Pizza Hit has introduced a Chicago-style pizza, much to the outrage of some of its customers.
The chain introduced the thin crust pie, starting at $12 for a large pizza, to its menu earlier this week.
Tavern-style pizza, Windy City’s take on the East Coast’s traditional thin pizza crust, is traditionally cut into squares and topped to the brim.
However, the move has sparked controversy as fans disagree on whether tavern or thick-crust pizzas are the “real Chicago pizza.”
Deep-dish pizza, invented in Chicago in the 1940s. is cooked in a deep pie dish, creating a thick high crust, filled with cheese and tomato sauce.
Pizza Hut’s new Chicago Tavern-style pizza has caused controversy
Pizza Hut has now joined the debate over which pizza is the authentic Chicago pie
Pizza Hut has now delved into the debate over what constitutes the authentic Chicago dish.
It is offering its new tavern-style pizza in four flavors: pesto margherita, the ultimate spicy chicken sausage and double pepperoni.
“Um, excuse me Pizza Hut and Chicago? If you make a thin crust, it’s St. Louis style,” Heather Whitten wrote on X in response to the chain’s rollout announcement.
“No, the Chicago Deep Dish is where it’s at!” another unamused customer came in.
‘Does anyone from Chicago actually order “Chicago style thin crust” from Pizza Hut?!?!’ Drew Durham wrote about X.
Pizza Hut responded to the criticism on social media, providing “evidence” that real Chicago pizza comes from tavern style and not deep dish.
“Chicago Tavern Style is cut into squares, not triangles. What else has a lot of squares? This grid of Chicago. Chance? We don’t think so,” the brand joked on X.
“Big Deep Dish attempts to conceal the fact that Tavern Style is Chicago’s favorite pizza by using clever tactics such as confidential folders,” the chain wrote, along with accompanying photos of secret pizza files.
However, some customers were more supportive of the brand’s stance.
“Tell them Pizza Hut! Let the world know that Deep Dish is tomato soup in a bread bowl!” customer Simon Wu responded to Pizza Hut’s post.
“Pizza Hut, do you DARE sell Chicago tavern style pizza? Well, it took long enough, that’s Chicago’s REAL pizza,” another customer wrote on X.
“This is what Chicago is known for, not that garbage deep dish pizza,” another pizza lover wrote on Reddit.
Pizza Hut is the first global pizza chain to offer tavern-style pizza, which originated in Chicago in the 1930s, according to the davidson county source.
Chicago has long been regarded as one of the best cities in the US when it comes to pizza, next to New York, its biggest pizza rival.
Deep-dish pizza, invented in Chicago in the 1940s. Baked in a deep pie pan, creating a thick high crust filled with cheese and tomato sauce
Your browser does not support iframes.
However, according to an extensive study, Denver, Colorado claimed the top prize earlier this year.
Researchers took into account the typical price, the number of restaurants and how well they were rated, plus a so-called “pizza passion” score.
Chicago ranked 14th overall for pizza in terms of the eight factors.
It is the second most expensive large cheese pizza with an average price of $28.66, dropping its overall ranking.