Buddy's Pizza, Detroit-style pizzeria in Livonia, United States
Buddy's Pizza is a pizzeria on Plymouth Road in Livonia, Michigan, known for its Detroit-style pizza, which is thick, rectangular, and baked in deep steel pans. The crust is soft and airy inside while the bottom is firm, and the cheese extends to the edges of the pan where it browns and crisps up.
The restaurant opened in 1946 and built its baking method around steel pans that came from local factories tied to the auto industry. That choice gave the pizza its rectangular shape and set Detroit apart as its own chapter in American pizza history.
The thick rectangular shape and the caramelized cheese rim are what most people in Michigan associate with a proper local pizza. For many families in the Detroit area, eating here is a regular habit rather than a special occasion.
The restaurant is open every day, and it tends to get busy during lunch and dinner hours, so arriving a little early helps avoid a wait. Takeout and delivery are both available for those who prefer not to eat on site.
On this pizza, the sauce goes on top of the cheese rather than underneath it, which is the reverse of most other pizza styles. This order keeps the sauce from drying out during baking and gives it a fresher, slightly looser texture when the pizza comes out of the oven.
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