All along the state line between Iowa and Illinois, you may buy pizza made in the Quad City style. Location along the Mississippi River shared by the cities of Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, Rock Island, and East Moline.
In this fresh spin on a classic, you won’t find the usual pizza toppings. Rather of the usual triangles or squares, your slices will be sliced into long strips like breadsticks, and it may have a spicy, somewhat malty flavour.
Since 1955, residents of Iowa and Illinois have been able to order pizza in the distinctive Quad City style. You’re missing out on a delicious meal if you haven’t tried it yet.
PIZZA IN THE STYLE OF QUAD CITIES?
About 2.5 hours west of Chicago is where you’ll discover the Quad Cities. Together, these smaller communities make up a metro region with a total population of 400k, although Davenport is home to just approximately 125k of them. It’s likely that most people have never heard of this part of the Midwest or have never had the chance to go here.
Famous American brands like John Deere were founded in the Quad Cities. It’s a great place to get off Interstate 80 and enjoy some delicious pizza.
Getting the right stretch while making the crust takes hand tossing. The thickness should be uniformly a quarter of an inch, and there should be a little lip around the edge.
Traditional Italian ingredients like oregano and basil are included in the tomato sauce used in the Quad City style. The recipe is flexible enough to include the addition of chilies and cayenne pepper for those who want spicier slices.
Then, the toppings would be added straight to the sauce. While the pizza may have any toppings the customer desires, the traditional Quad City pizza asks for Italian sausage flavoured with fennel. There are two ways to include it: either as whole pieces, like little meatballs, or as a fine powder that is evenly distributed all the way around.
In this dish, the cheese is sprinkled on the other ingredients. Although mozzarella is the cheese of choice, Romano and Parmesan cheeses, either shredded or powdered, are often sprinkled on top to enhance the taste. After baking is finished, crushed leaf oregano is added.
After assembling the pizza according to the instructions, it should bake for 12 minutes in a gas oven. A 16-inch pie will provide roughly 14 servings after being chopped into strips rather than slices.
A LOOK BACK AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUAD CITY STYLE PIZZA
The Maniscalco family, native to the Quad Cities, is credited with creating the first pizza in the Quad City style in 1955. Because Tony’s Club Capri was the only establishment of its kind in the neighbourhood, family members took turns working there.
During the 1950s, each member of the family left Calumet City and made their own way elsewhere. The Maniscalco family may have arrived in the Quad Cities in the 1960s, but by all accounts, this pizza type had been been popular there since at least 1943.
Calumet City’s Original John’s Pizzeria’s owner’s grandson, Phil Bacino, verifies that Tony Maniscalco worked there before moving west.
After hearing how well the restaurant was doing thanks to the homemade sausage, Tony’s brother decided to relocate to the Quad Cities. There were a few pasta dishes on the menu, made using the family recipe, as well as Italian beef sandwiches and Stromboli.
The area would see the opening of a restaurant by Frank, followed by the unsuccessful attempt of a Minnesota family to do the same. After the northern site had to close, the group decided to build a second restaurant in the Quad Cities, which is still doing strong today. In Silvis, you’ll find Frank’s Club Napoli Pizza.
In the 1980s, he would keep opening additional stores all around the region until ultimately retiring. Mama Bosso’s, to whom he sold several of his pizza recipes, continues to produce frozen pizzas that can be found in grocery stores throughout the Midwest.
It was a basic concept, really. The Maniscalco family sought for methods to grow their company by making use of materials they already had on hand. One may reasonably expect their handcrafted pizzas to quickly become a mainstay on the menu.
The rivals allegedly made a pact to stop crossing the Mississippi and provide their services to Quad City residents only from their respective sides of the river. Since there is no Harris Pizza to be seen in Moline, it seems that the arrangement held.
WHAT SETS APART QUAD CITY PIZZA?
You might say that Quad City pizza is the antithesis of traditional pizza. Malt gives the bread a wonderful, toasted sweetness, while cayenne cuts through it and adds a little of heat, particularly in the sauce.
Several more improvements to the process of preparing this local pizza make it a favoured alternative for individuals who dwell in the Midwest.
1. SAUSAGE IS MEANT TO CONTAIN FENNEL
Although regular Italian sausage would be fine on this pizza, fennel was originally called for in the recipe. When combined with the malt in the dough and a spicy tomato sauce, it gives the toppings a taste reminiscent of licorice, which is rather nice.
