Savor The Best Of Detroit-Style Pizza At This Must-Visit Michigan Foodie Hotspot

What's rectangular, has Wisconsin brick cheese and toppings layered under — not over! — red sauce, is laced with a caramelized crust that everyone jostles for, comes with ranch dressing for dipping, and recently all the rage in the pizza pantheon? No, it's not just pizza, it's Detroit-style pizza. Invented in 1946 when bar owner Gus Guerra tenderly re-molded his mother-in-law's airier Sicilian dough in cast iron-like blue steel pans from an automotive plant, what emerged from the oven was two inches of foccacia flair crowned with crunch. Motor City residents flipped for that pillowy comfort nestling tangy cheese, zesty marinara, and aromatic herbs, and now-iconic joints Cloverleaf and Loui's joined Guerra's Buddy's in slinging the cult favorite.

Together with the city's renaissance, what deliciously happens in Detroit no longer stays in Detroit. D-town pizza is having a real moment, accelerating its hometown's status as one of the most underrated foodie destinations in America. You can snag a piece of the action from L.A. to Texas, Denver, Philly, and even Germany and Japan. The hipster Emmy Squared has more than 20 outlets spanning D.C. to Nashville, and in 2012, a former Cloverleaf employee won an industry World Champion Pizza Maker title for his rendition.

Even if Detroit isn't the "Pizza Capital Of The U.S.," leave it to the city that perfected the automobile assembly line, smooth Motown song stylings, and hard-core hockey play to zhuzh up with pizazz its own pizza creation. To savor the best DSP, you must visit Michigan & Trumbull, a hotspot where light bona fide crust levitates with house-made foodie-forward ingredients like pickled chiles, cilantro ranch, "haute" honey, bacon jam, and barbacoa beef. Yet, the truest testament to their craft may be pizza sauce that's made of pure Stanislaus tomatoes simmered down and seasoned.

Everything about Michigan & Trumbull beams Detroit, like operating in a former garage, named for the intersection it shares with the legendary old Tiger Stadium,  and donating proceeds from season-driven monthly specials to local causes. Here in Corktown, the city's oldest neighborhood that's a hub for young creatives, Detroit natives Kristen Calverley and Nate Peck ply pies like palettes of edible art. Consider the "pierogi" designed with caramelized onion, cheddar, mozzarella, potatoes, sour cream, and chives, and the Cadieux e Pepe, an homage to nearby Cadieux Road, anointed with Parmesan, fresh garlic, and black pepper. Traditional DSP is striped with red sauce, but a rambunctious roster of white pizzas hold their own, like the popular "Mclovin" that cheekily one-ups a Big Mac with Beyond Beef, mozzarella, cheddar, iceberg lettuce, onions, sesame seeds, and an "awesome sauce." Despite, or in spite of, these substantial and sustainably sourced bits of goodness, the pizzaiolos adroitly uphold the mandate of scintillatingly shattery Detroit crust using a time intensive dough process which produces only 250 pizzas daily. 

If they sell out, don't despair. Boring sides have no place in this palace of nostalgic pleasures like Wu-Tang Clan and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knick-knacks, Miller High Life on tap, and locally salvaged wood paneling and tiles. The pizza may be square but not the veggies: charred broccoli is dappled with parmesan, roasted garlic, and lemon, while almond romesco and that honey drizzle over roasted spiced carrots. There are also buffalo, barbecue, or sweet chili chicken wings for the soul, and barbecue potato chip seasoning sasses up waffles fries. As Andrew S. declares on Yelp, "I used to be a Buddy's die-hard and now Michigan & Trumbull as taken its place as my go-to lunch spot for Detroit-style pizza."