What is Tavern-Style Pizza?

Tavern-style pizza is known for its ultra-thin crust, crispy edges, and square cut. Originating in Chicago, it was created as a snack in neighborhood bars to pair perfectly with a cold drink. Unlike the larger slices of New York-style pizza, Chicago tavern-style pizza is easy to enjoy with one hand while holding a drink in the other鈥攑erfect for a casual snack, social setting, or full menu.

A Slice of History: The Origins of Tavern-Style Pizza

The roots of tavern-style pizza date back to 1923 at our original tavern on the South Side of Chicago. Looking for a unique pairing, our founders decided to serve complimentary thin-crust pizza (instead of the usual bar snacks like pretzels). The result?聽 Our crispy, square-cut tavern-style pizza. Legend has it that one day, a baseball from a nearby park flew through the tavern window, leading to the name 鈥淗ome Run Inn.鈥� This moment became the foundation of our brand鈥檚 identity, marking the beginning of its journey as a Chicago pizza institution.

The Evolution of Tavern-Style Pizza

Over the years, Chicago Tavern-style pizza has evolved, but its essence remains unchanged. In the late 1960s, Home Run Inn was one of the first to introduce frozen pizzas, thanks to a loyal customer from Wisconsin who requested his pizzas partially baked to take home and cook later. This innovation led to the production of par-baked, frozen pizzas that could be enjoyed beyond the tavern, bringing the tavern-style pizza experience into customers鈥� homes.

As Gina Bolger, a fourth-generation family member and Senior VP of Marketing, explains, 鈥淲e were among the pioneers in conceptualizing frozen pizza. A regular customer from Wisconsin frequently requested his pizza to be partially baked. This piqued my grandfather’s curiosity, leading him to discover that the customer would store the pizza in his icebox to finish baking it later at home.鈥� This innovation helped Home Run Inn expand its reach, allowing people across the country to enjoy a slice of authentic Chicago tavern-style pizza.

The Legacy of Tavern-Style Pizza

Today, whether you鈥檙e searching for 鈥�tavern-style pizza near me,鈥� curious about the difference between 鈥渢avern-style pizza vs. thin crust,鈥� or looking to recreate a classic with tavern-style pizza recipes, it鈥檚 clear that this beloved Chicago tradition has earned out its place in pizza history.
No matter how you enjoy it鈥攁t your favorite local spot or baking a frozen version at home鈥攖he legacy of tavern-style pizza continues, serving up slices of history and flavor that connect generations, communities, friends, and family, far and wide.

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Which cities in America are most pizza-obsessed?

To eliminate our own biases, we created a five-point pizza enthusiasm rubric, which includes the following criteria: pizza accessibility, pizza restaurant reviews (per 100,000 as well as share of highly rated pizza restaurants), average pizza restaurant rating, and level of interest in pizza (based on Google search volume analysis). Cravings, ravings, and ratings 鈥� needless to say, we covered all our bases.

Using this weighted scale, we compared cities across America to determine the hottest spots to grab a pie.

Key Findings:

• The West Coast turns out to be highly pizza obsessed: Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland claimed the top 3 spots on our list.
• New York and Chicago aren鈥檛 slipping, though 鈥� both traditional pizza capitals ranked within the top 10 most pizza-loving cities.
• Coming in at spot No. 7, Miami boasted the most pizza restaurants per capita by far, with 91.8 pizza restaurants per 100,000 citizens. The city with the next highest pizza parlor density (Portland, OR) had less than half that prevalence.

Which cities are the most obsessed with pizza?

#1. Seattle, WA

Seattle is known for its coffee culture, but pizza is emerging as the Emerald City鈥檚 latest piping hot fascination. With 46.2% of its pizza joints earning above 4 stars on Yelp, and nearly half the population Googling where to get their next slice (46,562 pizza-related searches per 100,000 residents), Seattle ranks high on pizza engagement and appreciation. Pair these factors with an overall pizza restaurant rating of 3.61 across the board, and you have a true pizza haven.

#2. San Francisco, CA

If appraisal were the only metric of pizza obsession, San Francisco would rank No. 1 on the list. With a whopping 17,002 Yelp reviews per 100,000 residents 鈥� almost twice as many as the next top-5 pizza-loving city 鈥� San Franciscans are tasting (and then judging) pizza very frequently. Despite this high volume, the city’s pizza restaurants still boast an impressive 3.66 out of 5 stars overall on Yelp.

