DiCarlo’s Original Pizza

DiCarlo’s Original Pizza (Wheeling, WV) - *Ohio Valley Style Pizza*

You’ve probably never heard of “Ohio Valley Style Pizza”. This rarest of styles is popular in many towns in Eastern Ohio / Western West Virginia along the banks of the Ohio River (i.e. the “Ohio Valley”). It is essentially Sicilian pizza with cold cheese added post-bake.

These square pizzas are baked with red sauce and a very thin layer of melted cheese. Then, out of the oven, a heavy dose of cold provolone cheese is added, creating a unique hot/cold contrast. It melts slightly due to the heat of the crust - perhaps analogous to the semi-melted cheese on a coney dog.

@dicarlospizza is the most famous purveyor of this style. Founded by Primo DiCarlo in Steubenville Ohio in 1945 - right at the commencement of the post-war pizza boom - DiCarlo’s claims to have been the first pure pizzeria in Ohio. Their customers, not being familiar with pizza, took to calling the product “Poor Man’s Cheesecake”.

So, this whole thing sounds like an abomination. But when I first tried this style a few years ago, 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. Alas, I found the crust at the Wheeling location a bit too well-done. Thoroughly fried, without a soft interior. Maybe it was the wrong time of the day.

If you’re looking for a unique pizza experience, @dicarlospizza is worth a try. And, personally, I think there may be a market opportunity some day for an “elevated” form of Ohio-Valley Style Pizza. Maybe it will be the next Detroit style?

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”. 🤔