There’s a pizza for everyone, from the picky toddler to the late-night reveler and the sophisticated gourmand.
From wood-fired to deep-dish, you can go traditional or dress it up with fancy toppings like fig jam. Get enough for a crowd or order individual pies that are made from scratch and baked in front of you.
On Central Standard’s annual pizza show, our Food Critics searched out the best pizza in and around Kansas City.
Here are their recommendations:
Jenny Vergara, Feast Magazine:
Neapolitan wood-fired pizza:
- Pizzabella — prosciutto pizza. Topped with marinara, shaved prosciutto, mozzarella and Parmesan, and finished off with arugula, and butter lettuce salad.
- Il Lazzarone — Margherita. San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt.
- 1889 Pizza Napoletana — Green Eggs & Ham. Basil pesto, fresh mozzarella, Prosciutto di Parma, arugula and extra virgin olive oil, plus an egg.
Favorite unexpected place for thin-crust pizza:
- Tower Tavern — bacon cheeseburger pizza. It’s topped with hamburger, apple wood-smoked bacon, red onion, tomatoes, pickles, mozzarella, cheddar cheese and drizzled with mustard-based dressing.
New York-style:
- Coal Vines — spicy meatball pizza. A red sauce pizza with sliced meatballs and a habanero drizzle on top.
Road trip pizza:
- Tuscono’s Wood Fired Pizza & Pasta in Buckner, Missouri — pepperoni pizza or any other classic. Has a thin crust that has more of a crew to it.
Jill Silva, The Kansas City Star:
- Ibis Bakery — pizza night every Tuesday. It features Neapolitan-style pizza with a variety of local produce, meats and cheeses. It starts at 6 p.m. but you must go early!
- Providence Pizza. They offer Neapolitan, New York-style or deep-dish Sicilian (which reminds me of my Nana’s).
- Limestone Pizza Kitchen — Farmer pizza.
- 1889 Pizza Napoletana — Honey Bee. With Gorgonzola, a little honey and pears. It has a great fall flavor.
- Spin! — goat cheese, fig jam and arugula.
- Spin! — sausage and apple pizza.
- Jasper’s Marco Polo — Around the Boot. Pepperoni, olives, green peppers, sausage and mushrooms.
- Pie Five — fast customizable personal pizzas.
- Grinders — Fun Guy (Fungi)
- Grinders — the Bengal Tiger.
- Il Lazzarone – pepperoni. They drizzle it with honey so you have that sweet and salty combination.
Charles Ferruzza, The Independent and Shawnee Mission Post:
- Spin!
- Limestone Pizza — Spud pizza. Local thinly-sliced potatoes, onions, crème fraiche, bacon and rosemary. It’s like a loaded baked potato on a crust.
- Il Lazzarone — Margherita.
- Four Seasons Pizza & Pasta. It’s as if an urban pizzeria, owned by two hardworking Sicilians, accidently landed in the suburbs. If you crave a thick-crust Sicilian pizza, this is the spot.
- Nick’s Italian Pizza in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. The most traditional New York-style pizza in KC.
Listener recommendations:
- The Foundry — Jam N’ Chicken. With jalapeno cream sauce, aged shredded mozzarella, braised chicken, smoked shallot bacon jam and microgreens.
- Papa Keno’s. A good crisp crust with a chew to it, plus fresh produce for the toppings.
- Van Till Family Farm Winery — Tuscany. Made with homemade hot Italian sausage, marinated artichokes and two kinds of sauces. It’s amazing.
- 1889 Pizza Napoletana — The Butcher.
- 1889 Pizza Napoletana — Pork Belly.
- Il Lazzarone — Bruxelles. A white pizza with Brussels sprouts. It’s really great right now in the fall.
- Il Lazzarone — Uovo. Salami, fresh basil and garlic and an egg in the middle. The best!
- Minsky’s — Prime Cut. For when I want to eat a lot of meat. Pepperoni, hamburger, American and Italian sausages and crispy bacon on top.
- Minsky’s — Hawaiian. Sweet chili Thai sauce with bacon, pineapple, cilantro, onion and almonds.
- Minsky’s — cheeseburger pizza.
- Johnny C’s Pizza. The combination of cheese is fantastic.
- Funhouse Pizza
- Bella Napoli — classic Margherita.
- Waldo Pizza — gluten-free pizza.
- Providence Pizza — gluten-free pizza. The absolute best; the crust is perfect and not Styrofoam-y like most gluten-free crusts.
- Providence Pizza — Diavola. With pepperoni, hot Calabrese peppers, oregano and honey.
- Pizzabella — potato, radicchio and balsamic pizza.
- McCoy’s Public House — BBQ chicken pizza.
- Leo’s Pizza — classic seven cheese combo.
- Pizza West. They're fearless experimenters, and they do it well.
- Conroy's Public House.
- Artego Pizza
- Johnny Joe’s Pizzeria
- Pizza 51
- Pizzeria Locale
- Italian Delight by Avelluto
- The Art of Pizza
- Old Shawnee Pizza
- d’Bronx
Jen Chen is associate producer for KCUR's Central Standard. Reach out to her at jen@kcur.org.
