Speaking of other Great Lakes pizza... with a heavy heart, I'll share what was my hometown of Erie's finest. This is gonna be long, but if you're a pizza gourmand like me, you should appreciate it.
Pizza is taken seriously there (as it should be of course) since the Italian population, like most other old northeastern and midwestern cities, has long been prominent in local politics, culture, and food. The old school places that were the best in my opinion (Hector's and Luigi's) are unfortunately gone now, due to the passing of their owners, along with the significant deterioration of the neighborhood that they were in... Little Italy not being much of a Little Italy anymore. And my lament...
Hector's was one of those places that only made pizza after 9:00 PM, because that's when Hector's aunts and sisters were done cooking other meals for the restaturant in the kitchen... and also probably just because that's the fucking rule that they decided to make and there was nothing that anyone else could say about it, since it was their fucking kitchen. Totally old school. Felt like you were walking back into the 1950s or 60s when you entered the restaurant on the side of the building through a 1930s-era Deco glass-block-surrounded door... smooth wood-paneled small restaturant room, classic bar with tile floor through a short hallway, some autographed photos of Hector DiTullio with notable Italians like Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Lasorda (he would have Hector's tripe shipped to him), Dean Martin, Perry Como, etc., a table in the corner with a permanent 'reserved' sign on it, and an old TV on a shelf suspended by a chain up in the corner that was never on.
But to the point... the pizza was sublime. Square Sicilian-type cuts, but not as thick as you usually see nor too thin... and definitely NOT cooked in a pan. Dough done just right so it was soft but a bit crispy, with the perfect sauce -- just the right amount of oil and garlic mixed in with crushed tomatoes -- deliciously other-world saucy. It wasn't the thicker, deeper red sauce that most pizza has (that many places just pull out of a can and maybe add some of their own spices). Individual slices of quality mozzarell that didn't fully cover the sauce and topped off with real pepperoni... the smaller kind that curls up into cup and provides that perfect little sip of grease... never the flat and limp fake shit pepperoni. Never. I wish everyone could have had it. It is deeply missed by me as you can probably tell from my ode to Hector's pizza.
When Hector died, they closed and his aunts and sisters just stopped cooking and that was it for an Italian institution. Hector was gone and therefore so was Hector's. Again, totally old country old school. Recipies went with them. Which I just don't understand and will never. Another prominent Italian family tried to open it back up a few years after, but it wasn't even close to the same and it failed after a short attempt.
Hats off to Angie and Hector for blessing the Earth with the most delicious pizza known to humankind.
However, if you ever happen to be in town or are passing through Erie, PA, I highly recommend stopping at
Virgil's. It's worth the stop. It's on Erie's lower west side. They do a really good pizza. The plain old pepperoni and cheese (pictured below) will make you happy, but all the other toppings are top notch too... the Maggio is a favorite as well.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/virgils-plate-erie-2
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