Yelp ranked the 100 top pizzerias in the Midwest and this Detroit-area business is No. 1

The Yelpers got it right.

The social media site for business reviews compiled a list of the “top 100 pizza spots in the Midwest.” Of those 100 places, Michigan and Illinois had the best representation with 16 entries each on the list. It was a historic Hazel Park restaurant, however, that took the No. 1 spot.

Yelp’s data team analyzed user ratings and review volume to determine the rankings, which put Loui’s Pizza at the top. The mom-and-pop pizzeria has been on Dequindre just north of E. Nine Mile since 1977, but the story doesn’t start there.

Founder and chef Louis Tourtois — who was once called “the king of pizzas” by The Detroit News in the 1970s — was the pizza maker at the original Buddy’s Pizza before branching out to his own restaurant, Loui’s, which is still run by his descendants today. Tourtois was in the kitchen at Buddy’s when the pizzeria won its first contest, a taste-test of Detroit pizza conducted by The Detroit News in 1970.

The pizza at Loui’s has been made the same way for decades, with a crispy crust, a perfect amount of red sauce on top and pepperoni tucked underneath a boatload of cheese all cooked at a high temperature. Besides Detroit-style pizza, Loui’s serves burgers, pasta dishes and antipasto salads packed with Italian meats and cheese in a dining room that still looks like it’s from the ’70s.

The other Detroit-area pizzerias that made the top 50 of Yelp’s list are Pie Sci in Woodbridge and Oak Park at No. 14 and Fredi the PizzaMan in Melvindale at No. 23. The back half of the list includes Major Tomato in Allen Park at No. 55, Buddy’s Pizza in Detroit at No. 69, Corktown’s Grandma Bob’s at No. 74, Foggia’s Pizzeria in Southfield at No. 75 and Pizzeria Bistro and Antoniou’s Towne Square Pizza, both in Rochester Hills, at No. 78 and 79, respectively.

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

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