Yeah, the place I grew up with was run by Italian New Yorkers making NY Style pizza. A couple of them didn't speak English. I've had amazing pizza in NY as well. But wouldn't you know it - like for real ( I know about everything I say is a lie - but not this ), the best pizza of my life was in San Francisco - OMG - it was NY style run by an Italian ( so same stuff you get in NY, just made in SF ) and changed my life. I actually re-visted just to get more of that pizza. I got married with kids, so haven't been back in a long time, not sure it's still there.
So I guess pizza pie wins the contest as best pie ...
I once drove, with a couple friends, into rural Pennsylvania to pick someone up from college. We stopped at a pizza place, went in, figured we'd just get one pizza, so we told the woman, "one pie, with pepperoni."
Well, after several minutes of the workers curiously staring at us, seemingly not understanding, and us, wondering if they spoke English or perhaps that somehow we were not, we arrived at the revelation that calling a pizza "a pie" is apparently not something done in that neck of the woods...the women thought we wanted an
apple pie.
Ironically, the only decent pizza I have ever had was from a place called Brooklyn Pizza, in New Orleans. Fitting, really. Most places here though fail to understand the pizza isn't just about how much cheese and toppings you can possibly pile up...