What Makes Philadelphia's Pizzaz Pizza So Unique?
Tourists may think of Philadelphia as the place to find peace within the Longwood Gardens, take photos of the LOVE sculpture, and embody Rocky while climbing the mountain of stairs in front of the Philadephia Museum of Art, per Visit Philadelphia. But even Rocky had to eat, and it probably wasn't Philly cheesesteaks every day. It's what The City of Brotherly Love is known for after all, but die-hard food fans know about some hidden gems 'round their neighborhoods.
Maybe it's red-gravy pasta with some butterscotch krimpets for dessert. Or, perhaps it's an Italian sub sandwich with a soft pretzel on the side. And maybe a midnight snack craving calls for a pizzaz, and we're not talking about the slang word that adds flair or excitement to a noun, as defined by the Dictionary.
We're spotlighting the underrated and relatively unknown pizza staple of South Philly that BillyPenn calls "a grilled cheese with a kick." Here's what makes it so unique.
No sauce on the pizza
A pizza without sauce? What kind of witchcraft is at work in South Philly, or more specifically, in Celebre's Pizza? Well, back in the 1980s, two brothers named Ronnie and Robert Celebre sat around and took a trip down memory lane in their pizza shop. Grilled cheese was on Ronnie's mind that day, which inspired him to whip up a pizza with a little pizzaz, via BillyPenn.
The first batch consisted of American cheese, slivers of onion, and tomato slices on the dough, with absolutely no sauce in sight. The second batch was almost the same, but instead of the onions, Ronnie sprinkled banana peppers on top for a spicy kick. The rest is history.
The lack of sauce certainly aids in this pizza's uniqueness, as well as the combination of sweet, spicy, and creamy flavors, per Foodigenous. Many pizza shops and bakeries have since added their own spin to the pizzaz pizza and Cacia's Bakery is one of them. Here, you'll find squares of pizza instead of those classic pie slices. The crust is thin, the cheese has random browned spots on top, and the scorched corner slices are a must-try.
So who needs sauce anyway when you've got a pizza that tastes like a reinvented grilled cheese sandwich with a little "pizzaz" on top? South Philly sure as heck doesn't and it's the only place where you'll find this unique taste of nostalgia.