Just in time for National Pizza Day. 12 Florida cities make US list of best places to go
Looking for another reason to celebrate the upcoming weekend? You're in luck — Friday, Feb. 9 is National Pizza Day!
A recent study seeking to find the cities across the U.S. that serve the best slices of pizza found and ranked 250 of them, including 12 in Florida.
Pizzello, a California-based company specializing in the design, building, and selling of restaurant-grade pizza ovens and more recently, patio pizza ovens and accessories, conducted the study. Experts determined the findings based on Google review scores from 500 of the most populous towns and cities in the U.S.
What is the top pizza city in the country?
Not coming as a shock to many, New York City proudly sits at the top of the list with an average Google rating of 4.68.
"The legacy of pizza in New York also cannot be ignored. It's home to America's first pizzeria, Lombardi's, which fired up its ovens in 1905. This long-standing tradition means that New York doesn’t just make pizza; it lives and breathes pizza," Pizzello experts wrote.
"This is evident in the generations of family-owned pizzerias that dot the cityscape, each with its own story and a secret recipe that's a slice of New York's history."
As for the full list of the top 10 pizza cities, here's what they found:
New York City - 4.68
Tulsa, Oklahoma - 4.65
Los Angeles - 4.63
Peoria, Arizona - 4.61
Jonesboro, Arkansas - 4.60
Fullerton, California - 4.59
Iowa City, Iowa - 4.57
Glendale, Arizona - 4.56
Albuquerque, New Mexico - 4.55
Denver, Colorado - 4.54
What Florida cities are among the top pizza spots?
Compared to New York City or Detroit, Florida isn't typically known for its pizza pies (see it's Key Lime pies instead). Did you know there know there's a "Florida-style" pizza?
The unofficial pizza of the Sunshine State was invented in Philadelphia by Italian-American immigrants. Described by Mondo Italiano Magazine, Florida Style is essentially "two half moons of pie dough sealed together with all of the ingredients on the inside, then battered and deep fried."
While it might be difficult to stumble across the rare style of the dish, it won't be hard to find other delicious types of pizza. Here's the top Florida cities where you can score a prized pie:
No. 21 - Pembroke Pines
It had an average Google review score of 4.52.
No. 26 - Miramar
It had an average Google review score of 4.52.
No. 46 - West Palm Beach
It had an average Google review score of 4.50.
No. 57 - Palm Coast
It had an average Google review score of 4.50.
No. 72 - Cape Coral
It had an average Google review score of 4.50.
No. 91 - Boynton Beach
It had an average Google review score of 4.47.
No. 99 - St. Petersburg
It had an average Google review score of 4.46.
No. 161 - Key Largo
It had an average Google review score of 4.45.
No. 194 - Plantation
It had an average Google review score of 4.44.
No. 196 - Palm Bay
It had an average Google review score of 4.44.
No. 204 - Hialeah
It had an average Google review score of 4.44.
No. 230 - Tampa
It had an average Google review score of 4.43.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: National Pizza Day: Study says these Florida cities serve best pizzas