#3. Portland, OR

The health- and environment-conscious city is also apparently crust-conscious, with 47.6% of pizza restaurants earning over 4 stars on Yelp. Quality defines the city鈥檚 pizza relationship, but that doesn鈥檛 mean quantity is low; for every 100,000 citizens, there are 42.8 pizza restaurants, making Portland one of the highest-scoring cities for pizza accessibility.

#4. Minneapolis, MN

Is pizza a casserole? You can find out in Minneapolis, one of America鈥檚 foremost cities for layered food and pizza-related Googling. For every 100,000 residents, 76,149 instances of pizza-related keyword searches are logged per year. With all that research, the city鈥檚 pizza restaurant ratings are generally high 鈥� 44.7% of pizza restaurants earn 4+ stars on Yelp, and the city鈥檚 average pizza shop review sits at a dependable 3.56 out of 5 stars.

#5. San Diego, CA

San Diego brings together the dream trifecta: sunshine, beer, and pizza. San Diego scores high on both overall pizza reviews (3.64 out of 5 stars on average) and share of 4+ star pizza restaurants (47.8%), meaning residents of 鈥淎merica鈥檚 finest city鈥� are more likely to encounter pizza perfection than be forced into settling for a sub-par slice.

Peak pizza interest: cities with pizza most on the mind

One key ingredient in our analysis of America鈥檚 pizza-obsessed cities was Google searches for all things pizza. From 鈥�pizza near me鈥� to 鈥�pizza recipes,鈥� we dug into the search data to find out which cities search the most for pizza.

Atlanta tops the list for cities taking to Google to search for pizza. Overall, Atlanta conducts an average of 78,662 searches per 100,000 residents. Minneapolis trails close behind with 76,149 searches, followed by Vegas (71,926), Denver (66,362), and Baltimore (64,765).

Cities with the highest-rated pizza restaurants

While Chicago and New York have a long history of battling it out for pizza supremacy, we took a close look at how these cities rate their own pizza establishments.

Our analysis for pizza-obsessed cities also included average pizza restaurant ratings via Yelp. By the slimmest of margins, New Yorkers rate their pizza restaurants slightly higher (3.67) than Chicagoans (3.66).

If you鈥檙e looking to get your hands on a hand-crafted Home Run Inn pizza, then check out one of our Chicagoland locations or find our frozen pizzas in a store near you.

Methodology

In order to determine our rankings, we analyzed data from the top 50 cities in the U.S., using the following criteria and weighting system to form a comprehensive representation of pizza devotion:

Pizza Cravings: 35 points

Google Searches Related to Pizza Keywords, Per 100K (20 points): Google searches were used to measure the level of interest and curiosity about pizza in a particular city, capturing a community鈥檚 general enthusiasm and engagement with pizza. Source: Google Keywords

Number of Pizza Restaurants Per 100K (15 points): The density of pizza restaurants per capita is a good indication of how prevalent pizza consumption is in a city. A higher number of points corresponds to higher demand and a stronger pizza culture. Source: Yelp

Pizza Ratings: 20 points

Total Pizza Restaurant Yelp Reviews, Per 100K (20 points): By combining the quantity and quality of reviews, this criterion provides an indication of the popularity and engagement of the overall pizza scene in a given city. Source: Yelp

Pizza Ravings: 45 points

Share of Highly Rated Pizza Restaurants (20 points): Share of high-rated pizza restaurant Yelp reviews reflects instances of exceptional pizza in a given city, as rated by patrons. High ratings on Yelp indicate high quality and customer satisfaction. Source: Yelp

Average Pizza Restaurant Rating (25 points):The average pizza restaurant Yelp rating provides an additional layer of quality assessment indicating consistency and prevalence of well-regarded pizza. While exceptional ratings are important for judging quality, consistency in high ratings is key for establishing quality and quantity in measure. Source: Yelp

Fair Use: Feel free to use this data and research with proper attribution linking to this study.

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Gen Z and Millennials: Cooking Confidence

When asked to rate their confidence in the kitchen, only 33% of Gen Z consider themselves skilled cooks, compared to 47% of Millennials. On average, Gen Z gave themselves a 3 out of 5 rating, while Millennials put their skills slightly higher at 3.4 out of 5.

With Gen Z, don鈥檛 expect a dinner party invite 鈥� nearly half (49%) are hesitant to cook for others because they lack cooking skills, compared to only 34% of Millennials.

