Dayton-style pizza

Last updated
Dayton-style pizza Marion's Supreme.JPG
Dayton-style pizza

Dayton-style pizza has a thin, crisp, salty crust, sometimes described as a "cracker crust", dusted on the bottom with cornmeal and topped with a thin layer of thick unsweetened sauce. Cheese and other topping ingredients are heavily distributed and spread edge-to-edge with no outer rim of crust, and the finished pizza is cut into bite-size squares. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] The style shares some characteristics with other Midwestern pizza styles, which tend to be thin-crusted and square-cut. [2] [6] [5]

Larger chains include Cassano's Pizza King and Marion's Piazza. [3] Cassano's opened its first restaurant in 1953 and Marion's in 1965. [3] Marion's eventually became more popular in the city; [3] [7] as of 2018 it was selling a million pizzas yearly. [8] Donatos, a regional chain based in Columbus, serves pizza that has been mistaken for Dayton-style pizza, [3] [4] but it has no connection to Dayton and was founded before 1963 in Gahanna. [9]

The first Cassano's was Dayton's first pizza shop and was carryout-only. [10] Pizza was unfamiliar to many in the Midwest before World War II, and women customers told Cassano's owner Vic Cassano that they found it messy to eat; his response was to develop the small square cut that is one of the style's ubiquitous characteristics. [1] The bite-size cut also allowed those unfamiliar with pizza to try a small piece instead of committing to an entire slice. [1] The cut is called a party cut or hors d'oeuvre cut. [1] The squares are cut smaller than the "tavern cut" used for other midwestern pizza styles. [11] [12]

The first Marion's was Dayton's first eat-in pizza restaurant. [10] [7] Marion Glass had operated a Cassano's franchise in the early 1960s. [13]

Ron Holp, who had operated a Cassano's franchise from 1960 through 1964, opened his own pizza shop, Ron's Pizza, in 1963, according to the Dayton Daily News sparking the "Dayton Pizza Wars". Cassano sued Holp, claiming that Holp was using Cassano's dough in his own shop. [13] After the lawsuit was settled in Holp's favor, Glass, then also operating a Cassano's franchise, convinced Holp to share his dough recipe so that Glass could open his own restaurant serving the style. [13]

Cincinnati Enquirer dining editor Polly Campbell called the style "similar to the more famous St. Louis style, but ... better". [4] Laughing Squid called the style unique. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pizza</span> Italian dish with a flat dough-based base and toppings

Pizza is an Italian dish consisting of a flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago-style pizza</span> Styles of pizza developed in Chicago, including deep-dish pizza

Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to several styles developed in Chicago. It can refer to both the well-known deep-dish or stuffed pizzas and the lesser-known thin-crust tavern-style pizzas more popular with locals. The pan in which deep-dish pizza is baked gives the pizza its characteristically high edge, which provides ample space for large amounts of cheese and a chunky tomato sauce. Chicago-style deep-dish pizza may be prepared in the deep-dish style and as a stuffed pizza. Chicago-style thin-crust pizza dough is rolled for a thinner crispier crust than other thin-crust styles. The thin-crust pizza is cut in squares instead of slices, and is also referred to as a "tavern-style" pizza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis–style pizza</span> Regional pizza style

St. Louis–style pizza is a type of pizza in St. Louis, Missouri and surrounding areas. The pizza has a thin cracker-like crust made without yeast, topped sweet tomato sauce and Provel cheese, and is cut into squares or rectangles rather than wedges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donatos Pizza</span> Pizza restaurant chain in the United States

Donatos Pizza is a Columbus-style pizza restaurant chain headquartered in Gahanna, Ohio, United States. It is a pizza delivery franchisor with nearly 200 locations in thirteen states, the majority being in Ohio. Donatos is also served at several venue outlets, including Ohio Stadium and formerly at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LaRosa's Pizzeria</span> American pizzeria chain

LaRosa's Pizzeria is a chain of pizzerias serving neighborhoods throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. It was founded in 1954 by Donald "Buddy" LaRosa, along with partners Richard "Muzzie" Minella, Mike Soldano and Frank "Head" Serraino. Originally called Papa Gino's, LaRosa later bought out his partners, and changed the name to LaRosa's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York–style pizza</span> Large hand-tossed thin crust pizza

New York–style pizza is a pizza made with a characteristically large hand-tossed thin crust, often sold in wide slices to go. The crust is thick and crisp only along its edge, yet soft, thin, and pliable enough beneath its toppings to be folded to eat. Traditional toppings are simply tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. This was a popular meal among poor Italians due to the ratio of product from the limited produce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassano's Pizza King</span> American pizzeria chain

Cassano's Pizza King, currently operating under the brand Cassano's, is a pizzeria chain based in Dayton, Ohio which produces Dayton-style pizza. Established on June 4, 1953, by the grocer Victor "Vic" J. Cassano, Sr. and his mother-in-law Caroline "Mom" Donisi, the company currently (2005) operates 34 Cassano's Pizza King restaurants in the Dayton area, and has three other western Ohio franchises, plus a franchise in Quincy, Illinois, and another in Hannibal, Missouri. The company also operates dozens of Cassano's Pizza Express kiosks in gas stations, convenience stores and hotels, and sells frozen pizza dough under the name Cassano's Fresh Frozen Dough Company.

