The Best Detroit-Style Pizza In Michigan, According To Customers

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In Michigan, Detroit-style pizza reigns supreme. The first joint to ever make the square crust masterpiece was Buddy's, which started cranking those pizzas out in the 1940s. While it's still serving up pies, other eateries have popped up to become customer favorites. Folks in the mood for an authentic slice might want to try a newer establishment that's making some of the best Detroit-style pizzas in the U.S.

Michigan & Trumbull scores high marks with customers looking for the real deal. The first location was in a Pittsburgh food hall, opened by Michiganders Kristen Calverley and Nathan Peck in 2017. Their Detroit storefront came opened in 2020. The restaurant makes fresh dough every day, selling around 300 pizzas (and it often sells out). Each pie honors tradition, which for Calverley, means it "has to be [cooked] in the blue steel cast iron pan. It has to have the cheese cooked to the outer edge so you have that crispy crust" (via MLive).

Where the pizzeria takes some liberties is with toppings, which expand beyond traditional pepperoni. With an impressive 4.7 star rating on Yelp, customers are clearly eating it up. One writes their pizza was "Pure ectasy [sic]. It was honestly one of the best pizzas I've ever tasted." In a Reddit thread discussing the merits of Michigan & Trumbull versus the OG Buddy's, a user wrote that "Michigan and Trumbull is some of the best pizza in town." 

Michigan & Trumbull's popularity could be attributed to its unusual take on pizza toppings. If you love penne alla vodka, the pizzeria offers a Long Drive Home pie that features vodka sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, sausage, and banana peppers. One gushing Yelp review calls the addition of vodka sauce "kind of a game changer." A fan favorite called Meat Lovers has bacon, pepperoni, ham, and sausage. Another of Michigan & Trumbull's interesting offerings is the Woodward White, with toppings that include baked ricotta, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. A customer says the lemon is a subtle, but delicious addition.

The joint also boasts an item inspired by McDonald's Big Mac: the McLovin pie. This pizza is topped with mozzarella, cheddar, iceberg lettuce, red onion, sesame seeds, awesome sauce, and Beyond beef (making it vegetarian-friendly). Michigan & Trumbull also keeps customers hooked with its "good corner" offering which changes on a monthly basis. Past flavors included a pierogi pizza and a pie featuring peaches and bacon jam. A portion of the sales of this pizza go to local charities.