Talk:Greek pizza

Michigan?

There is a style known as "Greek pizza" sold in Michigan (in restaurants like Niki's in Detroit or Bell's in Ann Arbor and East Lansing) that is somewhat similar to the pizzas discussed here, in that it's baked in an olive oil coated pan, has a thick bready crust, and a tangier tomato sauce. But the Michigan version is always rectangular, and deep (though not as deep as a Chicago deep-dish) with a crust made crispy and almost fried by the olive oil coating. Mingusal (talk) 23:03, 2 February 2016 (UTC)

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New England — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.96.38.0 (talk) 16:12, 20 February 2012 (UTC) Whoa! I beg to differ. Greek Pizza is much MUCH older and was invented in of all places Greece. There is historical evidence that Greeks ate a flat bread called πλακούς (plakous) — “flat” — which was topped with olive oil, herbs, onion, cheese and garlic and then baked in a mud oven. 73.114.155.180 (talk)Mark Gerard McKee

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I, the Mighty Obbop, has heard of "working Greek features" but never confronted a pizza claiming to be of "Greek style." Perhaps the Mafia, La Cosa Nostra, or whatever nomenclature is currently used to describe an organized crime cartel, is responsible for ousting the Greeks and ensuring that the vast majority of pizza retains a reference to that which is Italian.68.13.191.153 19:36, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

• I really don't know how widely the term is understood, but at least in Eastern Massachusetts, there is a distinction between "Greek" and "Italian" pizza. Most pizza shops don't advertise one or the other, but the fact that a lot of Greek immigrants own pizza shops has led to a definite style. Haikupoet 20:58, 11 November 2006 (UTC)
  • In Vancouver, Canada (at least in the circles I travelled in) there is a similar distinction between Greek and Italian pizza. I also believe that it extends to other parts of western Canada, at least to Calgary. If you google for "greek pizza vancouver" there is some evidence of this. Jdougan 22:22, 27 December 2006 (PST)
  • I can confirm there is a large “greek style” pizza presence in Calgary Cymm (talk) 07:26, 16 February 2020 (UTC)
  • Agreed. "Greek Pizza" is extremely common in Eastern Massachusetts. Can I remove the boxes at the top of the page? CSZero 00:47, 22 March 2007 (UTC)
  • Not an uncommon style in western NH - the phrase is unusual, but the linkage is usually identifiable from other menu items. See for example Village Pizza in Newport NH or C&A's in Hanover. mr_Handy 00:56, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes the big issue is they don't advertise the difference. And Greek Pizza is generally regarded as lower quality in Mass. So you have to take a chance and order a pizza to find out which type a place serves (If you ask, both will tell you Italian). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.147.110.167 (talk) 05:40, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Pizza Hut

This is a somewhat good description to give people a starting place for what Greek Pizza is. However, how exactly do you describe the difference? Greek Pizza seems to have less cheese, is somehow more bitter, and has a thinner, denser, and crispier crust. It also seems to be cooked longer. What this article really needs is a picture:

http://www.sarpinos.com/pages/menu/ This supports the Vancouver thing above. This pizza, especially the cheese one where it says "Gourmet Pizza" is what I think of by Greek Pizza. The founder of this company claims to make "Italian" food, but his last name looks pretty Greek to me. CSZero 02:47, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Lol - looking at this page's background, the scrolling map I believe is of Greece. Either way, you can clearly see in the pictures the really burnt looking cheese and the flat crust line from being cooked in a pan. CSZero 02:50, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Greek pizzas not only have a thicker crust, but it is more buttery in flavor. They also use dried milk powder when making the dough. Many Greek Pizza places, use Cheddar cheeze instead of mozarella. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.147.110.167 (talk) 20:21, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Restricted to New England?

What you describe here pretty much fits with what most pizzerias in Greece sell as "Italian" food. So I would venture to claim it is not restricted to New England immigrants, but is also rather prevalent in Greece. Druworos 20:17, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

Great, feel free to change it to say so. The New England thing is a "within the US" distinction - for an example, there are tons of Greek-owned pizza places in NYC, which tend to serve pizza with a crust indistinguishable from other New York-style pizza places, although they more often also have spinach pizza and often serve gyros. mr_Handy (talk) 19:46, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

The distinction is also pretty clear in Atlanta, GA. Can't speak to any other cities in the Southeast, but several restaurants in Atlanta and the metro area advertise "Greek-style Pizza" and actually serve Greek-style pizza. Many Atlantans either have a preference for one style or the other, or have a favored Italian-style pizza place and a favored Greek-style. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.210.71.103 (talk) 00:31, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

The phenomenon is also common in Southeast Pennsylvania, from Philadelphia to at least as far west as Lancaster. I'd guess that this is the case across the entire East Coast - The question then is how far west the Greek influence goes, and if it extends north into Canada as well. --74.103.150.125 (talk) 00:03, 10 July 2011 (UTC)

I’ve seen this style frequently in Northeast Philadelphia as well - not just the characteristic oily, chewy Greek style crust, but also gyro meat, feta cheese, and black olives as toppings. That part of the city didn’t get much Italian immigration, but did get a lot of Eastern European immigrants. The rest of Philadelphia and surrounding towns did get heavy Italian immigration, and I seldom see Greek style pizza elsewhere in the Philadelphia area.

The Greek Key

I understand this isn't encyclopedia-worthy without a published confirmation, being my own anecdotal experience and all, but I notice that on many delivery menus of Greek American-owned pizzerias, one can often find the "Greek Key" pattern around the border as a subtle indication of the restaurant's style. This seems to be less common of a feature today as it was a decade ago, at least around my area. Does anyone else notice this? --74.103.150.125 (talk) 00:03, 10 July 2011 (UTC)

UK - Greek Pizza ubiquitous

I don't know if it constitutes an entry into 'Greek Pizza', but, most UK takeaway establishments that serve Pizza cook it in a heavily oiled pan (not necessarily olive oil) in a 'Pizza oven'.

Many to most takeaway establishments in the UK are owned and run by Pakistanis, Indians, Greeks, Turks and Arabs. They all seem to prepare it in the Greek way, but include individual flair, for instance a Turkish run establishment may offer a 'donner meat' pizza, where an Arab run establishment may offer a shwarma pizza. It's common for Pakistani and Indian run establishments to offer curry dishes as the base sauce on a naan bread style pizza, still cooked with oil in a pan.

It just seems to me that it should be pointed out that most non-chain establishments in the UK prefer to serve 'Greek Style Pizza' baked in a pan with oil, rather than 'Italian Style Pizza' baked on the bottom of an oven without a pan or oil.

-Tiff — Preceding unsigned comment added by ThePrincessTiffany (talk • contribs) 09:10, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

Photo

I think the current photo used in the article sends the wrong message. What makes a pizza "Greek" is not the use of stereotypically Greek ingredients like feta cheese and olives, but rather the way it's cooked and the resulting crust and other properties. So featuring a pizza with feta cheese and olives might be misleading. The pic should just be a standard cheese or pepperoni pie (maybe next to a NY style pie to highlight the differences?). I'd fix this myself, but I'm nowhere near any Greek-style pizzerias. Yilloslime (talk) 16:46, 15 August 2022 (UTC)

Agreed. Though the feta and olives aren't really visible in the pic. Also strange that it's cut into squares rather than pie slices -- is that typical in some areas? --Macrakis (talk) 18:23, 15 August 2022 (UTC)