There are certain things we kind of poo-poo and think of as kid food: macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, and of course: cheese pizza. When ordering pizza, 90% of kids want cheese pizza and the thought of a combination one with all the veggies is absolutely repulsive to them! I was never the cheese pizza girl--I could always appreciate a good pepperoni pizza.

That is until now. Gradually within the last few years I've noticed my husband and I requesting cheese pizza more and more. Lately, the guy keeps requesting to go to Costco--yes, you heard that right, the guy who has always despised going there is downright begging to go to Costco to get their perfectly browned cheese pizza.

I'll tell ya, this is one instance where I think the kids are really on to something. There are many things in life that are very simple, but if done well, are utter perfection. Cheese pizza is one of these things.

Lou Malnati's Deep Dish

We are obsessed with deep dish pizza, specifically the BEST deep dish pizza in Chicago--Lou Malnati's--and thankfully since we no longer live in Iowa City, which was about an hour and a half from the windy city, some of the blessed Malnati family moved out to Phoenix and opened a couple restaurants there so we can get our fix when we visit my sisters in Phoenix.(I will say that we visit them about 3 times as often as we used to before Lou's was there. Coincidence? I hope so!)

Anyway, naturally at Lou's we got a small little cheese pizza for the kids and a Malnati classic for us which has out of this world sausage and pepperoni. While you can't go wrong with the Malnati classic, there was definitely something special about the plain cheese one. It really allowed you to get a feel for their thick, hearty sauce (that is on top of the cheese!) and the yeasty, thick crust. It simplified things and made me appreciate these simple ingredients all coming together to make a perfect deep dish pie.

New York Style White Pizza

After growing up in my tiny Idaho hometown and then getting whisked away right after I got married to the busy bustle of a New Jersey coast town, just 45 minutes from New York City, thankfully I had a beautiful New York Style white pizza to introduce me gently into my new world I was up against. The first night we arrived after driving all the way from SLC, Utah to Long Branch, New Jersey, with printed out directions from MapQuest (remember those caveman days?), we were greeted by friends carrying the most beautiful gift of this NY thin crust white pizza.

This white pizza has the signature crispy crust, delicious fresh tomato sauce, lots and lots of mozzarella, big dollops of ricotta cheese throughout the sea of mozzarella and a dusting of finely chopped parsley. It is once again simple perfection. They are just dropping the mic there in the Big Apple when it comes to making a mere cheese pizza. Boom!

Oh my goodness, this was almost the most torturous article I could have written. I really wish I could fly to both these cities, grab a pie and go head to head to see who is the ultimate champion, but I cannot. Probably because the Lou Malnati's pizza is so hefty, it would put me over the weight limit for my carry-on and I'd have to pay $382 for another suitcase. Too bad!

For now, I think I'm going to head to Costco to get our favorite local cheese pizza and life will be good. Do you ever order cheese pizza? What is the best one you've ever had?