Disclaimer: lists are silly.
Our friends at NBC5 report today that TripAdvisor users snubbed Chicago in a list of the top pizza cities in America. If it were a list of only three or five, we could understand not being a shoo-in—after all, it’d be a boring list without any surprises. But you’re telling us Chicago couldn’t crack the top 10? Couldn’t top Indianapolis? Phoenix?
Here’s the full list:
1. San Diego 2. Las Vegas 3. Boston 4. New York 5. Seattle 6. Austin 7. San Francisco 8. Indianapolis 9. Philadelphia 10. Phoenix
According to TripAdvisor: “Top spots were determined based on the highest average rating by city for all restaurants that serve pizza.”
That methodology raises some red flags. Is a Papa Johns rated five stars by one reviewer weighted the same as a Giordano’s reviewed by hundreds for an average rating of four stars? There’s potential for some weird results there if nationwide chains are included with genuine specialty pizza places with local twists.
My only explanation for Chicago’s absence: maybe visitors to Chicago have such high standards for their pies that our local pizzerias’ ratings end up artificially low. Astronomical expectations could be enough to drop an otherwise five-star rating to a four, and they could be enough to drop Chicago from the top 10.
Meanwhile, Thrillist’s recent list of the 33 best pizzas in America wisely included Coalfire, Lou Malnati’s and Vito & Nick’s.
