Pizza is a tasty and easy meal choice any day of the week, especially for families with children. When you’re craving variety, it can be fun to branch out and experiment with other dishes in addition to your favorite pizza. Green Lantern Pizza is renowned for its classic Detroit-style pizza with a wide variety of toppings and flavors to keep your dinner guests coming back for more.
Does discerning the differences between pizza styles make your head spin? This guide to Chicago-style pizza vs. Detroit-style pizza will help you become a pizza expert by breaking down the definitions of the two and examining the most notable differences between their main ingredients.
People love pizza. The average American adult will eat almost 6,000 slices of pizza in their lifetime. Even more mind-boggling, the U.S. consumes 3 billion pizzas every year — that’s over 8 million pizzas ordered every day. For your next party or family night, skip catering and stick with America’s favorite cuisine, pizza.
In this guide, we’ll make figuring out how many pizzas to order simple with one rule. The 3/8 rule — get an idea of how many mouths you’ll be feeding, and assume each will eat about three slices of pizza.
Even with that rule in mind, you may still wonder how many pizzas you need based on what you want to order. Below, we’ll answer some of the most frequently asked questions of ordering the right number of pizzas for your party or family gathering.
Account for about three slices of pizza per person. Use this as a general guideline, and be aware that some people may consume more or less. If you’re ordering pizza for a hungry football team, you might want to order more pizzas than you normally would. Comparatively, if you’re ordering pizzas for a kid’s birthday party, you can order less than usual as kids usually eat less food than adults do.
You can best calculate how many pizzas to order by considering:
The best way to calculate how many pizzas you should order is by following the 3/8 rule. Each guest is likely to eat three pizza slices, and the average large pizza serves around eight slices. Remember to round up to get whole numbers and order more or less based on your party’s needs. With this rule, depending on the number of people you’re ordering for, you should order the following number of pizzas:
Note that how many pizzas you order for your party will also depend on the pie sizes you select.
A small pizza contains, on average, four slices. Therefore, small pizzas can feed around one adult or two children. Order a small pizza if you’re ordering for the children in the family or if you’re ordering a unique topping for a specific guest or family member to enjoy.
Medium pizzas contain around six slices of pizza, feeding two adults or three children. You can’t go wrong with ordering a medium pizza or two for pizza night with your significant other or family. You could also order unique toppings on a medium pizza and crowd-pleasers like cheese or pepperoni on larger sizes for a big party.
A large pizza usually contains eight slices, while an extra-large pizza contains around 10. Following the same rule that an average adult will eat around three slices, a large pizza will feed around two adults or four children. An extra-large pizza would feed around three adults and five children. It’s recommended to order commonly loved toppings in larger sizes.
Really, it depends on the number of mouths you’re feeding. Let’s break down the numbers. The average medium pizza costs around $10, give or take, for six slices of pizza. And the average large pizza costs only a few dollars more for eight slices. That’s assuming you aren’t getting toppings.
If you’re trying to feed around five people, order three medium pizzas. If you’re trying to feed less than that, say around three to four people, save money by ordering two large pizzas.
Let’s look at another scenario — if you’re trying to feed 15 people, you’ll want around 45 slices. That means you can order eight medium-sized pizzas or six large pizzas. In this case, you’ll save money by ordering six large pizzas.
Overall, what’s best for your get-together or gathering will come down to the toppings. If you need more variety in your topping offerings, medium pizzas may be the better option. If everyone’s on the same page with what they want, you could order a large instead.
A factor that’s commonly overlooked is the type of pizza you’re ordering. Different styles of pizzas can leave you more full than others, meaning you and your guests will eat fewer slices. Pizzas loaded with toppings or with thicker crusts might leave your guests satisfied with just a couple of slices.
When you order less filling pizza types like thin crust, you’ll want to order more pizzas to account for the higher consumption. If you order denser pizza types like deep-dish, order a bit less than you normally would.
Pizza can be stored at room temperature for up to two hours before it starts going stale. If you don’t plan on eating all of your pizza within two hours, you can store it in the fridge for up to four days. If you have leftovers — or you just like having pizza on hand — store your pizza in the freezer in an airtight container for one to two months.
You know your guests will be hungry when they arrive and you want a delicious pizza ready for them. But how can you keep your pizzas warm and fresh until they’re ready to serve?
