Gargantuan international chains like Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s aren’t the only choices for home delivery anymore. Home delivery is big again thanks to delivery services like UberEats, particularly to college students. Today it’s ubiquitous, being made from scratch in convenience stores like Casey’s and Kum & Go, in neighborhood bars like County Line Café and Chicken Coop, in polished wood palaces like Mama Lacona’s, and in mobile ovens like Parlo Pizza. Before that war, pizza was either obscure or unknown in Des Moines and most of the rest of the nation. The Italian dictator didn’t fare too well in World War II, but since then, the Neapolitan dish has conquered Iowa and most of the rest of America outside Brooklyn in New York, Federal Hill in Providence and North Beach in San Francisco. Pizza has been called Mussolini’s revenge. That’s an astonishing tradition for a town our size. Pizza House, Chuck’s, Baratta’s, Mama Lacona’s, Bordenaro’s, Pagliai’s, The Hilltop, The Tavern, and Johnny’s Hall of Fame have all been around five decades or more. That explains why so many pizza joints here have maintained a loyal following for decades. New Yorker magazine food writer Calvin Trillin has written that most people’s favorite pizza is associated with their youth. Central Iowans are passionate about pizza and particularly about their favorite pizza. When pizza has been the subject, we receive exponentially more votes than with other foods. CITYVIEW celebrates our love of food by letting readers select an ultimate version of a favorite type of food or restaurant. The dish represents the democratic nature of Iowa, while celebrating our Italian heritage and our love of sharing. That is why caucuses suit us better than primaries. We like to think we are all in it together. Those things make people feel superior or inferior to their neighbors, and Iowans don’t like that. He mentioned its democratic design, no aisles, balconies, boxes, valet stations, etc. Interviewing the late architect Chick Herbert two decades ago, I asked him about the success of his design for the Civic Center, which often leads the world in attendance for an arena its size. New Orleans is a po boy place because that sandwich is as rich or humble as its devourer might be. San Francisco is a cioppino city built by the labor of its immigrant sailors and fishermen and its great bay. New York is a steakhouse town representing the power and energy of the city. CITYVIEW readers will choose a winner from a hefty list of delicious pies.įavorite foods define cities.
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