Detroit-Style vs New York-Style: Two Schools, One Argument

New York pizza is the most famous pizza in America. Detroit pizza is the fastest-growing pizza in America. They have almost nothing in common.

Shape, depth, fold

New York is a thin, foldable round, cut into big triangular slices. You fold it lengthwise and eat it standing up. Detroit is a rectangle, two inches deep, cut into eight squares. You eat it with two hands and a napkin you’ll need.

Cheese

New York runs on low-moisture mozzarella, applied generously but not edge-to-edge. The crust gets a visible bare border. Detroit uses Wisconsin brick cheese, applied edge-to-edge so it melts down against the pan and caramelizes into the legendary frico crust.

Sauce

New York sauce is bright, simple, and goes under the cheese. A whisper of garlic, maybe oregano. It’s the canvas.

Detroit sauce goes on top, in stripes, after the pie comes out of the oven. The crushed-tomato lines on a Detroit pie are nicknamed “racing stripes.” It’s the most visually distinctive thing about the style.

Crust

New York is thin, slightly chewy, with a leoparded char. The bottom is dry-baked on a stone or deck.

Detroit is two-stage: focaccia-airy in the middle, fried-crispy on the bottom from the oil in the pan. It’s almost two textures in one bite.

So which is better?

Trick question. They’re solving different problems. New York is built for walking-around eating — fast, hot, foldable. Detroit is built for sit-down eating — bold, rich, share-with-your-table. We bake Detroit at Arcadia because it’s the style my wife Allison grew up on, and because we wanted to bring the real version to Phoenix — Wisconsin brick cheese and all.

Want to taste the difference? Start with our Classic Square Detroit pie. Then, next visit, get a Tavern. You’ll feel the gap between styles in one bite.