Photo via Facebook / Hup's Pizza
Hup’s Pizza (5400 W. Hampton Ave.; 414-461-7510) is old enough to be a tradition but may be easy to take for granted. For 52 years, the cash- and carryout-only establishment has served piping hot, thin crust pies of such quality that one national arbiter of such things has recently named it one of the 50 best hole-in-the-wall pizzerias in the U.S. It's easy to taste why. Though its toppings don't comprise a lengthy litany, masterful preparation and superlative crust make for a superlative example of Hup’s Italian-American specialty.
As for that crust, its texture resides at a gratifying median between chewy and crunchy; cut in squares, not slices, its perforations are nearly imperceptible until one grabs for a piece. Neither overly cheesy nor saucy, my recent anchovies/green peppers/black olives/mushrooms order heartily satisfied in piping hot form from its carboard box, lukewarm after my drive home, cold after overnight refrigeration and next-day microwaving. Not every pizza can pass all four of those tests to the superior degree Hup’s does. Its humble environs belie a product higher-profile, less long-lived pizza mongers may do well to envy.
