What: Small, wood-fired-oven pies (about 10 inches) with a thin, chewy, flexible crust that ends in a puffy, blistered rim that pizza nerds call the "cornicione." Toppings such as crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil are applied with a light hand. Cooked at super-hot temperatures, these pies are done in minutes. Softer and moister than other styles. Eat with knife and fork.

Where: Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix); Una Pizza Napoletana (San Francisco); Motorino (New York); Keste (New York); Spacca Napoli (Chicago); Cane Rosso (Dallas)

Photo courtesy of Motorino

What: Coal-oven pies, similar to Neapolitan — light on sauce, light on cheese (fresh mozzarella) — but larger in diameter, with a thinner, crispier crust that gets sooty and charred on the bottom and only slightly raised at the edges. Oil is added to the dough for tenderness, sugar to aid browning. Seldom found outside New York City.

Where: Totonno's (Brooklyn); Lombardi's (New York); Juliana's (Brooklyn); John's Pizzeria (New York); Arturo's (New York)

Photo courtesy of Lombardi's

What: The quintessential New York slice. Gas-oven pies blanketed in cheese (low-moisture mozzarella) nearly to the edge. Similar dough to New York-Neapolitan. Lower temperatures and longer cook times yield a golden crust that is crispy and chewy, and sturdy enough to be eaten by the slice out of hand. 

Where: Best Pizza (Brooklyn); Joe's Pizza (New York); Di Fara (Brooklyn); Sal & Carmine's (New York); Bleecker Street Pizza (New York); Apizza Scholls (Portland, Ore.)

Photo courtesy of Di Fara

What: Coal-oven pizza referred to locally as "apizza." Oblong shape, with a thinner, more heavily charred crust than the New York coal-oven style. New Haven pies are topped with marinara and dusted with pecorino; mozzarella must be requested as a topping. Drier and less melty than New York styles.

Where: Sally's (New Haven, Conn.); Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (New Haven, Conn.); Modern Apizza (New Haven, Conn.); Zuppardi's (West Haven, Conn.); Pete's New Haven-Style Apizza (Washington, D.C.); Nick’s New Haven Style Pizzeria and Bar (Boca Raton, Fla.)

Photo courtesy of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana