Queen City Crust — Restaurant in Long Beach Township

When it comes to pizza, I’ve always been a thin-crust person. I’m not into heavy dough or deep-dish styles at all. That said, yesterday I tried Detroit-style pizza for the very first time at Queen City Crust and WOW. I don’t have other Detroit style pizzas to compare it to, but it was hands down the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life, which is saying a lot.

At first glance, it looks like deep dish, but the dough is nothing like it. The inside is incredibly light and flaky, almost like the texture of a perfectly baked Italian or French bread, while the outside is unbelievably crispy without being burnt. The sauce is fantastic too. Not sweet, just a perfectly balanced, straight-up tomato sauce.

The only downside? The pricing. We ordered half plain, half mushroom, and the “mushroom” side cost an extra $4. Price aside, the problem was the portion: maybe ten tiny pieces of mushroom scattered across the whole half. Honestly, if you sliced up two small white mushrooms, that’s about the amount we got. For the upcharge, it felt a little ridiculous.

Would I still go back? Absolutely, but next time I’ll stick to the plain pie and skip...

The Crust. We have made QCC part of yearly vacation ritual, and it is so good, so craveable, so extraordinarily delicious in uniqueness compared to other LBI pizza, my greatest complaint is its only open seasonally. I desperately wanted a slice of the bacon jam with onion white pie for my birthday. We order a whole mess of pies... priced at a reasonable 30 something dollars a pie... and then bring slices to the beach on subsequent days for lunch. The dough has a perfect fermented tenderness and flavor - and the crispy cheese is life alteringly satisfying to crunch on. So much amazing umami in crunchy cheese. I wish they had a few artisan salads on the menu, presently it becomes my job before heading out to bring home our detroit style bounty to make the artisan salad at home. A little italian soft cheese, some heirloom greens and dried cherries and a nice balsamic vinegarette would really cut through the cheese and rich but delicious dough. Also. I ate alot of pizza in Detroit while in graduate school. This is better on every level. Some part of that is the sauce. Some part of that...

Disclaimer: Never had Detroit-Style pizza previously so I don't have anything to compare it to. Not your typical pizzeria. Small, low-key spot that can easily be missed if you aren't looking for it. Has a coffee shop vibe to it. The pizzas are laid out on the display case in front with plenty of options to choose from. A board on the back wall also lists out all the options. If you order by the slice, they are warmed up in what looks like a small toaster oven and then served. I didn't get creative although I wish I had because the BBQ chicken and Buffalo Chicken looked and sounded good respectively. I stuck with the 4 Cheese plain slice, Pepperoni w/ Hot Honey slice, and a Side Cheesy Garlic Bread. The bread on all of them was fluffy and enjoyable. My favorite was definitely the cheesy bread and pepperoni w/ honey was a close second. The cheese on the plain was too sharp for my liking. It was not the best pizza I have had but I enjoyed it enough and there were plenty of options that caught my attention that I would pay another visit if I was...