Food Fight: LA Restaurant Claims to Have Country's Best Pizza

Michael's Pizzeria in Long Beach, California is calling itself the number one pizza spot in America according to Zagat's, and along the Northeast corridor from New York to New Haven to Providence, over to brawny Chicago and across to the foggy San Francisco Bay, you can almost hear the cry of "we was robbed" echoing from mom and pop joints and tony wood-fired-oven bistros alike.

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The restaurant says it uses local, organic ingredients and makes its own mozzarella daily, and has been voted the tastiest pizzeria in Los Angeles for the last two years. "We managed to top that by being named the Best Pizzeria in the United States, a title Tony's in San Francisco has held for years," owner Michael Dene told the Long Beach Patch. "It's very humbling, and I'm extremely proud of my staff who works in the front of the house and the heart of the house."

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A spokesperson from Zagat's tells Yahoo Shine that they have not officially released a ranked listing of best pizzerias, but that Michael's was recently named one of LA's favorite restaurants and the best budget Italian, and is also one of the highest nationally rated pizzerias according to a July survey. But claiming that the country's best pizza hails from La La Land? Them's fightin' words.

In reference to which city boasts the top pies one critic tweeted to the media outlets who reported Michael's boast:

C'mon son. (It's New Haven) RT: ‪@Gothamist: LIES! RT ‪@LAist: The Country's Best Pizza Is In Los Angeles

"I'm from Na Haven, and I concur," agreed a commentor on Zagat's. "Best of the best. Why can't I find anything close here in Los Angeles?"

Another chimed in, "As soon as the rest of the country (outside of New York) taste actual pizza, can we redo this survey? In my travels across the US I've had meals that were good, but they weren't pizza. Nobody has NYC water that turns it from just dough into pizza dough.

Even a native Angeleno wrote on the Michael's Facebook page, "Tall order being rated top pizza in the country, gonna have to check this out. Forgive me for being skeptical."

In the weeks leading up to October, National Pizza Month, Zagat toured the country, sampling pizza joints in every state. While they touted old standbys with a nod to regional varieties such as the white clam pie from Frank Pepe's in New Haven and Pizanos of Chicago's Pepperoni and Giardiniera pizza, Zagat's favorite pizzerias included many surprises. Other top rated restaurants include Big Kahuna's Pizza in Honolulu (pineapple, anyone?), Dough Pizzeria in Dallas, and Veraci Pizza in Seattle. Zagat's ratings are based on customer surveys and a tallied score that combines food, décor, service, and price.

Food writer Steven Coomes who was formerly editor-in-chief of Pizza Today and founded Pizzamarketplace.com, scoffs at the very idea of a top-rated pizza. "I get my back up anytime I hear someone saying 'the best,'" he tells Yahoo Shine. "Its hype, Zagat's isn't the unbiased guide it used to be. There is so much out there, how do you pick the best? [The quality of pizza] is tied to particular ingredients chosen that day and put into the hands of a particular pizza maker. To borrow a word from the wine industry, it's about the terroir."

He also points out that a eating a good slice stimulates emotions that transcend flavor. "With equal fervor, people love really good pizza and really crappy pizza," he writes on his blog, "and for reasons that go far beyond a pizza maker's flour or oven choice." He explains that eating a humble tomato and mozzarella pie brings up memories of family and one's favorite childhood parlor-even if it was grease-glazed rubbery cheese on a soggy crust with the sound of a the Pac-Man and pinball as background music. "I've covered the World Pizza Championships in Salsomaggiori, Italy," he adds "and even the Italians make no claim that one is the best."

As for the Michael's Pizzeria brag, New York fans, at least, might want to hold back their Bronx Cheers. Dene grew up eating pizza in Brooklyn and his parents came from Naples, the birthplace of pizza. "Michael's Pizzeria was born out of necessity," he said,"I wanted real Italian pizza, not the take-out, cardboard variety we're accustomed to eating in the United States."