Although it technically isn’t an American dish, pizza has taken its place next to apple pie and hot dogs in the pantheon of American palate-pleasers. A recent Harris Poll surveyed 2,000 Americans and found that 21 percent said their favorite food was pizza, beating out other favorites like burgers, steaks, and tacos.* But ever since the original pizza pie arrived with Italian immigrants in the early twentieth century, Americans of many backgrounds have put their own spin on the dish, resulting in a veritable kaleidoscope of pizza options. Sicilian immigrants, for example, used mozzarella cheese not because it was what they used in the old country, but because it was readily and cheaply available in the United States.
Nowadays, we take for granted that mozzarella is a staple ingredient of pizza. Not only that, but now fast food companies like Pizza Hut and Little Caesars have—to the delight of many Americans and to the dismay of their doctors—wed the traditional Italian pie with a distinctly American preference for stuffing everything with processed meat and cheese. But pizza innovation hasn’t all been unhealthy—we also have the California pizza, for example, with decidedly nontraditional toppings such as asparagus and artichokes. When it comes to thin crust, New York-style pizza versus deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza, things can get a little testy. Then there’s your classic, not-too-thin crust but not-thick-either pepperoni pizza, which became popular in the 1950s and is now the standard offering at most pizzerias across the country.
Given all these innovations, options, and yes, feuds, can we still get some semblance of what the majority of Americans today prefer when it comes to their pizza? Well, a recent poll revealed that pepperoni remains Americans’ favorite pizza topping, and a separate poll in 2016 found that 31 percent of those surveyed preferred thin crust (18 percent preferred deep dish). In a demonstration of just how well Little Caesars and Pizza Hut know their market, SalesFuel Today reported that “millennials don’t just want toppings on their pizza; they want it in their pizza.”**
At Rosati’s, our company and franchise owners aren’t inclined to argue about which pizza is the best—we simply serve our own time-honored recipe, with the same 87 specially sourced, proprietary ingredients, let our customers pick the crust style and toppings, and have the result speak for itself. If you want a crust loaded with cheddar and bacon, well, maybe Rosati’s isn’t your choice. But, thanks to our genuine Italian roots and no-compromise ingredient list, we guarantee our pizza will still taste better. If you want to get in on a Rosati’s franchise, visit our franchise page for more information today!