The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.
Pizza is an Italian dish typically 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.
Chuck E. Cheese is an American entertainment restaurant chain founded on May 17, 1977 by Atari, Inc.'s co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, each location features arcade games, amusement rides and musical shows in addition to serving pizza and other food items; former mainstays included ball pits, crawl tubes, and animatronic shows. The chain's name is taken from its main character and mascot, Chuck E. Cheese. The first location opened as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, California. It was the first family restaurant to integrate food with arcade games and animated entertainment, thus being one of the pioneers for the "family entertainment center" concept.
Gooey butter cake is a type of cake traditionally made in St. Louis, Missouri. It is a flat and dense cake made with wheat cake flour, butter, sugar, and eggs, typically near an inch tall, and dusted with powdered sugar. While sweet and rich, it is somewhat firm, and is able to be cut into pieces similarly to a brownie. Gooey butter cake is generally served as a type of coffee cake and not as a formal dessert cake. There are two distinct variants of the cake: the original St. Louis, MO Bakers' gooey butter and a cream cheese and commercial yellow cake mix variant. The original St. Louis, MO Bakers' gooey butter is believed to have originated in the 1930s. It was made with a yeast-raised sweet dough on the bottom.
Domino's Pizza, Inc., commonly referred to as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960. and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware-domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor Township, near Ann Arbor, Michigan. As of 2018, Domino's had approximately 15,000 stores, with 5,649 in the United States, 1,500 in India, and 1,249 in the United Kingdom. Domino's has stores in over 83 countries and 5,701 cities worldwide.
Provel is a white processed cheese prominent in St. Louis cuisine. A combination of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone, Provel has a low melting point and a gooey texture and buttery flavor.
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 with sweet tomato sauce and Provel cheese, and is cut into squares or rectangles rather than wedges.
Happy Joe's is an American pizza parlor chain based in Bettendorf, Iowa. The restaurant chain was founded in 1972 by Lawrence Joseph "Happy Joe" Whitty, a former Shakey's Pizza manager. Their United States locations are spread out across the Upper Midwest and Florida, with a location in Egypt, which opened in October 2022. In 2022, Happy Joe's has declared an intent over 10 years to open at least 25 locations across the Middle East and North Africa, including in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. The idea for Happy Joe's came from a combination of a pizza parlor and ice cream palace.
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, commonly known as Frank Pepe's or simply Pepe's, is a popular pizza restaurant in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, at 163 Wooster Street and originator of New Haven-style pizza. Opened in 1925, it is one of the oldest and best known pizzerias in the United States.
Mazzio's Corporation is the parent company of Mazzio's Italian Eatery and the former parent company of Zio's Italian Kitchen. In November 2007, Zio's Italian Kitchen was sold to a private company. Mazzio's specializes in pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and occasionally other specialty items.
Grimaldi's Pizzeria is an American pizzeria chain from the New York City area with over 40 restaurants throughout the United States. Its most famous restaurant is under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn at 1 Front Street, next door to its original location. Zagat Survey rated Grimaldi's the No. 1 Pizzeria in New York in 2007. With a carry-out and delivery service model in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2022 it had 43 restaurants in operation overall. It does not sell slices, only whole pies, which are cooked by coal-fired brick ovens. It also sells wines and appetizers, as well as calzones. Among desserts are cannoli and tiramisu, as well as New York–style cheesecake.
The Glass Nickel Pizza Co. (GNPC) is a mid-sized delivery, carry-out and dine-in Italian restaurant based in Madison, Wisconsin. Currently, the restaurant has nine locations throughout Wisconsin.
Red Lion Beef Corporation, doing business as Lion's Choice, is an American fast food restaurant chain based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving roast beef sandwiches and other menu items. The company was founded in 1952 and opened its first restaurant in Ballwin, Missouri, on October 26, 1967, which remains open today. As of May 2021, there are 62 Lion's Choice restaurants in St. Louis and Kansas City.
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.
Burger Heaven was a family owned diner-style burger restaurant in New York City, established in 1943. It closed its final location in February 2020 citing the increase in "delivery culture".
The cuisine of St. Louis is largely influenced by the city’s German, Irish, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and Vietnamese immigrant population and African Americans who migrated from the Southern United States.
MOD Pizza is an American fast-casual pizza restaurant chain based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2008, MOD has more than 560 locations as of December 2023 in the United States and two locations in Canada.
&pizza is an American fast casual pizza restaurant chain, with 55 locations in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The restaurant sells personal and customizable oblong-shaped pizzas. They tailor each location to its neighborhood, with local artists designing the interiors. Some locations serve beer, wine, and cocktails.
Scottie's Pizza Parlor is a pizzeria with two locations in Portland, Oregon. Scott Rivera and Amy Coplen opened the original location in southeast Portland's Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood in 2015. The second location opened in northwest Portland's Northwest District in late 2022.
A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta.
