Detroit-style pizza is carving out its place on the national pizza scene. Leading the charge on that forefront in the Dallas area is Lewisville's Motor City Pizza. Owner Greg Tierney, who hails from the Motor City, started with a pop-up to test the waters. The venture was a success. In late 2021, he debuted the brick-and-mortar version of Motor City Pizza. Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular deep dish with a lighter and airier dough than Chicago-style. And the cheese must be Wisconsin brick cheese spread all the way to the edges, where it melts down the sides of the pan, caramelizing and crisping the crust. Yes, it's as game-changing as it sounds.

Dallas is a pizza haven with diverse styles: Neapolitan, Neo Neapolitan, Detroit, Deep Dish, St. Louis-style and New York-style. Choosing the "best pizza" is challenging, akin to picking between a Porsche and a Ferrari. For us, Zoli's NY Pizza reigns supreme. It captures the essence of traditional New York-style pizza, with a masterpiece crust that stays firm despite hefty toppings while the edges remain light and airy. For added pizzazz, they offer the option of sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning on the crust. In addition to the dozen or so pizzas on the regular menu, Zoli's offers a creative new pizza each month that allows you to embark on a culinary journey and discover new flavor combinations.

For most Chicagoans, the real go-to Chicago-style pizza is not that thick overly sauced 5-pound slab of overpriced dough called "deep dish" but rather the thin, crispy perfectly topped tavern-style pizza so prevalent in local corner bars. Thankfully, the Dallas area has a few spots serving pizza in this manner, and Louie's is perhaps the oldest and most beloved of the bunch, and understandably so. The pizza bears a rich and complex sauce that you know has been simmering slowly for hours on the back stove. It sits atop a crust that is thin but not overly cooked, with plump, fresh toppings.

It's been a good year for Italian food in Dallas. A number of big-name places have opened, but at the end of the day, you can't go wrong with this cozy and charming corner spot downtown with Neapolitan pizzas from the owner-chef who is a Naples native. Also, don't miss the from-scratch pastas, including the lasagna Napoletana. It's made with smoked mozzarella, meatballs and ricotta and is available only on Friday and Saturday. Or go for the ziti alla Genovese, a quintessential Neapolitan pasta dish. Try to snag a seat so that you can watch the massive pizza oven.

We've all been there: Your extended family is in town and you have no idea how to keep them all entertained, let alone how to feed them. Aunt Shirley is on a juice cleanse and Uncle Frank is a carnivore, plus some of your cousins tell you that they're fully gluten-free. Don't stress: Take your folks to Dallas Farmers Market. This sprawling bazaar is fun to browse and includes a vast array of cuisines. There's the always-excellent Mexican joint Taqueria La Ventana, featuring tasty handmade tacos. Pizza lovers can indulge in an authentic Neapolitan pie fresh from BellaTrino's famed wood-burning oven. And JuiceBabe's delish smoothies are perfect for sipping as you stop by some of the market's specialty shops. No matter where you eat, you can't go wrong with Dallas Farmers Market.

Andrea's Pizza first reeled us in at its Frisco location, and once it had us addicted, the place packed up its pans sometime around 2010 and left for the greener, much quieter pastures of Gunter. Never heard of it? It's a small town up north near Van Alstyne. Never heard of that either? That's OK; part of this restaurant's charm is that we have to work so hard to get what we want. The small, father-and-son operated marvel is worth the tank of gas. The pizza crust is sweet and sensuously thick, making it the perfect base to hold its velvety bed of cheese and hot, crispy-fresh veggies or whatever meaty toppings fill your carnivorous dreams. The long ride back allows visitors extra time to reflect and reminisce on the memories of the best pizza they'll probably ever have.

You might want to approach Thunderbird Pies with skin as thick as their Detroit-style pizzas. In addition to a sassy social media manager, they don't care much for complaints. Especially, don't ever ask to talk to corporate or you'll likely get dinged with something like, "I am corporate, motherfucker." Then they'll make T-shirts to mock you, which they actually did, and blast it on an in-house billboard. It's not at all ironic that one of their best pizzas is the Honey Bastard, named after the honey badger. Much like the similarly named mammal, they just don't care, which they can get away with because the pizza is so good.

Jimmy's, of course, is more than a sandwich shop. It's a small grocery store that sells Italian wines, cheeses, snacks and olive oils that's also a full deli selling house-made sausages, sauces, pizzas, lasagnas and meatballs. There is even a wine-tasting room in the back. The freshly prepared sandwiches, such as the Italian sub, muffuletta, Calabrese and Italian beef, are unmatched in Dallas. Seating is limited, lines can be long, and parking is always a challenge, but nothing this good is easy.