When I read Ed's initial comment, I looked up "Sicilian pizza recipes" and they were generally like any other pizza recipe. After his clarification that it IS fried and I included "fried" in the search terms, I came upon an authentic recipe. That recipe puts Crisco/lard around the perimeter of the pan to hold the dough in place, with a pool of peanut oil in the center that the dough lays on top of as it rises...twice. (You deflate the dough after the first rise by pushing it down with your fingertips.) I've never encountered this before.
My first choice used to be Hungry Howie's, though I admit that's because one of my kids worked there and for years after they'd give me the family discount. But the location closed and moved miles away to make room for a luxury senior condo high-rise to cater to cash-rich Californians swarming here like locusts now. We have a Caesar's yet, but that's just above frozen pizza anyway. By default I'm left with Jet's, smaller chain that specializes in Detroit style deep dish. There is a newcomer chicken and pizza joint, some chain I've never heard of and haven't tried. That went into a razed gas station rebuilt as a weird 2-story building with gas and mechanics out front, crowding the sidewalk, and the food place round the back. More Californication. Bitter much? People here are livid about the Cokie invasion, the smart ones fleeing into the countryside and smaller towns further out. There's a classic True Value Hardware trying to make a last stand. If the Rite-Aid in the strip goes they say they'll have to close as well as the diner between them.
Gee, I left Little Caesars off of the list: Pizza Hut: 7,000 locations in the USA. 13,000 locations in over 100 other countries. Domino's: 5,650 locations in the USA. 9,350 locations in 82 other countries. Little Caesar's: 4,200 locations in the USA. 1,300 locations in 24 other countries. Papa John's: 3,150 locations in the USA. 2,350 locations in 44 countries. Godfather's: 445 locations in the USA, and none elsewhere.
How adventurous do people get, or do you tend to get the same thing every time? My favorite standby was bacon, jalapeno, and pineapple. But I also liked trying variations such as philly cheesesteak (Alfredo sauce). And I'd never turn down something like ham and green pepper, or tomato onion and feta cheese, or plain old pepperoni, or even ground beef and green olives.
I like to try different things on my pizza. I especially like lots of different veggies, and also pineapple . My all-time favorite was a little pizza place in Idaho that made a Hawaiian pizza with fresh tomatoes, pineapple, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, and maybe peppers. I enjoy going to CiCi’s because they have the pizza buffet and you can sample several different kinds of pizza, plus it includes a wonderful little salad bar, and the very best cinnamon rolls for dessert. When my friend Evelyn was still here, we used to go there for lunch just about every week. Dominoes is the closest pizza place to where we live, and Little Caesars is only a block further away; so that is where Bobby likes to go on the occasions when we do have pizza. I used to really like Pizza Hut when they had the lunch buffet. I have not been to one in so many years, I have no idea of they still have that anymore or not.
I'll eat whatever is put in front of me, but I always order the same thing from each place. When I get a 5 topping pizza from the local sub shop, I always get pepperoni, onion, mushroom, green pepper, and black olives. If they're out of one of those, it throws me off. At Pizza Hut I always get a thin crust Supreme. Pizza from the Walmart deli section is always a thin crust meat lover's, and I pile on my own veggies. I might switch it up a little when I make homemade, limiting it to 2 toppings so I don't overload it. I've made an anchovy & black olive pizza just to try it, but that was one & done. I always make 2 pizzas: one of them a regular pizza, and one of them nothing but Fontina cheese and garlic (no tomato sauce.)
I don't know if it's practical, but the "fantasy pizza" I'd like to try might be: Rye crust you can really taste Custom sauce based on yellow tomatoes, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, and fine-minced onion Topped with honey-ham slivers, mushrooms, and shredded gouda (not smoked) and swiss cheese.
One large flour tortilla, Tillamook mozzarella cheese, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and pizza sauce then your choice of toppings. Place in oven at 425 for 9-11 minutes depending on the type of toaster oven you have. I bake them until they are lightly browned on top. P.S. Chain restaurant pizzas are garbage. Ma & Pa restaurants only.