The Greatest Pizzeria in the History of Pizza

For the edification of those not from New Jersey: Here in the Garden State, we take our pizza seriously. This state, which IS the home of The Sopranos, may be the pizza capital of the world. I don't know how we do it, but this state manages to have a pizzeria on practically every corner. My town is an exception, but that's only because our "downtown" consists of a 1/3-empty strip mall where the local pizza guy packed up and left to go to upstate New York only because the rent was too damn high.

Just an example: In Westwood, New Jersey, within a two-block radius, you have Lisa's Pizza, Pompilio's, and Tony D's. A new pizzeria just opened nearby. For a while last summer, you could have started with a thin-crust pie at the Mountain House (now closed), crossed the street for ta cheesy slice at Tony D's, then crossed a parking lot to Banchetto Feast for an individual gourmet pie. And that's without even going to that 2-block radius. Go up the main drag to Hillsdale, and you have even more.

It's fun to poke fun at places real and imagined that think they know how to make pizza, which here in New Jersey means any place outside the New York metropolitan area. I've had Chapel Hill pizza, for example, and while it's passable pizza, it lacks the chewiness of crust that gives real Sopranos-country pizza its, well, pizza-ness.

But today I'm announcing that the greatest pizzeria in the history of pizza is located in Madison, Wisconsin (via Yellow Dog):

People have been calling in pizza orders to Ian's on State St all week from the around the country to have them delivered to protesters in the the Capitol rotunda. Today, it reached critical mass. I read this from a local Facebook friend (who I also saw today at the Square):

"Ian's Pizza on State has shut down operations to the public and is now only taking donation orders for pizza's for the protesters. They have received pizza order donations from across the US, Eygpt, Europe - all around the world - to support the protesters. Unbelievable!"

They apparently already have enough orders to deliver to the Rotunda to keep them busy all night. Keep in mind that this is a Saturday night, already one of their busiest.

Via, via, via a bunch of people here in Madison.

If you want to support the efforts of Ian's Pizza to keep those fighting for workers fed, read here, then pick up addresses for sending checks here follow the instructions here.

Seriously, dude...Mac and cheese pizza? Really?

UPDATE: More....

And the Facebook page...