Columbus, OHColumbus-Style Pizza

Thomas Iacono founded this shop in 1952 with a recipe he brought from Sicily, and it came out ahead of ten other contenders in Columbus Monthly's blind tasting, scoring highest across the judges' totals. The magazine describes a crackery-thin crust that crisps up with bubbles, a full-flavored sauce that is not too sweet, mild smoked Wisconsin provolone and Ezzo pepperoni. Order a pepperoni, cut into rectangles.

Guy Ferrelli and Bob Minshall combined their names in 1967 and the Ferrelli family kept the shop; Guy's twin granddaughters Kaci and Kelli run it now and their father Jeff still makes the dough and sauce weekly. Columbus Monthly gave it an honorable mention after more judges picked it as a personal favorite than any other pie. Order a pizza for the caramelized cheese crust that forms over the edges.

One of the eleven shops Columbus Monthly carried to its blind tasting, drawn from what the magazine calls the iconic pizzerias that have been around for decades and serve primarily Columbus-style pizza. Ohio Magazine lists it among the places to find the style and describes a red-and-white-checkered room that hangs on to another era and is still cash only. Order a pepperoni and eat it the local way, in rectangles from the middle out.

A Linworth pub on West Dublin-Granville Road, and one of the eleven Columbus-style shops inside the Interstate 270 loop that Columbus Monthly narrowed its contest to. The magazine limited the field to places serving primarily the local style, which is what this kitchen does, and it scored every pie on crust, sauce, cheese, pepperoni and an overall mark. Order a thin-crust pepperoni, party cut, which is the rectangle cut the style is named for.

A shop on East Lincoln Avenue on the northeast side, listed by Columbus Monthly among the eleven Columbus-style contenders it carried to a South Clintonville home for a blind scoring on crust, sauce, cheese, pepperoni and overall. The magazine drew its field from pizzerias that have been around for decades and serve the style as their main business. Order a pepperoni pie and note the toppings running to the rim, which is the definition of the style.