Sausage from loaves that have been cooked to eliminate unnecessary oil is preferred by purists. Meat products shouldn’t include any artificial additives. Most pizzas have around a pound of toppings. If you purchase a big pie from Harris, it may weigh up to four pounds.
2. YOU CUT THE PIZZA INTO SLICES BY USING SCISSORS.
As opposed to other Midwest party pizza alternatives, Quad City-style pizza is generally sliced with scissors and then cut into strips. When Harris Pizza first debuted in 1960, they used blueprint shears to slice their pizzas. They now have access to one-of-a-kind shears created using an unique mould they developed in-house.
3. ORIGINAL QUAD CITIES-STYLE PIZZA IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK.
Frank’s and Harris are the two oldest pizza places in the area, with Frank’s having opened five years before Harris. Frank’s Pizza has a valid claim to the technique, despite Harris’ copyrighting of the tagline claiming they are the first producer of this distinctive regional dish.
4. YOU CAN FIND MANY VARIATIONS IN THE QUAD CITIES.
The Quad Cities have a very isolated pizza scene. Former workers from places like Frank’s and Harris Pizza often found their footing to start their own businesses. Clint Doran, for instance, left his 25-year career at Harris to open Clint’s Draft House Pizza & Grill in Moline.
The Quad Cities have a very isolated pizza scene. Former workers from places like Frank’s and Harris Pizza often found their footing to start their own businesses. Clint Doran, for instance, left his 25-year career at Harris to open Clint’s Draft House Pizza & Grill in Moline.
5. IT COOKS ON A ROTATING DECK.
Rotating deck ovens are required for baking a pizza in the Quad City style. Next, the pizza is baked at high temperatures, often above 500 degrees Fahrenheit, to quickly melt the toppings into the thin crust, making the top mushy while the bottom remains crisp and crunchy. The technique generates a blend that makes for a one-of-a-kind serving.
6. SOME SHOPS PUT MOLASSES INTO THE CRUST.
Some Quad City pizza joints sweeten the dough even more by adding in a little molasses. This alternative provides a similar taste to that of sauces made using more conventional Italian recipes. The crustiest pieces of pie are the ones with the most nutty, rich taste. Typically, the four corner wedges are the most contested pieces of this meal.
7. A Quad City pizza has a very light sauce.
Thin sauce is used on the original Quad City-style pizza so that it may be distributed evenly over the thin crust. The edge curl isn’t particularly thick, therefore it has to be this way. Toppings and cheese may be accommodated if paste were added to the recipe.
8. CONVENTIONAL CITY QUADRANTS FROZEN DOUGH IS NOT USED IN PIZZA MAKING.
In order to ensure quality, pizza joints should always use fresh ingredients and create their dough from scratch. Some stores even manufacture it ahead of time, rolling it into balls that can be kept fresh in the fridge. Freezing it would ruin the taste. The recipe then instructs you to let it sit above a bed of cornmeal for a few minutes to develop a different texture.
9. SHOPS SHRED THE CHEESE IN THEIR RESTAURANT OR STORE.
When it comes to the usage of mozzarella, the traditional way of producing a Quad City-style pizza is being followed today. Wheels and blocks of cheese were among the items brought by the Maniscalco family. After that, it was shredded and used as a new topping on each pizza. Instead of the nuanced layers produced by professional shredders, you get more mushy pieces on each slice.
10. DRIED OR FRESH OREGANO CAN TOP THE PIZZA WHEN IT IS READY.
This pizza is done when the crust becomes a golden brown colour. The standard taste profile is completed with a little sprinkling of oregano. Some restaurants put their own twist on this dish by using fresh herbs.
Where can I get a good pizza in the Quad City area today?
It’s not easy to get Quad City pizza anywhere else than in Iowa and Illinois near the Mississippi. You’ll also find that the recipe has its fair share of detractors.
It is available at a few great pizza joints in the Midwest. Roots in Chicago, QC Pizza in Mahtomedi, Fat Jack’s Pizza in Peoria, and Knuckles Pizza and Sports Bar in Dunlap are a few such establishments.
Calumet City pizza is identical to that produced in the Maniscalco household’s manner, with the exception of a more fiery sauce. The only difference was that in the 1990s the pizzeria started using a new pizza dough recipe, but otherwise everything else remained the same.
When Tony moved to Rock Island, did he also bring his expertise from Calumet City? Has this recipe always been used by Harris Pizza? In all likelihood, we won’t learn. The only way to find out whether a relationship can be made stronger with Quad City-style pizza is to try it.
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