World Cup visitors: If you’re craving good pizza, try these spots | Porter & Williams
Editor's Note: Welcome to Double Take, a conversation in Star Opinion that tackles news with differing perspectives and respectful debate. Today, Senior Opinion Columnist Mará Rose Williams and Opinion Columnist Toriano Porter discuss where World Cup fans should go for Kansas City pizza.
Toriano Porter: Earlier this month, Opinion Editor Yvette Walker and Senior Opinion Columnist Mará Rose Williams recommended their favorite barbecue joints for FIFA fans and visitors. This time around, Mará and I offer our take on our favorite pizzerias in town.
Here’s a surprise, maybe for some: Although I was born and raised in St. Louis and I grew up eating square slices from Imo’s Pizza — a staple where I’m from (there are three locations in the KC area, too) — my favorite childhood pizza haunt did not crack my top faves here.
And here is a wholly unpopular opinion that I am sure my esteemed colleague and Long Island native Mará will disagree with: Kansas City does New York-style pizza better than some pizzerias that I’ve visited in the Big Apple. No lie.
Mará Rose Williams: Hold on now …
Porter: While I like all sorts of pizza, I much prefer New York-style slices, which are described as hand-tossed thin-crust pizza that is wide and foldable with crispy edges. If you have ever heard the phrase “a slice as big as your face,” you get the idea.
On a recent trip to New York City, I decided on pizza slices on back-to-back days, and each time I clamored to get back to Kansas City, where I feel the pie is simply more hearty and tasty. I wish I could adequately describe the main difference between the two cities when it comes to the fare in question, but I can’t. Maybe it’s the hospitality here. Or maybe the culinary scene in Kansas City is simply underrated and our executive chefs and pizza shop owners are just really good at sourcing quality ingredients. Either way, after I left New York City after a short visit, I came back to Kansas City seeking a delicious slice from one of my favorite spots in the metro, which I will touch on below.
And my assumptions were correct: I prefer Kansas City pizza slices over New York’s and it wasn’t even close.
Williams: Since you were so kind as to refer to me as an esteemed colleague, I’ll be as nice as I can about this, but I must warn you: Pizza is serious business when you are a New Yorker. Any slam against New York pizza is bound to be darn near fightin’ words in my arena.
No way does Kansas City do New York pizza better than New York. It’s just not possible for a lot of reasons.
Obviously, it’s called New York pizza for a reason: New York does it best, period. But also, Kansas City is too busy trying to hold on to its barbecue title, which seems under constant challenge from Texas, Tennessee and the Carolinas, even to try claiming rights to a pizza dynasty that’s way out of its league.
Porter: Whoa, is pizza this important?
Williams: I know this is just between us and that pizza isn’t actually a claim KC is making, but I warned you, it’s serious.
When my boys were young, and we would travel from Kansas City to New York for a visit, our first stop in the Big Apple would be a pizzeria, nearly any pizzeria. The decor inside is usually red, green and white, like the colors of Italy’s flag — that’s a sign. And in the air hangs the smell of garlic, Parmesan and tomatoes, check.
You don’t ask for a New York slice. You just ask for a slice. My first slice is always plain, not weighted down with toppings. That way, you get the truest oily, yummy New York slice experience.
And then there’s this: Many chefs have told me the biggest secret to New York pizza is the knuckle-tossed dough, and the water. You can maybe learn the tossing technique, but you’re not getting New York water in Kansas City. And other than the special something that water apparently does to dough, I’m not sure what’s good about New York water.
Nevertheless, New York pizza is like the Porsche 911 of pizza: “There is no substitute.”
I’m not saying there isn’t good pizza in Kansas City, even good New York-style pizza, because there is.
I don’t get home to New York as much as I would like and yeah, I do miss the perfectly brown and foldable crust and perfectly sauced, but not saucy, pie. There are a few spots here that will do in a pinch, and I added a new one this week.
