It may come not as a surprise, but New York City is officially home to the best pizza in the US.
The Italian-born and Italian brand-sponsored guide Top 50 Pizza just declared so, unveiling the list of the 50 best pizza spots in the country. Anthony Mangieri's Una Pizza Napoletana, which is located in the Lower East Side and recently reopened after a two-year hiatus, is at the top of the list. San Francisco's Tony's Pizza Napoletana was awarded second place, while New York's own Ribalta NYC ended up third.
Mangieri has been preparing pizza doughs daily for the past 25 years, and has constantly been pursuing perfection by tweaking the recipe every day to try and achieve what he considers "the perfect pie."
"It's humbling, and I am filled with gratitude," said Mangieri in a statement. "Every day since opening Una Pizza in 1996 I've had the dream to pursue this work without compromise. We've been so blessed to be able to do this and continue to learn and grow as a pizzeria and as pizza makers."
During the past year, Top 50 Pizza inspectors were secretly sent to visit pizzeria after pizzeria in the US, and have been closely tasting and scrutinizing pies to come up with the ultimate ranking. To the inspectors, quality of the dough and of the raw ingredients are paramount, and service as well as attention and care given to the customer ate definitely taken into account as well.
Altogether, New York City has the highest number of pizzerias in the Top 50 Pizza list, with nine venues mentioned in this year's guide. San Francisco and Portland are in second place with five restaurants each.
Take a look at the full Top 50 Pizza list for 2022: