by
Mr. ChimeTime trying Detroit-style pizza
Rashad Mooreman is a food critic who goes by "Mr. ChimeTime" on social media. He has hundreds of thousands of followers.
He's based in North Carolina, studied Information Technology and Electronics at North Carolina A&T State University, quit his " 9-5 to travel the world and eat," and moves about the country, hitting food spots recommended by his followers. His video reviews, delivered from behind the steering wheel of his car, are brutally honest, but always amusing.
This time he came to Metro Detroit, and he ranks eight Detroit-style pizzas. You might be suprised by his rankings. Frankly, I didn't agree with them. He expects his Detroit-style pizza to be thick. That's not my standard. That being said, it's always interesting to hear an outsider's view on some of our town's classics. And besides, I'm a big fan of his videos, which you can see below.
Here's his reviews and rankings: (His comments were edited for brevity)
#8. Shields Pizza -- (Mutliple locations including Detroit) -- "Let me be clear on this, Shields Pizza was not bad. The sauce had a sweet, herbier taste to it, the crust was chewy, had a good amount of sauce, good amount of cheese. The pepperoni could have been a little bit more crispier but you know it is what it is. But this pizza was probably one of the thinnest out of all the pieces and I didn't appreciate that.
#7. Buddy's Pizza -- (Multiple locaitons including Detroit) "I know you're gonna kill me for this, but I gotta give it to Buddy's. The pizza itself was cooked perfectly but for this to be the originator of the Detroit-style pizza; I was expecting a little bit more. It wasn't thick enough, it didn't have enough sauce on it, and the sauce that it did have on it, did not have a distinctive taste. The cheese did look good. It was nice and oily. I kind of like that, but nothing really stood out."
#6. Loui's Pizza, (Dequindre Road, Hazel Park) -- "This is another pizza joint that I'm probably gonna get hell about, but it is what it is. They give you a lot of sauce, right? And it looks like they use cheddar, mozzarella for cheese. They overcook it just a little bit which is fine...I was expecting a lot more considering the fact this is probably one, if not the most popular Detroit-style pizza joint out there in Detroit."
#5. Cloverleaf Pizza -- (Multiple locations in the suburbs) "I gotta give it to Cloverleaf Pizza. When it comes to sauce, this pizza joint has the best sauce in the game. It also has the best crunch. The pepperoni was nice, although...this was one of thee thinnest pizzas out of all of the eight pizzas that I had. If all the Detroit-style pizzas were thin, Cloverleaf would have probably won easily"
#4. Sicily's Pizzeria -- (W. Vernor in Detroit) -- "The owners are really, really nice by the way. This pizza was just, damn this pizza was sexy, sexy as fuck... It had almost the perfect balance of everything. Almost. It was soft, fluffy, pepperoni was crisp. There's a little oily, chewy crust. It damn near had everything that a man could have asked for. But when when it comes to the sauce, the sauce, it just wasn't enough sauce."
#3. Grandma Bob's (Michigan Ave. in Detroit's Corktown) "Size wise this pizza wasn't as big as the others, right. But when it comes to individual slices, oh that motherfucker was (good). Pepperoni's crispy, good amount of cheese, fluffy, crust was crunchy. Grandma Bob's is a whole Bob. The sauce was just OK at best. Everything else checked out perfectly."
#2. PizzaPapalis -- (Detroit and suburban locations) "This pizza is a complete beast. It's cheesy, fluffy, very crunchy. My teeth literally got stuck in the cheese as it was pulling my teeth down to the bottom. Something stood out about this pizza. This pizza had a little bit spice to it. I'm not sure where it was coming from. Whatever it was coming from, that sauce was amazing. But unfortunately, somebody has to be second place and it's you PizzaPapalis.
#1.Green Lantern -- (Suburban locations) "When it comes to Detroit-style pizza, it is amazing and hands down the best. It was crispy, it was covered in cheese, covered in sauce. The pepperoni was crispy, the squares, the pizza squares, amazing. Whoever suggested Green Lantern, because there's quite a few of you guys, y'all are MVPs. I would fly anywhere any day from wherever I am just to get that pizza."
