Not much is known about the origin of the pizza. Some say that its preparation dates as far back to Neolithic and similarities between the pizza and the flatbreads from cultures around the world are more than obvious.
However, no matter what people say, there’s no doubt that the pizza finds its beginnings (for the Western world) in Naples when Raffaele Esposito created the ‘Pizza Margherita’ with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil to honor the Queen consort of Italy, as until then it was considered a ‘peasant food’.
There no doubt that this changed everything and such was the attraction to the pizza that many a visitor from all over the world would venture into the poorer sections of Naples to try it. Since then, Naples takes it pizzas very seriously, while considering the ‘Marinara’ and the ‘Margherita’ to be the only two true pizzas since when they were first made, and to this day serving them at pizzerias.
With Italian immigrants leaving for better opportunities to the United States, pizzas also found their way there on the streets of San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia that were Italian-dominated neighborhoods. What followed was the first pizzeria opened by Gennaro Lombardi in Little Italy, Manhattan.
As the popularity of the ‘pizza’ spread from city to city in the following decades, the American version was created and sold first at Pizza Hut. Several chain restaurants also followed suit, each with their own distinct style and flavor.
In today’s world, with the emphasis moving away from pizza dine-in restaurants to home delivery by Pizza Hut, several restaurants have also done the same such as Domino’s, Pizza Ranch, Godfather’s Pizza, Papa John’s Pizza, Giordano’s Pizza, Mazzio’s, and the Brooklyn Pizzeria.