All right, on to important matters: pizza. A previous discussion led to the subject, so I thought I’d elevate it to it’s own topic. Indiana is, what, the 9th fattest state? So, I assume many Hoosiers have strong opinions about their pies.
For my part, I favor the thin, crispy crust variety. I grew up in Richmond, and my favorite there was Pizza King. They have the thin crusts, cut into party squares and grind up the sausage and pepperoni. They also have a pretty outstanding Royal Feast. It is my understanding that the Pizza King franchises are divided among those in the eastern part of the state — notably Muncie and Richmond; and those in the rest of the State. Just looking online, it seems that those in East Central Indiana have some centralized affiliation. In the rest of the state, it seems more haphazard. In my experience, the east-central Pizza Kings are excellent, the rest are just so-so.
While I’ve been in Lafayette and Monticello, I have fallen in love with two franchises: Arni’s and Monical’s. Between the two, I prefer Monical’s crusts but prefer Arni’s ingredients. Both are, again, of the thin crust variety.
While I was in Bloomington, as a student, I especially liked Pizza Express. Their pizza was pretty much just adequate, but I loved their breadsticks with their garlic butter. Those things were a tremendous way to cap off a night of drinking.
I never really found a favorite pizza place while I lived in Indianapolis; and mostly made due with more national varieties of pizza, primarily Papa John’s I suppose.
Any other recommendations out there?
There are Pizza King’s in Franklin and Greenwood. Also, I’d suggest Maria’s on Shelby Street near Garfield Park.
Here’s a blog post about Maria’s
http://indyfoodie.blogspot.com/2006/01/best-pizza-in-indy.html
Next time you’re in Fort Wayne, check out Big Daddy’s Pizza. the best around! And they cut it into squares. I prefer the squares. :)
I have to say that since my family moved to Lafayette a year ago, we’ve been very disappointed with the (non national chain) pizza choices here. In contrast, we came from the South Bend area where there is a very good selection of great, authentic pizza places.
All I have to say about Arni’s and Pizza King is ‘when did anybody ever say it is a good idea to chop up the pepperoni and sausage????’ This is sacrilegious. And to sum up the Lafayette area Pizza King’s…I’d rather eat a frozen Totino’s!
In South Bend, the best places are: Barnaby’s, Bruno’s (not to be confused with a Bruno’s in Lafayette which is ‘ok’), Luigi’s, and Gianetto’s in Mishawaka for good deep dish.
My wife has had Johnny Provolone’s in Crawfordsville. She said by far that is the best pizza she’s had in Greater Lafayette.
I’m so proud that my first comment left on this site is on such an important topic. Great site!
that’s funny!!! the owner of Johnny provalone’s says he hear’s good things in Crawfordsville about the Hillsboro Pizza King. Maybe you should try them out?
In Fort Wayne- you simply HAVE to have a Lexy’s pizza. I prefer “Original Pepperoni”. Though all of their choices cannot be beat!
Pizza King is bit of a nostalgia trip. The very first pizza I ate came from the Pizza King on N. Baldwin (“the Bypass”) in Marion, my father having been a regular “carry-out” customer. (I think the store has been in the same spot just south of Kem Road since about 1962.) Muncie style “Pizza King” seemed pretty much the same.
I’m the opposite on pizza…I want crust that is thicker than the toppings. Chicago deep dish.
I have not found a place in Indiana that makes it to my liking.
Being a cheese pizza expert, I would tell you that the best pizza in Indianapolis, in my humble opinion, is Nancy’s pizza which is way out of the way for me, but located at 96th Street and I-69 on the Northeast side of town. It is in a little strip mall but the pizza is spectacular. I like Arni’s pizza that Doug describes as well. My childhood memories of pizza usually involve a pizza chain out of Dayton Ohio named Cassano’s – their unique touch was to not only cut the pizza into squares but they salted the bottom of their pizza. It was and still is to this day, excellent pizza.
How did I forget Cassano’s? Excellent pizza. I guess it’s just been a long time. I have dim memories of some kind of Superfriends promotion that won me over as a wee lad, as well.