If you’ve got leftover pizza that’s gone cold, don’t worry! You can reheat it and make it taste like fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza again. Just try these simple techniques:
What makes a good pizza? At Green Lantern, we believe it comes with a rich history of pizza-making and quality ingredients. Green Lantern began decades ago in an old farmhouse. But it wasn’t any ordinary farmhouse. As a holdover from the Prohibition era, the building displayed a green lantern alongside on the outside, signifying to passersby they sold alcohol. Thus, “Green Lantern” was born!
Now, Green Lantern specializes in pizza, also serving sandwiches, burgers, submarines, salads and an array of apps and sides. For your next party or family gathering, order pizza from Green Lantern. You can choose from our specialty pizzas, like:
Or, build your own pizza! Green Lantern offers toppings like pepperoni, mushrooms, bacon, Italian sausage, ground beef, black olives, roasted garlic, spinach and much more.
Find a location near you and place an order online for your next party or pizza night. Not sure how many pizzas you need? Follow the 3/8 rule, or just ask our pizza specialists! We’d be more than happy to help you figure it out.
Who doesn’t love pizza at a party? You can never go wrong with a pepperoni or cheese pizza at a party — adults love it, and kids beg for it. But how do you keep pizza warm throughout your event? In this post, we’ll travel with your pizza and provide tips on how to keep it warm from the first moment you pick it up to the last minute your guests leave. As a bonus, some of these suggestions make great ways to heat up the pizza for tomorrow’s leftovers!
Our journey starts at the restaurant. If you choose to have your pizza delivered, you can skip this step. Otherwise, a tip on how to keep your pizza warm while traveling is to use a heated seat.
Though heated seats are typically used for keeping you warm during the colder months, they work great at keeping your pizza warm, too. On your way home, put your pizza on a heated seat and cover it with a blanket to trap the warmth. If you don’t have heated seats, put the pizza on the passenger side floor and crank up the heat in the floor vents. It may sound comical, but whatever works, right?
Once your pizza has safely made it to your home, your next goal is to keep it warm throughout the duration of your party. Some tips on how to keep your pizza warm for three or more hours at your party include:
If you’re still waiting for guests to arrive, start plating your portions. Wrap each slice in aluminum foil so the pizza can hold its heat. If the slices get cold by the time your guests arrive, pop the pizza — still wrapped in foil — into the oven at 400 degrees for around 5 minutes to 10 minutes. After it’s heated, remove the aluminum foil and serve the pizza to your guests.
Most people rely on their ovens to reheat pizza. There are two ways you can keep your pizza warm in the oven:
You can use a toaster oven, too, if your oven is full of other party snacks. Follow the same principles of heating your pizza at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time, and your pizza will turn out perfect every time.
Are you running out of space in your oven and toaster oven? If so, try heating up your pizza in the frying pan. This method isn’t ideal if you’re heating up whole pizzas at a time, but it does work well when reviving the last few slices from your event.
On your stovetop, heat a non-stick frying pan on high heat. Once heated, place your pizza in the frying pan and let it heat up for about two minutes. These two minutes will allow the bottom of the pizza to get nice and crispy. Then, place a lid over the pan and continue heating for another minute or two, allowing for the cheese, sauce and toppings to warm.
Running out of stovetop space, too? In a quick pinch? Use your trusted microwave. Make sure your microwave is wide enough for your pizza slices. Then, place your pizza on a microwave-safe plate. Separately, fill a shallow, microwave-safe bowl 2/3 full of water. Place the bowl inside the center of your microwave, and place your plate of pizza on top of the bowl.
The water inside of the bowl will evaporate and prevent the pizza from getting soft and mushy. Microwave your pizza at half power for about a minute. Check your pizza, and microwave for another minute or two if needed.
Hosting an outdoor event can be a bit more tricky when it comes to keeping your pizza warm. At your concession stand, some methods on how to keep your pizza warm at an outdoor party include:
On your concession table, keep your pizza warm by using a portable oven. You can easily find a portable oven online, and most aren’t too expensive. Portable ovens look like a large lunchbox that heats up. Place your pizza inside of the portable oven to keep it warm, or turn up the heat and leave them in longer when reheating slices. The instructions may vary depending on the portable oven you buy.
While guests are enjoying the beginning of your party or event, keep pizzas warm by storing them in an insulated bag. This is actually how most pizza delivery companies keep their pizzas warm during the ride to your home or business. You can find pizza-specific insulated bags online. They may not be able to keep your pizza warm for three hours, though, so this method is best combined with other heating methods.
