Philadelphia Pizza Craze Part Two: Square and Thick Crust Pies

The thing about pizza is that it can warm you up on a chilly winter night, fill your tummy after a long summer day at the beach, and everything in between. It's the perfect food for any time of year and you can't go wrong at many of Philly's pizza spots, new and old.

This post, the second in our quick series on Philadelphia's latest pizza craze, shares four square and thicker crust pies that we think are among the best in Philly. As we mentioned last post, we take with a grain of salt any discussion about the single "best" pie - especially when so many of today's hot new pizza joints are cooking with a similar style (like the ultra-thin Neapolitan pies that are all the rage).

To help you sample several of the "best" pizza in Philly - new and old - here are a few more pizzas we think you should try next. 

Salciccia from Square Pie with sausage, peppers, onions, mozzarella and red sauce. Brought to us by Gene Giuffi, the owner of Cochon BYOB, find these new square pies in the old Blue Belly BBQ corner in Queen Village. Giuffi taps his Brooklyn roots to make these thick crust, Sicilian-style pies, adding his own flair with meat toppings reminiscent of pork-focused Cochon just across the street. It's nice to see someone focusing on any other style than Neapolitan and they do a great job with a really thick crust.

The Salcicca from Square Pie Phily

Stogie Joe's upside down pie. Flip your pizza upside down with a rectangle pan pie at South Philly neighborhood dive, Stogie Joe's. Might look like a standard tomato pie but the cheese is hiding under the sauce. Why does that simple flip of ingredients ignite such a revolution in your mouth? I have no idea but it's amazing. So are Stogie Joe's super cheap buckets of beer.
 

Stogie Joe's upside pie

Rectangle slice of the day at Pizzeria Vetri. We enjoy all the pizza at Pizzeria Vetri - and the famous Rotolo of course - but the rectangle red sauce slice of the day, no matter what it is, always seems to be the favorite at our table. It's been tough to find another red sauce in Philly to match. I wouldn't expect anything less from a place with Marc Vetri's name on the door. A must-order no matter how many other pies you're getting.

Pizzeria Vetri's rectangle slice of the day

Dock Street's Mellow Yellow. This Cedar Park neighborhood brewery is about more than beer. Dock Street's long menu of creative pizzas baked on hardwood fire will tickle your tastebuds with flavor combos you never dreamed of... but will now. Don't be fooled by the odd combo of brown mustard, creme fraiche, portobello, white mushroom, mozzarella, gruyere and scallions - it's awesome and I don't even like mushrooms.

Dock Street Brewery's Mellow Yellow

There you have it. Happy eating or further reading... here's everything we've ever written about pizza and a great website all about pizza for when you travel.