This is relating to the culture of Cincinnati, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Malnati's Pizzeria</span> American pizza chain

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria is an American Chicago-style pizza restaurant chain headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. It was founded by the son of Rudy Malnati, who was instrumental in developing the recipe for Chicago-style pizza, and it has become one of the Chicago area's best-known local lines of pizza restaurants. Lou Malnati's operates a division of its company called Lou Malnati's Presents Tastes of Chicago, a partnership with Portillo's Restaurants and Eli's Cheesecake, which ships Chicago-style cuisine nationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion's Piazza</span>

Marion's Piazza is a pizzeria chain based in Dayton, Ohio. Established in 1965 by Marion Glass, the company operates nine restaurants throughout the greater Dayton area. Marion's son, Roger Glass, took over as CEO after Marion's death in 2006 and continued to manage the company until his passing in August of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurelio's Pizza</span>

Aurelio's Pizza is an Illinois restaurant chain which centers its business around the thin crust variety of Chicago-style pizza. Aurelio's Pizza has three corporate owned stores and 37 franchised locations in six states. Aurelio's Pizza is the oldest Chicago pizza franchise restaurant, franchising since 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pizza in the United States</span> American cuisine variant

Pizza arrived in the United States in the early 20th century along with waves of Italian immigrants who settled primarily in the larger cities of the Northeast, such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore. After American soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II, pizza and pizzerias rapidly grew in popularity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quad City–style pizza</span> Style of pizza

Quad City–style pizza is a variety of pizza originating in the Quad Cities region of the states of Illinois and Iowa in the United States.

Altoona-style pizza is a distinct type of pizza created in the city of Altoona, Pennsylvania, by the Altoona Hotel. The definitive characteristics of Altoona-style pizza are a Sicilian-style pizza dough, tomato sauce, sliced green bell pepper, salami, topped with American cheese and pizzas cut into squares instead of wedges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladstone Street Pizza</span> Pizzeria in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Saint Pizza Lounge and Gladstone Street Pizza, more commonly known as simply Gladstone Street Pizza (GSP), is a pizzeria in Portland, Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pizza in Canada</span> Pizza variants from Canada

Canada has many of its own pizza chains, both national and regional, and many distinctive regional variations and types of pizza resulting from influences of local Canadian cuisine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minneapolis-style pizza</span> Regional style of pizza

Minneapolis-style pizza is a circular thin-crust pizza, cut into squares, with spicy sauce, and hearty toppings. Red's Savoy Pizza, a local Minnesota pizza chain, which invented the pizza and is a Minnesota-style specialty pizzeria, calls Minnesota-style pizza "'Sota-style".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbus-style pizza</span> American regional pizza style associated with Columbus, Ohio

Columbus-style pizza is an American regional pizza style associated with Columbus, Ohio. It has a circular shape, pieces cut into short or long rectangles, thin crust, dense toppings that cover the surface, and, usually, provolone cheese and a slightly sweet sauce. It was developed in the early 1950s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Woellert, Dann (2015-08-21). "It's Hip to Be Square…. In Dayton, Ohio". dannwoellertthefoodetymologist. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  2. 1 2 "Marion's Piazza". Barstool Sports . Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Pandolfi, Keith (22 August 2023). "I finally tried Marion's 'Dayton-style' pizza, here's how it stacks up vs. LaRosa's". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  4. 1 2 3 Campbell, Polly. "As American as pizza pie: All the regional styles you can eat here". Cincinnati Enquirer . Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  5. 1 2 Landsel, David (28 April 2021). "The Best Pizza in Every State". Food & Wine . Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  6. ↑ "Barstool Pizza Review - Marion's Piazza (Dayton, OH)". www.barstoolsports.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  7. 1 2 "BEST OF DAYTON: How Marion's continues its pizza reign in the region". dayton-daily-news. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  8. ↑ "I Love Dayton: Marion's Piazza averages one million pizzas per year". WDTN . 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  9. ↑ https://donatos.com/donatos-history
  10. 1 2 Bowman, Nancy (27 December 2015). "Dayton pizza businesses going strong more than 50 years later". Dayton Daily News . Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  11. ↑ "The big honkin' guide to America's regional pizza styles". The Takeout . 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  12. ↑ "Does Every State Have Its Own Pizza Style Now? A Very Tasty Investigation". MEL Magazine. 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  13. 1 2 3 Gillette, Rich (15 January 2016). "Ron's Pizza the originator of Dayton's 'pizza wars'". Dayton Daily News . Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  14. ↑ Dorn, Lori (2022-08-19). "A Tour of Regional Pizza Styles in the United States". Laughing Squid. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.