MIke,If you miss South Bend area pizza I find it hard to believe that you did not list Stevetty’s in Hudson Lake! Great place out in the country. Love their sign also at they are located in LaPorte County,but have a New Carlisle phone. So it specifies CENTRAL TIME!! Also in northern Indiana you want to try HOLYMACARONI.
Larry, Stevetty’s is a new one to me and I lived in “Michiana” pretty much my whole life. I’ll have to check it out. My wife is from Michigan City so we’re definitely in the area alot.
I’ve had Holy Macaroni too. It’s good but not spectacular.
Speaking more of LaPorte county, Albano’s in Michigan City is excellent. And for nostalgia trippers: Michigan City actually has a Godfather’s Pizza (last I checked). Though I’m too young to remember it’s heyday, I suspect it’s not the same.
Godfathers is still around?? My brother used to have them put French dressing on pizza! It became a bestseller. Go figure. On a different note, whatever happened to The Flying Tomato pizza joint in Ft Wayne?
Here’s what I don’t get when it comes to Pizza King – there’s Pizza King and Pizza King Station around Indianapolis. Pizza King Stations are terrible – bad service and middling pizza – while the Pizza Kings are uniformly pretty good. Can someone explain between the two?
When I’m in East Central Indiana (Winchester, Parker City, Muncie, etc.) all I ever see are Pizza King’s.
Bazbeaux Pizza in Indianapolis is pretty good. We also like the Chicago’s Pizza in Bargersville, IN (yep, a chain, but good pizza).
I miss Garcia’s at the top of the hill in West Lafayette, if I can date myself …
Garcia’s — had something like “Flying Tomato” in its name, right? If it’s what I’m think of, there was one in Bloomington near the law school that made pretty good pizza. It was gone from Lafayette well before I got here, I think.
I worked at Pizza King for around five years, so I can consider myself a bit of an expert:
There are franchise PKs (Pizza King) and there are company-owned PKs (Pizza King Station). The Lafayette stores are company-owned, as this was where it all got kicked off. The corporate offices are there, as well as the commissary. To my knowledge, the Brownsburg and Avon stores are also company stores. I think there a few others, but I don’t remember where they are as they closed down a few in the last couple of years.
The rest of the stores are franchised, which from what I have heard is a general improvement. The franchise stores almost all serve alcohol and make their sandwiches in a way that allows them to sell about three times what the company stores do.
That being said, I have probably consumed more Pizza King pizza than all of you combined five times over, and I still get a craving from time to time. Whether that says something about the food or my boring taste buds, who knows.
Now you finally have a subject in which I can really sink my teeth into. Buh dum bum [hi hat crashes]. Take this advice from a Very Large Mammal, the absolute freaking best pizza in the entire state is at a little restaurant/pub in Wanamaker just southeast of Indy still in Marion County called The Ordinary.
Deep dish guy, you will love it, traditional toppings folks, you will love it. The pizzas are inexpensive, and they come LOOOOOOOOADED with toppings. These pizzas weigh several pounds and I am a guy who puts away an entire Large Papa John’s and who only eats two slices of a pizza from The Ordinary when we get one.
A close second in Indy is a chain of two called Ballpark Pizza with locations at 10th and Emerson and in Beech Grove. This is as close to East Central IN Pizza King pizza as Indy gets. Though we do have a Pizza King in Cumberland now and it is similar to the Connersville/Muncie/Richmond PK outlets. I am partial to the PK pizza myself having had a friend in Connersville when I was a teenager who I would go visit on weekends and we would ride bikes up the PK for the Royal Feast.
And honestly, a great third option for pizza is Aunt Polly’s which delivers citywide from their East Michigan street location. They are open about 22-23 hours a day too. Late night at the bar and Domino’s isn’t feeling your pain? Call Aunt Polly’s. For a delivery charge of a couple of bucks they will go outside their normal delivery area anywhere within Marion County. But truthfully, Aunt Polly’s best food is not their pizza, its their chicken, ribs and sandwiches where they make their most money, along with the biggest side items menu from a pizza joint anywhere I’ve ever seen.
Trust the fat man on this stuff folks, I’ve done lots of field research so you don’t have to.
I like Pizza King, too. In Fort Wayne my new favorite pizza is Toscani’s.
