Taste our very own style of pizza

Forget Chicago-style deep dish or New York-style thin crust, the Quad Cities has a pizza style all our own that we're always bragging about. And we're not the only ones raving about Quad Cities-style pizza. National publications like Food & Wine have called our unique style of pizza “the Best Pizza You've Never Tried.” Unlike any pizza you've had before, a trip to the QC isn't complete without devouring a QC-style pizza or two.

What makes Quad Cities-style pizza unique? It comes down to 5 main ingredients: the crust, the sauce, the sausage, the assembly, and the cut. 

The Crust

Quad Cities-style pizza crust is hand-tossed to about a quarter-inch thick. So, not what most would consider thin crust, but not a deep dish pizza either. The crust is flavored with malt syrup or molasses to create a “nutty kind of sweetness” and is a softer crust overall. If you're a pizza crust-lover, you'll definitely want to snag a corner piece before they're gone.

The Sauce

“Zesty” and “spicy” are two words often used to describe a QC-style pizza sauce. The red tomato sauce is spiced up with red pepper flakes and ground cayenne to create a unique kick.

The Sausage

Not every Quad Cities-style pizza has sausage on it, but when it does it's finely crumbled and super flavorful. A dense layer of very lean Italian pork sausage, usually seasoned with fennel, covers any sausage QC-style pizza.

The Assembly

While every other destination follows the standard crust, sauce, cheese, then toppings pizza assembly, the QC does it differently. After the spicy sauce has been slathered on the malt crust, all of the toppings are added next. Only once all the toppings are layered, a HEAVY layer of mozzarella cheese creates the ooey, gooey finish to our local favorite.

The Cut

Now that the pizza has been assembled and baked, it's time to slice and serve. But old-fashioned triangles or squares just don't cut it here. In the QC, we cut our pizza with massive scissors once down the middle, and then into skinny strips in the opposite direction. Every slice gets both crust and a bit of the center cheese and toppings, and each bite fits perfectly into every pizza-lovers mouth.

While a QC-style pizza can be served up with any topping imaginable, another Quad Cities favorite is our taco pizza. Invented by Happy Joe's Joe Whitty, this Quad Cities-style type of pizza is so remarkable it HAS to be tasted to be believed. So, what is it? Basically, a pizza turned into a taco: dough, sauce, refried beans, spiced-up meat, and cheese. Then, once it's been baked, the pie is topped with lettuce, tomatoes and Doritos chips. Most people eat it with taco sauce drizzled over the top. Though invented at Happy Joe's, you'll find taco pizza on menus everywhere in the QC.

Of course, each Quad Cities-style pizza place has its own unique variations of this local classic. While Quad Citizens have tried many times to agree on a favorite QC-style pizza maker, the locals are far too passionate about their pizza to pick just one. Check out the list below and begin sampling our signature pizza yourself.