Only One Illinois Restaurant Named Among America’s 25 Best For Pizza

Shook, stunned and saddened to the deep depths of my pizza-loving core.

That would describe three feelings I had when noticing only one pizza joint in all of Illinois listed on Yelp's list of best pizza restaurants in America.

Get our free mobile app

I mean, how? How is that even possible? One of the greatest states in America for pizza only has one representative on the list?

Yelp featured 100 different pizza places in America and overall, seven different Illinois pizza joints made the list but only one placed in the top 25.

It's not like I'm alone, chippewa.com says Chicago is the "pizza capital of the US" and thetravel.com calls The Windy City the top spot in the USA for pizza "hands down."

If you're as confused as I am, maybe the best way to understand the lack of Illinois representation in the top 25 is to just remember, Yelp reviewers are a fickle bunch.

Some of the best pizza joints in Illinois like Pequod's and Vito & Nick's didn't even make the top 100. That's kooky.

As a former Chicagoan, and current Rockfordian, I've gotten used to delicious restaurants like Capri and Lino's being left off national lists so while that's disappointing, I'm not surprised.

That said, we did have one place in Illinois named among the top 10 pizza places in America.

Of course, it would be a place I've never been to as Yelp slotted Coalfire Pizza as the 9th best pizza joint in America.

Coalfire Pizza claims to be "Chicago's Original Coal Oven Pizzeria" and Yelp reviewer David W. calls Coalfire "one of the most slept on pizza places."

Not anymore. This big ranking should only get more customers through the doors.

Coalfire Pizza is located at 1321 West Grand Avenue in Chicago.