Yelp's Best Pizza Place In America Isn't In NYC Or Chicago

If you can't get your hands on a proper Neapolitan slice in Italy, great American pizza has long been synonymous with New York City and Chicago. After all, nothing mends a long day of missing your train like a classic one-dollar slice of pepperoni in Brooklyn or a saucy deep-dish pie in Logan Square.

In New York, pizza, whether it's grabbed from a window in passing or served on a silver platter, is a touchstone of its food culture and has been ingrained in the heart of the city's cuisine since Italian immigrants brought to the United States in the early 20th century, according to Bodrum NYC. Similarly, Chicago's Italian immigrants, who shared that same undying love for pizza, added their own flair by introducing the world to the beautiful monster that is deep-dish pizza, per Culture Trip.

Seeing that both cities have helped draw the blueprint for American pizza, it's to be expected that Chicago or New York would take the number one spot on Yelp's "Top Pizza Spot in The U.S." But surprisingly, it's not. So if it's not the Concrete Jungle or the Windy City, then it must be New Jersey, right? Not even close.

If you bet any money on which city is home to the best pizzeria in America, consider withdrawing before it's too late, because it's unlikely that you named Sapori Di 786 Degrees of Pasadena, California as American pizza's top gun. But according to Yelp and its users, this humble pizza joint situated just outside of Los Angeles outdoes the rest.

The critically-acclaimed restaurant's official Yelp page has a whopping 786 five-star reviews; when mom said nobody's perfect, she obviously forgot about Sapori Di 786 Degrees. According to their website, the restaurant offers 100% Halal wood-fired pizza including classics like pepperoni, cheese, and margherita, while simultaneously raising the bar with more innovative, world-inspired pies like their shrimp Tuscany pizza and abundant vegan menu all designed by Guinness Record-holding chef Ali Haider.

And it's not just Yelp that praises Sapori Di 786 Degrees, the SoCal restaurant was also recently featured on Hulu's "Best in Dough" and has been lauded equally by the likes of LA Weekly, Pizza Today, Food Network, and was even named Best Restaurant in California by USA Today in 2016 (per Sapori Di 786 Degrees).

Sorry New Yorkers and Chicagoans, Pasadena has you beat this time. Don't worry though, Sapori Di 786 Degrees has a "New Yorker" pizza for your consolation prize.