Are you hosting an event soon? We may be biased, but we believe pizza is the best cuisine to serve! After all, who doesn’t love a fresh slice of pepperoni pizza? When you’re choosing a pizza place, opt for Green Lantern Pizza. We’ve been in the business since 1955, and we’re proud to hold the title of King of Pepperoni.
Browse our location finder to find the nearest Green Lantern Pizza location, and order straight from our online menu. Have any questions? Contact us online or give your location a call today!
Detroit is a strong city known for many things, namely cars, music and pizza. Known as the Detroit-style square, Detroit’s pizza has earned its reputation as one of the best slices around. With its distinct rectangular shape, light and airy dough, crispy caramelized cheese perimeter and delightful crunch, Detroit-style pizza was built for savoring.
But what exactly makes a pan pizza Detroit-style, and why is a hearty Detroit slice so highly sought after? In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about this delicious Detroit dish from what qualities define a Detroit-style pizza and how a Detroit-style pizza is made to what separates a Detroit-style pie from other types of deep-dish pizza. If you’re looking for a pizza unlike any other, learn more about Detroit-style!
Detroit-style pizza is a thick, square-cut pizza with a crunchy, fried bottom layer of crust overflowing with delicious melted cheese. Like most rectangular pan pizzas served in America, Detroit-style pizza is a variation of the Sicilian pizza. Originally called “sfincione,” which means “little sponge,” Sicilian pizza has a fluffier bread base than most U.S. pizzas.
Detroit-style pizza sets itself apart from Sicilian pizza with its cheese-covered crust, which is typically so crispy that the cheese is slightly burnt, and its long, vertical streaks of sauce on top of the cheese. The result of this unique pizza style is a gooey, doughy center with a crunchy outer crust and caramelized cheese hugging its edges.
The traditional topping for a Detroit-style pizza is pepperoni, but Detroit-style pizza doesn’t use just any pepperoni. Instead of the large, flat circular pepperoni that comes on most ordinary pizzas, Detroit-style pizza features smaller, thicker slices of pepperoni that curl up into miniature cups as they cook. These cute little pepperoni cups hold onto their fat and enhance the pizza during the baking process.
Making Detroit-style pizza starts with the dough. Because Detroit-style pizza is known for its more airy center with a crusty outside, the dough must be hydrated just right, which means achieving the perfect ratio of water to flour. To create its crust’s famous open, fluffy and chewy center with a crisp exterior, Detroit-style pizza uses a wetter dough.
The next all-important factor for making a flawless Detroit-style pizza is the pan. As a deep-dish rectangular pizza, Detroit-style pizza is best cooked in a steel industrial pan with sides angled outwards to make the area at the top of the pan greater than the area at the bottom. A 10-by-14-inch pan with black surfaces is ideal for ensuring the dough fills the entire pan and its sides get a nice crisp.
Unlike most other pizza styles, Detroit-style pizza layers the crust with cheese and toppings below the sauce. Traditionally, Detroit-style pizza uses Wisconsin brick cheese, a mildly flavored semi-soft cheese with a high fat content, as opposed to the usual mozzarella. The fat from Wisconsin brick cheese lends the crust some mouth-watering buttery flavor, while the cheese itself stays gooey in the center as it spreads toward the edges of the pie to caramelize into a golden, cheesy crust.
Sometimes the cheese is added first, and sometimes the toppings are placed directly on the crust, but the sauce is always ladled onto the pizza last as the finishing layer of flavor. A Detroit-style pizza features a tomato-based sauce that excellently complements the more mild brick cheese, which tastes similar to cheddar. The sauce can be applied as blotchy dollops or as thick lines called “racing stripes.”
Some recipes recommend adding the sauce after the pizza comes out of the oven, which is referred to as “red top” because the sauce is the final topping. By waiting until the last second to add the sauce, the crust is protected from ever getting soggy. Whether the sauce is added before or after it enters the oven, a Detroit-style pizza should be baked at about 440 degrees Fahrenheit for around 13 minutes to ensure a perfect pie.
Once the pizza is done cooking, it gets cut into squares to make it definitively Detroit-style. Because these square slices are served piping hot, many diners choose to eat Detroit-style pizza with a fork and knife, although some dedicated Detroit pizza fans do dare to brave the heat and go without utensils.
