From Bar Pie to Dessert Pie: A Guide to 21 Pizza Styles to Try

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — With dough, sauce and cheese, pizza can be an endless palette for the artisan. And as sure as the pizza maker knows how to make it, the curious and gourmet palates will come.

Here are 21 styles of pizza, most of which originate from the rich cuisines of Staten Island. Warning: do not read this on an empty stomach.

1.) Daisy Pie — Fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil with the sauce poured and pooled on top.

2.) New York style — Made with low-moisture mozzarella that bubbles and marries into a marbled fusion of sauce and cheese; the crust is notable for its chewy interior and crisp exterior.

3.) Neapolitan — Made with fresh mozzarella and fresh tomato sauce — preferably from the Naples region of Italy — it has specific flour characteristics that result in a fragrant, supple dough and a patina pattern on top.

4.) Tavern Pie —A notable variation where the cheese is placed directly on the dough, then applied with toppings and, finally, a light ladle of sauce to finish; this tart does not travel well and is best eaten fresh from the oven.

5.) Sea bass pie — less than 10 inches in diameter with trim extending about a finger’s length to the rim.

6.) White — A perfect balance of roasted cheese with olive oil for a smooth shine or pockets of fresh ricotta on top.

7.) Clam Pie — Chunks of clams pair with a white tart brushed with a generous dose of garlic and olive oil.

8.) Hollow dish — A round pie with a thick crust and a heavy dose of sauce and cheese.

9.) Garbage Pie — A pizza absolutely loaded with toppings — like everything — onions, mushrooms, peppers, olives and/or anchovies, meatballs and sausages.

10.) California style aka “salad pie” — Typically a thin-crust pie topped with green vegetables or raw toppings straight from the oven.

11.) To the coal — The crust has a pleasant, bold charcoal and ash flavor, both of which complement the creamy, acidic toppings; it’s best enjoyed at a restaurant.

12.) Brick wood-fired oven — There is smoke in the mouth, a deliciousness with the dough and the fillings that become more vibrant with the woody background. Vodka pies are ideal accompanied by wood pies.

13.) Chicago Style —A deep-dish pie stuffed with hearty cheese and thick tomato sauce with a wide-rimmed crust.

14.) Bread Pie — Thick on the crust edge leading to a sunken cluster of cheese and toppings, the dough is sturdy (yet airy and flavorful) enough to hold a myriad of heavy toppings like cheesesteak, buffalo chicken, and cooked spinach plus plenty of fresh mozzarella.

15.) Grandma — A square pie with a relatively thin, biscuit-like crust, usually notable for a striped arrangement of sauce and cheese; the sauce is often sweet, as opposed to savory.

16.) Sicilian — Square tart with a dense, thick dough base, almost like focaccia; the salty tomato sauce is on top (as opposed to grandma’s typical sweeter sauce); can also be called an L&B tart, a nod to the Brooklyn shop that does this style so well.

17.) Focaccia — A square creation with a softer, fluffier dough than the Sicilian and the delicious mouthfeel of a dough drizzled with olive oil.

18.) Fincione — Topped with crushed breadcrumbs with or without anchovies and roasted with Caciocavallo cheese and extra virgin olive oil.

19.) Mexican Pie — When pizza is a sideline for a restaurant that’s primarily a taqueria, it produces pies with taco ingredients like avocado, pico di gallo and chorizo.

20.) Chicken Parmesan Pie — The actual “crust” is made mostly of ground chicken and topped like a pizza. The meat cooks on the bottom and essentially fries the whole thing.

21.) Dessert pie — topped or filled with Nutella. Accompaniments or additions may include cannoli cream, French cream, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Pamela Silvestri, a Staten Island native and pizza enthusiast, is the editor-in-chief of Advance Food. You can contact her at: silvestri@siadvance.com.