And it is a well-documented fact that pizza cut in squares tastes better.
Staying at home parentless during summer days, it was almost a daily mission for my brother and I to get enough money for Pizza King for lunch. Usually spare change from the laundry or left over allowance money would be just enough. It seems like it usually took 40-60 minutes to arrive, and the drinks usually reeked of the driver’s cigarette smoke. But man that pizza was good. Every trip back to Richmond is at least partly an excuse to get some Royal Feast.
Non-eastern Indiana Pizza King in Evansville is dreadful.
Here in Indy, I’m partial to New Bethel Ordinary (that Joh mentioned upthread) and WB Pizza, at 62nd and Allisonville Rd. I usually go veggie with my toppings, and WB has some of the best vegetarian options for pizza in town.
Oh, and I almost forgot: my mom met my dad at a Pizza King in Auburn, IN. So I have a bit of a soft spot for them. :)
I have heard that the difference in the Pizza King’s is that one group uses Mozarella and the other uses Provolone cheese. There is new one that just opened up in Broad Ripple that I’m ready to try.
BTW – the best pizza can be found in little Wakarusa, IN at Cook’s Pizza. My dad will call in every Saturday night and they answer the phone “hello, Mr. Riley, will that your regular order?” cool
While at IU in Bloomington a hundred years ago,(late 70’s anyway) Paglia’s Pizza was a fave…and Mother Bears….both long gone by now probably…
memories…..
South Bend unquestionably is the pizza capital of Indiana. Bruno’s (several locations, most notably on Prairie Ave. southwest of town) and the thick pizza at Rocco’s (near Notre Dame) put every other place in the state to shame. In Indy, I’m partial to a place called Papa Giorgio’s at 21st and Emerson (greasy carryout stuff) but it looked closed the last time I looked. I live around the corner from Ballpark but wasn’t blown away by it. For unconventional (gourmet) pizza, Bazbeaux is great. The BBQ chicken pizza is the best of that type that I have ever had, and everything there is good. In Bloomington, I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the pizza from the local joints (although Express was pretty good) but I absolutely lived for the Mad Mushroom cheesesticks (pizza crust covered with mozzarella and cut into strips) dipped in ranch sauce.
What we really need is a Lou Malnati’s.
As a current Bloomington resident, I can tell you Mother Bears is not only here, but is still the best pizza in town. I’m also partial to Greek’s Pizza which (at the moment at least) is located on Kirkwood. Good peoples, good pizza.
I also worked at a pizza place down there called Austin Riley’s. Alas, it is gone, though it had some pretty crazygood gourmet stuff.
There is a Pizza King over in Jeffersonville but it isn’t as good as the pizza at the Pizza Kings in east central Indiana either. Yeah, Cassano’s has great pizza also. There used to be one in Greenville where we’d go hang out while in high school. Think the one in Greenville is gone now, I remember eating at Cassano’s in Dayton when my parents would go there to shop.
I tend to gett pizza from Puccini’s Smiling Teeth or Bazbeaux. They have the most interesting topping choices. I like Puccini’s “cactus pizza”, with chorizo, green chiles, bell peppers, and Cilantro. I had Monical’s in Illinois recently (they’re everywhere in central Illinois) and thought the same- good toppings, lousy crust.
I’m with Jason, I don’t like thin crust pizza at all. It’s like a saltine maquerading as pizza. The joke is on the thin crust fans who eat it because they think it’s a lower calorie substitute. The way to make a thin crust pie is to use the same crust, but poke holes in it. The holes fill in as it bakes. The caloric count is the same.
I’m going to take Joh’s advice and seek out the place in Wanamaker. I’ve been so disappointed with the lack of a decent thick crust here. I’m from Cleveland, and there were dozens of great mom & pop pizza joints. I had pretty well given up. Thanks, Joh!
For pizza in the Indy area, I would definitely say that Roselli’s in Carmel is the best. They have a thin crust, which I hear is quite good, but they are known for their Chicago style pizzas. It is by far the best Chicago style pizza I have had outside of Chicago. And while I like Nancy’s on 96th, Roselli’s is consistently better than Nancy’s.
