I just spent a few days visiting my wife’s family in Ann Arbor, MI and realized I had a chance to check out a few spots I’ve been eyeing for a while. A quick pizza tour, I’ve got time for that!
First, a slice at the new Joe’s outpost near the campus. It’s been a few years since I had the original in lower Manhattan, but this seemed a very worthy representation of the home pie. All of the slice pies looked pretty good in the window. I expected maybe the quality would have dropped since opening, but the bakes, stretches and ratios looked very solid. This time around I noticed the pronounced sweetness of the sauce. It reminded me a bit of of NY Pizza Suprema, which I enjoyed again on my most recent NYC trip a few weeks ago and which also struck me as a sugar-forward slice flavor. Joe’s had a more interesting crust flavor than Suprema, though—both salt and sweetness easily perceptible. Overall, certainly no complaints from me or the lady—a great slice. The students are lucky to have it and the place seemed fairly busy for 3pm on a Wednesday.
Next, a shootout between Jet’s and Buddy’s, neither of which I’ve tried before. I know there are loyal clans in each’s corner. I tried to read up about their respective histories and features before going, and thumbed through a handful of the classic threads here to get a sense of what I might be in for, but I also realized as a Detroit newbie I really just needed these pies to wash over me.
We had six adults and one toddler at the table for the shootout. From each place, we ordered a small plain cheese and a small sausage, onion, and green pepper. Interestingly, both places quoted me a square pan’s dimensions on the phone when I asked about sizing for a “small,” and yet each provided me a pair of rectangular pies upon receipt of the orders. The guy at Buddy’s also said, “it’s been a long time since somebody ordered an uncut pie!” The Jet’s location was northwest of AA, in Dexter, and the Buddy’s location was on the southern edge of town on Salinas-Ann Arbor. I hoped to get locations that had each been open for a while, and I’m not sure how I did...maybe someone from the area can direct me to better locations for the future? Or maybe it’s not that significant; it seems like both have their systems and equipment pretty dialed in across locations.
First up, both pies from Jet’s. Cheese above sauce, emphasis on the crunch of the crust. Everyone loved the crust texture and especially enjoyed the sausage, onion, and pepper slices. Nice color on the undercarriage.
Then, Buddy’s. Quite a difference on the color of the undercarriages on these two but not necessarily much of a difference in texture or flavor. The Buddy’s sauce was a HIT. The caramelized cheese edge also seemed more flavorful to me...all around, the crust had a more buttery/savory flavor. Toppings on the Buddy’s pie seemed less flavorful than the Jet’s equivalent.
Across the board, everyone present said they wish they had the Jet’s crunch and sausage combined with the Buddy’s sauce. No strong feelings about cheese preference emerged, save for me focusing in on the caramelized edge from Buddy’s.
I’ve worked with Roman style high hydration pan pizzas, and with local flour+artisan ingredient Detroit knock-offs in Seattle—and I had my share of Little Caesar’s and Pizza Hut pan pizzas as a kid—but I consider these to be my first true-blue Detroit style experiences. A few years ago I thought I’d never be a pan pizza devotee, but I’ve seen the light and enjoy the family of styles very much now that I’ve spent some time with them.
Looking forward to factoring these experiences into my future pan endeavors, and to making more trips through/to the Midwest over the next few years as we watch my nephew grow into a little man. The drive from Asheville takes us through Lexington, KY as well as Cincinnati, so there’s a lot of exploring to do. Cheers, midwesterners!
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