Northeast Pizza is pretty darn good. It even has the orange-colored oil that drips from the slice when you fold it. Oh my goodness. But the crust, while good, is a tad too crunchy for me. The tip of the slice needs to fall forward just a bit when you lift it so you can get your tongue underneath it to start the consumption process.
And this is big: There must be a stringy cheese pull on that first bite.
The Combine KC is my go-to for taste, cheese, sauce and size — the slices are ginormous. But Combine, like a lot of other pizzerias here, cuts slices into squares, and that is almost New York pizza sacrilege.
Toriano Porter’s pizza tour
Northeast Pizza: This place is No. 1 on my list for a reason: The pizza here is simply divine, and so is the house salad with Italian dressing (the ranch dressing is equally tasty) and the homemade chocolate chip cookies. My go-to order is a slice of pepperoni. If I’m starved, I’ll add a house salad. Don’t forget to add red pepper flakes, Parmesan cheese and oregano to your preferred slice. Northeast Pizza is located at 2203 Lexington Avenue. The pizzeria is closed on Mondays but opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Providence Pizza: This pizza joint’s tagline “no crust left behind” is not hyperbole. The crust here is amazing as are the slices. I recommend NY-style pepperoni but the thicker Detroit-style slice of pepperoni is really good, too. Their Italian salad with ranch dressing pairs well with the pizza. The Grandview location at 12925 South U.S. Highway 71 opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and at noon on Sunday, as does the Westport location at 415 Westport Road in Kansas City. Both spots are closed on Mondays.
Pizza Tascio: The spicy pepperoni pizza at Pizza Tascio is to die for. The meat, the cheese and the jalapeno slices topped with Mike’s Hot Honey are worth the trip. There are several locations in the area, but the North Kansas City location at 1111 Burlington Street is my favorite. Opens at 11 a.m. daily.
Grinders Pizza: When I am craving a thin slice of pepperoni pizza with red onion, Grinders in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City is where I go. Add the half-a** fries and a house salad with ranch for a full meal. There is a second location in Lenexa on the Kansas side, but the Crossroads location at 417 E. 18th Street has the charm of your favorite dive bar. Both spots open daily at 11 a.m.
The Combine KC: I usually order a slice of pepperoni and red onion when I visit The Combine, co-owned by Alan Kneeland, who in 2023 became the first Black president of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association. Here is a fun fact about The Combine KC, which is located at 2999 Troost Avenue: The NY-style slices here are so big that I have never been able to eat the entire serving in one sitting. I think the one thing Mará and I can agree on here: Cutting slices into squares as The Combine KC does is almost a NY-style pizza sin. Almost. Opens at 11 a.m. daily.
Worth consideration: The Neapolitan-style wood-fired pizzas at Spin Pizza (multiple locations) and Il Lazzarone in the River Market area.
Mará Rose Williams’ pizza tour
The Combine KC: As I said earlier, that’s my spot and it gets my No. 1 vote. Combine — that’s how you’ll refer to it once you’ve been a couple times — is my go-to. Next time I’m there, I’m going to ask the kitchen not to cut my slice into squares. I usually order the Veggie Delight and it’s delicious. And they have a Highway Special topped with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and black olives that’s wonderful.
Northeast Pizza and Grinders: I agree with Toriano, both do a really good job with their New York-style pizza but I have to give Northeast the edge over Grinders. It just comes closer to the pie I’m used to. And that taste. Both are worth a trip.
Buffalo State Pizza Co. & Bar: Giant slices for sure, and I like that I can taste basil and butter. Its slices are cut into squares, and it has a build-your-own option on the menu. But they also have some interesting specialties. There are locations in the Crossroads in KC and in Overland Park in Kansas. Open seven days a week, but check the daily hours.
Spin Pizza: I love a good personal pizza, and this one is tasty and filling and sometimes more than I can eat in a sitting. Spin Pizza, with a location at 1808 N.W. Chipman Road in Lee’s Summit, another in the first-floor food court at Crown Center, and more across the metropolitan area, also has a build-your-own menu that’s pretty extensive in its choices. I keep it simple, though, and go with either their pepperoni or three-meat pizza. Open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