While it is nothing like Roselli’s, my favorite pizza in Indiana is at Lenny’s in Bloomington. It is owned by the Pizza Express guys, but it is much more upscale and so much better. It is phenomenally good. Their garlic white sauce option is amazing and they have these great marinated onions. Tons of topping choices on a great crust. Nice dining atmosphere to, as it is also a brewpub. Yummy!
Mmmmmmmmm….Clara’s.
Is the Lamp Post still across the border in New Paris? Do they still make pizza — I remember that was pretty good.
Some Guys is good too.
Thomas #23…Glad to hear Mother Bears is still thriving! That place was (is) great!
I’ve heard the Lampost is out of business. The Redfront was my fav in NP, OH.
If any of you ever get to Louisville, Wick’s has great pizza. I went to Mishawaka over the Labor Day weekend to visit one of my cousins and we had Bruno’s pizza, I have to concur with Mike in post #4 on this thread that their pizza is awesome.
Boycott:
1. NE Indiana Pizza Huts- their Owner finances GOP nutjobs.
2. NE Indiana Perfection Baking- & crazy Aunt Millie- Their yeast for brains owner has some nutty ideas- and I dont mean granola bread- another nut job financier.
I never drink any Coors product- same reason. But I love my chevy van(pre-metric)and only buy union made beer. I only shop at kroger- union shop, and spend my money wisely. I was going to instigate a BP boycott for their dumping in Lake Michigan- they are on probation. I would compromise with some kind of tax abatement if they installed high-tech, green technology, for instance.
I try to shop with businesses who I agree with, politicaly and socially, and direct my spending and investments accordingly.
No nut-jobs! (excluding me- giggle!)
Arni’s is simply a ritzier version of Pizza King that doesn’t deliver your drinks via a relocated railroad.
When I went to Purdue, my favorite pizza came from the Stripe Shop.
In Indy, you should try eh!Formaggio at 56th and Lafayette Road just to read the menu.
I always hit Clara’s whenever I am back in Richmond. My kids love it; especially eating on the big red bus! The Royal Feast is the best thin crust pizza around.
My Bloomingtom meories include many late night trips to get the Pizza Express breadsticks. The garlic salt on the sticks and the blend of cheese for the dip make for a blend I have not found anyplace else. One time they forgot to put the garlic salt on the sticks. They were bland! (When I called to complain, they gave me free order.) I sometimes dream about those breadsticks!
I live in northwest Indiana. The best pizza here is Sicilian Joe’s and Zuni’s.
Pizza King in Clarks Hill, Indiana is the best! Great service and food. Their pizza, breadsticks(cheese!), and sandwiches are excellent. People drive from Stockwell, Lafayette, and Frankfort as regular customers and have been doing that for years. Try it if you’re in the area. I grew up eating it and miss it/crave it still.
Doug,
Thanks for the pizza posting! I feel obligated to chime in, albeit a few months late.
I enjoy pretty much all varieties of pizza, but have to side with Jason and Mike in a preference for deep dish/thicker crust. Multiple people said they have not found a satisfying deep dish pizza in Indiana, but I was surprised that no one mentioned my favorite purveyor of pies: Pizzeria Uno, now called “Uno Chicago Grill.” The location I’ve been to several times is on East 82nd St. at Clearwater Crossing. They also have a South Indy location on East Southport Rd.
As a kid, this was always my favorite pizza and still is to this day! I have tried several things on their menu, but I keep coming back to my favorite, the Chicago Classic. It’s just a plain tomato and cheese pie with sausage. They use a great blend of cheeses, the tomatoes are chunky and rich and the sausage is a little spicy. It’s a close battle with the toppings, but the best thing about their pizza is the flaky, crispy, doughy, golden crust. Mmmmmm.
My buddy in the office, Tim, agrees with you Joh about The Ordinary offering the best pizza and I’m hoping to try it out tomorrow.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Ok, out of all the pizza king’s in the entire state of Indiana, the one in a small town called HOPE is definitely the best around!
If Chicagos Pizza downtown right off the Circle is still there, check it out.
By the way…….Arnies and pizza king both get their ingredient’s from the same supplier! It’s how you make it. Come and try Hillsboro pizza King,and I invite you to leave a review on the FB page after you have! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!