A few weeks ago, Heather and I were exploring the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky when we spotted a sign at a local pizzeria boasting “Louisville Style Pizza.” Wait, what? Louisville has its own style of pizza? We’d never heard of it before! Naturally, we had to investigate: What exactly is Louisville’s take on pizza? And why is it such a well-kept secret?
Well, as it turns out, we were in for a surprise!
What Is Louisville Style Pizza?
The restaurant chain Bearno’s claim to be celebrating decades of serving Louisville Style pizza. According to their website:
“Bearno’s Pizza serves a style of pizza known as Sicilian pizza with five specialty pizzas and an extensive list of toppings to “Build Your Own Pizza.” Since the beginning Bearno’s has made their quality and original pizza commonly referred to as Louisville-style Pizza.”
Louisville Style Pizza… Isn’t Actually a Thing
That’s right, you read that correctly. Despite what the sign promised, there doesn’t seem to be any official “Louisville Style” pizza. Well, from my research, Sicilian pizza is substantially different than Bearno’s both in shape, thickness, and toppings.
And no one else that we could find seems to be behind their claim to their pizza defining a style for the city.
Where Did the “Louisville Style Pizza” Idea Come From?
So how did this mythical “Louisville Style Pizza” come to be? It might just be that Bearno’s got people (us included) excited with a particularly bold awning. A genius marketing move? Seems that way.
Despite all that, Bearno’s certainly very popular having racked up several awards, including Community Choice awards the last 4 years. So, in that way, they certainly earned some credit for being a pizza loved by Louisville!
Is There Anything Unique About Louisville Pizzas?
Glad you asked! While we didn’t uncover a bona fide “Louisville style” pizza, we did find something interesting during our visit to The Parlor. This spot offers a couple of unique features that caught our attention.
First, they serve their pizzas on a dimpled plastic pizza pan, something I’d never seen before. The dimples allow air to circulate under the crust, which helps moisture escape and keeps the crust nice and crispy. I couldn’t quite tell if the pizzas were cooked in these pans or just served in them. The only downside? It seemed to cool the pizza a little fast. But the crust was great to the last bite.
Second, they brush seasoned butter over the crust—not just on top but underneath as well! This is something I’ve only seen at a few pizza chains like Domino’s, but The Parlor takes it a step further by cooking the pizza in a buttered pan and then transferring it to the dimpled tray!
The Pizza Pan with Nibs
I could only find two companies making pizza pans with nibs – HS Inc. and American Metalcraft. I think HS Inc. is what Parlor is using, but not sure. I found these pans on Webrestaurant Store (although they come in cases of 12). Surprisingly, American Metalcraft doesn’t list these on their webpage – you’ll have to find them on Amazon or a larger variety on WebstaurantStore (except you’ll have to buy 2 dozen!). It seems they also might show up individually on eBay or in Winco once in a while.
There’s one big difference between the two brands – HS Inc’s version is for serving the pizza but NOT for cooking (max temperature is 190F). The American Metalcraft version can go in the oven and cook your pizza.
The nibs elevate the pizza allowing moisture to escape from the bottom similar to how it works in a perforated metal pan.
The result? A buttery, crispy crust that stays firm while delivering tons of flavor.
Not Actually Louisville Pizza…but a Contender?
One pizza we stumbled on at Parlor was their Nacho Pizza. This isn’t even on their regular menu, but if you ask me, if this was become the defining “Louisville Pizza,” I’d be totally on board!
But for now, Louisville’s pizza scene remains a bit of a blank slate.
Until then, we’ll keep our eyes open for any new developments in Bourbon City pizza—and you should, too!
Todd’s cooking skills have revolved around the grill since about age 12, when he developed a love for grilling and took over for Mom at the BBQ. He worked at Wendy’s and at Earl’s Tin Palace (a restaurant chain in Canada) but never really did any sort of baking…until he and Heather started making pizza together! Now he’s often making dough in the mornings and pizza in the evenings.