Eat A Pita Chicago

Trying to trace the history of the first pizza is a surprisingly controversial subject. Some claim that this popular food is based on early unleavened breads served in the first centuries of Rome. Others trace a connection from modern pizza back to the pita of Greece.

It is fairly well established that the first pizza as we know it today was created by a man named Raffaele Esposito from Naples, Italy. Esposito creation was designed to honor the visit of Queen Margherita to Naples in 1889 and decorated in the colors of the Italian flag, made of white cheese, basil, green and red tomatoes (tomatoes, which arrived from west of about 60 years earlier, were originally thought to be toxic, but by the time Esposito, they were already adopted by the Italian cuisine).

As the years passed and the turn of the century began, the Italian immigrants to this recipe with them to the United States. The first pizzeria was opened in America in 1905. It remained popular almost exclusively among immigrants until the end of the Second World War, when American soldiers returned to their homeland and brought a love of pizza they had discovered overseas. With that, the pizza boom in America began and this food has become a regular meal instead of a snack Italian underground.

The concentration of Italian immigrants in New York in ancient times, explains the fact that many people think you must visit New York to get true pizzeria-style pizza. That's where the pizza made his American debut, after all. And anyone who has lived in New York style pizza can disagree. New York is famous for its pizzerias, where a true slice of pizza consists of a thin crust loaded with great variety of toppings and marinara and smothered in heady Italian seasonings. Besides the garlic bread and some heady pastas and tortellini usually complement the menu. Pizza in New York are not for the faint of heart.

In the early 1940s, the city of Chicago, IL has pizza in a different direction. It is believed that the first pizzeria in Chicago was Pizzeria Uno, opened in 1943 by Ike Sewell. Sewell pizza creation was a new twist on the old standard of New York. He created what is known today as the deep dish pizza, where the pizza is sunk in a shallow baking pan and the crust is allowed to grow in thick bubbles around the edges. People flocked to Sewell's pizzeria, and a whole new way of looking at this favorite food was born.

To date, you may find yourself in pretty heated debates if you talk to a New York or Chicago on what constitutes authentic pizzeria-style pizza. But whatever crust style you choose, pizza is a unique food with a foggy past and a call that lasted determined through many incarnations.

So, you're lucky enough to find in New York or Chicago or any city for that matter that has a true pizzeria, with checkered tablecloths and plenty of garlic on the menu, indulge yourself in an old tradition and order a slice. After all, its tradition.