Pizza was little known in the U.S. outside Italian enclaves until after World War II. According to legend, returning G.I.s brought home memories of this tasty dish, which they discovered while helping liberate Italy from the Axis. Word spread quickly across the U.S. and before long, pizza became almost as American as hamburgers.
Milwaukee has long been home to great pizzerias and several of the entries in the Shepherd Express’ first Pizza Guide date back to the era when tomato sauce, cheese and sausage baked like an open-face pie was a novelty in this country. Many of the city’s pizzerias have proudly maintained an Italian heritage and serve other Italian dishes, but some of the newer ones have no particular ethnic association and speak to how assimilated pizza has become in everyday American life.
The good problem we had was that there were too many good pizzerias to include in one issue. Did we miss your favorite? Please let us know and we’ll include it next time.
David Luhrssen,
Pizza Guide Editor
