You Will Never Guess Where To Find The Pizza Capital Of The World

Image: PHOTO: Find the little known pizza capital of the world. (Photo via Flickr/Jeremy Keith)
Image: PHOTO: Find the little known pizza capital of the world. (Photo via Flickr/Jeremy Keith)
Gabe Zaldivar
by Gabe Zaldivar
Last updated: 10:00 AM ET, Thu February 9, 2017

Forget Chicago or New York, you haven't had anything until you've had Old Forge pizza.

USA Today reports on a little slice of heaven you may not have heard about, resting in the hot ovens of Old Forge, Pennsylvania.

According to the report, if you find yourself within the city limits you will be in what is a self-proclaimed pizza capital of the world. Just reading through what makes this part of the country so renowned for its pizza will have you craving a slice-any slice-from a spot near your home.

However, USA Today spoke with Angelo Genell, whose family has pizza ties to the area since way back in 1962, which is when Arcaro & Genell opened.

Genell has some high praise for the area and its pizza pies: "All the places make really good pizza. You'll have people buy pizza on Friday from one person, on Saturday from somebody else, and on Tuesday from somebody else. There's not a bad pizza in Old Forge."

However, as noted, you shouldn't call this pizza a pie. You see, old Forge has its own awesome and peculiar pizza culture.

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Just like New Yorkers fold their pizza or people in Chicago expect to be served a deep-dish slice steaming with mounds of tomato, those in Old Forge have their own expectations when it comes to this menu item.

USA Today explains that, first of all, the pizza you get is delivered square and its called a tray, of which you can enjoy various cuts, not slices.

As for what you can expect, you will either devour something from the red or white variety. The red is described as such: "the sauce is on the sweeter side, and sometimes has diced onions. It's topped with a blend of cheeses that may include mozzarella, American and cheddar, depending on the restaurant."

The white version seems to be a stuffed pizza that comes sans sauce but a heaping helping of cheese.

The following video gives you an idea of the red delicacy:

As for origin stories, the report explains that Grandma Ghigiarelli, founder of Ghigiarelli's, offered a square pizza to hungry miners back in 1926.

It was, apparently, amazing because it started what is now an established food culture that the locals are proud of and the tourists simply can't help but adore.


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