in this world. It's the food mecca of the world. Now as for the OP's question: Best Pizza I've ever had. The irony is that I only had that as I moved here to Detroit. Particularly, Krazy Pizza on the east side of the town. Now that I'm on the West side, I lament that it's on the other side of the city and we don't have an operable vehicle lol. But god, their sauce was epic and their cheese even better.
My first slice was in 1972 at Pizza Hut. They no longer make decent pizza, but that first slice of pepperoni was amazing. The best I’ve ever had, in my mind to this day, was also when I was still a kid maybe in 74 at Joe Bologna’s in Lexington, Ky. It was mind blowing deep dish. I doubt very much I would enjoy now as I did then even if it were better than before. It’d be nice to try a slice from Brooklyn no doubt. Or Manhattan. Star Pizza here in Houston is the best I’ve had in H town - but I don’t often do restaurants. Di Giorno is a pretty decent pie. I used to make some decent slices with the Boboli crusts. Trick there is to broil instead of bake. Synthetic yeast, whatever that is, is the death of anything approaching a decent crust. Forget about NYC water. Worked for Dominoes for a couple of years. I made some killer pies, aside from some of the toppings being of less than stellar quality. I think they’ve switched to synthetic yeast nowadays though.
Best I’ve had was at Giuseppe's in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They are closed now unfortunately. Had a Chicago native take me to what she thought was the best place in Chicago once and I was underwhelmed. Can’t remember the name of the joint. I prefer to make my own pizza now. Can’t say much in defense of chains like Pizza Hut anymore, their quality has plummeted. We make our own sauce (as in grow the tomatoes, make the sauce) and crust. My dad taught me to make crust. The last couple years I’ve been using my own cheese as well (as in milk the cow, make the cheese). When we make pizza at least one is topped with homemade sauerkraut. Mmmmmm.
Prima Pizza in Cornwall, New York. I'm a native Long Islander, and it's widely understood among New Yorkers (the honest ones, anyway) that Long Island has the best pizza, bar none. Two years ago, though, I was in upstate New York with my brother settling my late aunt's estate. We decided to get some pizza, but we also just wanted to drive around a bit. We damn near tripped over this joint, and I'm glad we did. The pizza is sublime. I've had pizza all over the world, and nothing else comes close. And, get this: You can order it anywhere in the United States and it'll be delivered to your doorstep the next day. Just slide it into the oven and wait. It ain't cheap, but it's damn good. Here's a link to their website if you happen to be in Florence, Montana and want some good, New York pizza: https://www.pizzaofnewyork.com/Home Honorable mentions go to two other pizza joints. First, Lazzarra's Pizza on 38th Street in New York City. It doesn't look like much, but it was absolutely amazing: The second Honorable Mention goes to Il Ristoro Del Folle in Arrone, Italy. The guy in the pizzaria didn't speak English and I don't speak Italian, but we shared the language of pizza, and it was unexpectedly amazing. I'd had pizza a few different places in Italy, and they all fell far short compared to this:
I had a few slices in San Gimignano, Italy that was high on the list of best pizza ever. Looking forward to my next trip there. Can't remember the name.
NO ONE near me makes decent fresh pizza. I'd say I haven't had any fresh made pizza in a couple of years, and that crap was from Domino's. For frozen, I buy Trader Joe's. I've tried a few of their varieties and they've all been very good. I would suggest that they are probably 70% as good as fresh which to my discerning taste buds is outstanding. It's their crust. It's shockingly good for frozen. To me, they're 2x to 3x better than any of the major frozen brands. My fave is their roasted vegetable.
For me in Houston it was Yammin's Pizza on Mangum and Dacoma. That was also back in the 1970s, and the place long ago shut down. It's now a not half bad Mexican restaurant. But Yammin's produced the best thin crust pizza I've ever had.