Real NY Style Pizza in Iowa

When I was a kid growing up in New Jersey my family ate a lot of pizza. We lived all over New Jersey and in New York which gives us an interesting perspective on Real NY Style Pizza . Although it is commonly referred to as NY Style Pizza, this authentic pie can be found all over New Jersey as well as some other locations sprinkled throughout the country.

When I was a kid enjoying authentic NY Style Pizza regularly I had no idea that the rest of the country wasn’t eating the same thing. When my family moved south to Maryland, Virginia, and Florida, it was obvious to me that all pizza isn’t created equally and I began my search for real NY Style Pizza in other states as well.

After I met my husband in Florida, we moved to Illinois where Chicago style pizza is found on every corner. He had never tried NY Style Pizza before and insisted that Chicago pizza had to be better because the description of NY Style Pizza sounded like it was lacking to him.

I understood where he was coming from because when describing NY Style Pizza I would use words like crispy bubbly crust, thin layer of sauce and cheese, orange grease…. that didn’t sound as appealing as the description of Chicago Style pizza. Thick dough, lots of cheese and so much sauce that you need to use a fork to eat it.

I dealt with the frustration of him not understanding how much better NY Style Pizza is, after all he had lived in a state his whole life that had no clue how to serve real NY Style Pizza. They labeled everything thin crust as NY Style and somehow even pizza chains like Dominoes were credited with making real NY Style Pizza.

He loved Chicago style pizza and had eaten it his whole life. Everyone in the area was sure Chicago style was the best pizza and my description of NY Style sounded more like a cracker sprinkled with sauce and cheese.

Then the day finally came, we decided to visit New Jersey and I was thrilled when he tried pizza from a few of my favorite pizza parlors in the area. Of course he loved it as much as I did and agreed with me that until you try it, you can’t possibly understand how delicious it truly is.

After that visit we returned home to the Chicago area and he never looked at pizza the same way again. We were always in search of Real NY Style Pizza and turned our noses up at the many impostors who claim to make the real thing.

Then we moved to Iowa, the land that pizza forgot! We have tried over 20 different pizza places that claim to serve NY Style Pizza, only to be completely disappointed every time.

Then a miracle happened, we found a place called Taste of New York Pizza in West Des Moines, Iowa. This place is the real deal! It’s about a 2 and 1/2 hour drive for my family but we have made the trip several times because it is worth it!

If you are looking to try out the real thing, this is the place to do it! The owners are a very nice family and you couldn’t ask for better pizza. They have a large menu full of foods I haven’t seen since I was a kid in Jersey. The pizza is my top choice but every time we visit we try at least one new thing from the menu like the calzones, garlic knots, pepperoni roll, zeppoli, and cannoli.

Everything was fantastic!

If you have ever been curious about real NY Style Pizza or if you grew up eating it like I did, you have to visit Taste of New York Pizza, you will be glad you did!