Typically, the image that comes to mind when someone says “pizza” is a round, thin-crust pie with stringy melted mozzarella cheese dropping off of flimsy triangular slices. Detroit-style pizza deviates from these conventions entirely with its rectangular shape, sauce-topped cheese and a crust so thick it would be impossible to fold.
Although Detroit-style pizza is completely different from conventional thin-crust pizzas like a New York slice, it does share some common features with other pan pizzas. So what separates a slice of Detroit-style pizza from a slice of any other Sicilian pizza descendant?
The most notable quality of Detroit-style pizza when comparing it to other pan pizzas is its cheese. A Detroit-style pie has cheese spread everywhere on top, which gives it a distinct crispy layer of burnt cheese around its edges. The fat drippings from the Wisconsin brick cheese used to top the pie also help to fry the sides and bottom of the crust as the pizza cooks.
While other pizza types may be considered deep dish, Detroit-style pizza sets itself apart with its soft inside and crispy outside. While Chicago-style pizza features a flakier, thin deep crust like a traditional pie, Detroit-style pizza stars a thick crust that closely resembles focaccia. The Detroit-style crust sets itself apart from a Sicilian crust with its airier texture, fluffy chew and crispy underside.
Similar to a Chicago deep-dish pizza, a Detroit-style pizza scoops its sauce over top of its cheese. However, a Detroit-style pizza doesn’t use nearly as much sauce as Chicago-style and stands out with its spotted dollops of sauce or sleek red racing stripes. In fact, the unique aesthetic of Detroit-style pizza’s tomato sauce artfully contrasting with its burnt cheese edges has made the food a social media hit.
If you’re looking for the tastiest Detroit-style pizza in the Metro-Detroit area, Green Lantern Pizza is the place you’ve been searching for. Since the early 1950s, Green Lantern Pizza has been hand cutting each of its ingredients and making its delicious dough and sauce fresh every morning.
You can taste the difference these high-quality ingredients make in every single slice from Green Lantern Pizza. As the King of Pepperoni, Green Lantern Pizza is most well-known for its delicious pepperoni-topped deep-dish pies. To explore more toppings options, check out the full menu.
To experience the best Detroit-style pizza in the Metro-Detroit area, find the Green Lantern Pizza location nearest you or order a Green Lantern pie online. If you have any questions about the menu or Detroit-style pizza in general, contact Green Lantern Pizza today.
One of the most delicious dishes that you will ever get to enjoy in your life is pizza. This incredibly delectable dish is something that all restaurants and cooks strive to get perfect. It can take decades to get the recipe just right, but when it is, you and everyone else will know. The traditional dish was initially created in Italy and brought over to the United States after World War II. The servicemen who spent their time in Italy fell in love with the dish and could not wait to bring it over to their home country, the United States. Today, the United States is famous for its pizza. We have the most unique and varying options that anyone has ever seen. (more…)
Green Lantern Pizza started 55 years ago when a couple bought a farmhouse with a green lantern. Their names were Thomas and Irene Vettraino. The green lantern in prohibition times meant that customers could purchase alcohol there.
Our restaurant has a full-service bar and a casual atmosphere with tables and chairs and art pieces hanging on the wall and sports memorabilia. The first restaurant opened in 1955. It is one of the best pizza restaurants in Detroit and has been voted the best pizza in Detroit.
Everywhere you look these days. Various vegetarian options are popping up on menus and at the grocery store. As a vegetarian or curious about the trend, you do not have to ask where the best veggie pizza is nearby. Green Lantern Pizza has you covered with the best veggie options available.
Maybe the idea of veggie pizza doesn’t get you super excited, but we ask that you give us a chance to change your mind with our delicious line of veggie options.
Everyone has their idea of a perfect pizza. There are some things that all pizzas need to have, which includes good crust, sauce, and cheese. Other toppings are based on personal tastes and preferences. Here in Green Lantern Pizza in Royal Oak Mi (Michigan), we make pizza just the way a person likes it. We have many different toppings to make the best pizza. When looking for pizza in Royal Oak Mi, a person should be sure to stop by Green Lantern Pizza to experience the delicious fresh pizza.
With the holiday season in full swing, the majority of us can be quite busy. There can be quite a large number of reasons why this is the case. Many of us might still be doing some present shopping in the last-minute. And often there’s quite a large number of parties and other functions that we often need to get to. This could be quite tricky because some of us also still have work when getting all of this done.