Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I am dying reading these comments - hilarious bc I am in the same boat. Raised in Milwaukee and still consider it my hometown - 15 yrs removed. I have never heard of Maria's bc I grew up on the westside and never went on the southside - except to hit Virginia's in highschool. THE PIZZA LOOKS AWESOME. My family does the pizza crawl (last ranking was Caldarone Club downtown, Pizza Man, Lisa's, Balisterie's, and Zaffiros - my dad's fav had a bad showing). Growing up it was Michaels on Fon du Lac and Capital with the homemade fries (still always need fries w/ my pizza) which had moved to Waukesha, but not the same. Then it was Parente's on 124th and North (still my fav that closed in 1989??). Now it is Pizza Man, because of the crust, fries and wine. Waiting for a place in Chicago to compete. IN THE MEANTIME, I AM MAKING PLANS TO GO TO MILWAUKEE TO EAT AT MARIA'S.

@Martini Me: If I can send just one person to a great pizzeria and they like it and return, then I'm having a good day! Glad you liked it.

@Brooks: This is so funny. All these people who either still live in Milwaukee or are from there say much the same thing. All my life I've been led to believe by my father that Maria's is this well-known Milwaukee institution, and then to read the comments here, it's like I'd discovered some sort of hidden gem. Really goes to show how much your worldview can be shaped by your parents.

@boltchloer: I originally started watching it along with my girlfriend and wasn't immediately hooked. It took a while. I don't think you have to like all the characters in order to like a show. In GG, the most interesting characters are Chuck and Blair, whose scheming drives much of the plot. As in any soap opera, a large part of the (guilty) pleasure in watching comes from the very fact that you dislike many of the characters and enjoy seeing their flaws cause their downfall—or how they surprise you with an unexpected redeeming quality that makes you like them, however briefly, in spite of their annoying nature.

This is in contrast to a show whose characters have no redeeming qualities whatsoever, like, say, Grey's Anatomy, one of the gf's programs that I refuse to watch.

This is so awesome. Though the only place mentioned I've been to is Grimaldi's and my own tastes are probably closest to Nate's...now that I don't live in NYC anymore, when I come back pretty much any New York pizza will suffice.

@roboppy: I am not cool. I'm pretty dorky. And old. And have no business watching or writing about shows for teen-age girls.

@hmcnally: Obvs. Duh.

Thanks for pointing that out, Iceberg. Just fixed it.

Vanessa and Dan (and Rufus) are insufferable. Blair and Chuck are where it's at!

Thanks Adam! I haven't eaten a "great" pizza in Manhattan yet, so am looking for suggestions.