DiCarlo’s Original Pizza

As part of Juneteenth weekend, I think we all typically reflect on the words of economist Tyler Cowen: “Restaurants manifest the spirit of capitalist multiculturalism - entrepreneurship, international trade, migration, and cultural exchange all come together in communal eateries." Indeed, such diversity is a primary source of the dynamism of American capitalism (many countries have better tomatoes, but none have as creative pizza chefs or nearly as dynamic a pizza scene 🇺🇸). One particular very-American multicultural meshing of Italian & Midwestern traditions is something called “Ohio Valley Pizza”. The most famous purveyor of this style is DiCarlo’s, a pizzeria founded in Steubenville Ohio in 1945 - right at the commencement of the post-war pizza boom. This rare style (popular in many small towns on the banks of that ever-flowing beauty we call the Ohio River) is baked with red sauce and a thin layer of melted cheese. Then a heavy dose of cold provolone cheese is added to the top post-bake, creating a unique hot/cold contrast. DiCarlo’s claims to have been the first pure pizzeria in Ohio & that their customers, not being familiar with pizza, took to calling the product “Poor Man’s Cheesecake”. Trying it today, I was surprised how much I liked this pizza. The combo of cheeses worked well & the thin grandma-style crust was excellent - very crisply fried on the outside, while soft & chewy on the inside. Kudos to @dicarlospizza. Perhaps Ohio Valley Style is primed to be “the next Detroit style”. 🤔