If you do manage an invite, expect to be wowed (or at least to act it) 鈥� more than one-third (35%) of Gen Z say they enjoy cooking to impress others, and 39% of Millennials say the same.

Despite their overall lack of confidence in the kitchen, nearly half of Millennials (49%) and Gen Z (47%) still consider themselves to be 鈥渇oodies.鈥� 

Family recipes endure as 45% of both Gen Z and Millennials claim to have replicated heirloom dishes. Nearly the same proportion has faced criticism for their cooking efforts, with 41% of Gen Z and 43% of Millennials acknowledging the receipt of constructive feedback.

Home economics courses have vanished across these generations 鈥� while nearly half of Millennials (47%) took home ec classes in high school, only 37% of Gen Z have received school-based guidance.

Gen Z and Millennials: Gourmet Gaffes

Learning by failing remains a constant in the kitchen: Respondents reported burnt dishes (77% of Gen Z and 83% of Millennials), the addition of incorrect ingredients (55% of Gen Z and 62% of Millennials), and even personal injuries such as cuts and burns (75% of both groups).

And if a meal doesn鈥檛 come out as planned, it鈥檚 binned: 69% of Gen Z have thrown out a dish after cooking it, as have 71% of Millennials.

However, backup meals offer damage control, with 25% of Millennials having a frozen pizza on standby as their go-to plan when a home-cooked meal goes wrong.

Regarding food alternatives, Gen Z and Millennials are similarly poised to experiment, with 50% of Gen Z and 52% of millennials sharing that they would try lab-grown meat either at home or in a restaurant.

But dining out might be for the best considering less than half of Gen Z (43%) own a cooking-grade thermometer.

When cooking at home isn鈥檛 an option, both groups say they eat restaurant-prepared food
(takeout, dine-in, or delivery) a few nights a week, with averages totaling 2.1 nights for Gen Z and 1.9 nights for Millennials.

How Often Do Millennials and Gen Z Cook at Home?

Overall, cooking at home is the norm, with Gen Z cooking an average of 5.9 days a week, and Millennials 6.7 days a week. The overwhelming reason behind this comes down to health: 57% of Gen Z and 63% of Millennials say they prefer to cook at home because it鈥檚 healthier.

The younger group is more likely to ignore cooking directions. Only 60% of Gen Z bother with following recipes compared to 66% of Millennials.

Dinner is served in under an hour among both groups 鈥� Gen Z spends 53 minutes preparing food on average, while Millennials spend around 55 minutes per meal.

Eating alone is common, especially among Gen Z, with 64% stating that they are more likely to cook for themselves than for family, friends, or significant others, compared to 47% of Millennials.

How Much Do Gen Z and Millennials Spend on Food?

While their budgets for takeout, delivery, and dine-in experiences are similar (with weekly averages of $48.10 for Gen Z and $59.52 for Millennials), 81% of Gen Z and 70% of Millennials report that they would cook more at home if it were more affordable.

Overall, Gen Z spends a total of $123.03 on food in the average week, and Millennials spend an average of $164.82. Groceries represent the lion鈥檚 share of these expenses 鈥� grocery spending amounts to $89.50 for Gen Z and $125.17 for Millennials.

While Gen Z and Millennials both lament the financial cost of cooking at home, it鈥檚 not the number one reason for avoiding the kitchen 鈥� the biggest deterrent is the time cost of meal preparation.

Gen Z and Millennials: Food and 鈥淧hubbing鈥�

The stereotype that Gen Z and Millennials are attached to their phones is borne out by our research 鈥� 66% of Gen Z and 58% of Millennials admit to staring at their phones while cooking, and 81% of Gen Z and 60% of Millennials admit to scrolling during mealtimes.

Both Gen Z (71%) and Millennials (67%) report that they have dined in the company of someone who ignored 鈥� or 鈥減hubbed鈥� 鈥� them in favor of their phone, while about one-quarter (25% of Gen Z and 23% of Millennials) admit that they themselves have 鈥減hubbed鈥� someone to check their phone while dining.

The phone also serves as a kitchen companion. 42% of Gen Z and 51% of Millennials have spilled ingredients on their phones while cooking, and 71% of Gen Z and 67% of Millennials use the devices to watch cooking videos.

Gen Z and Millennials rely on different sites to learn new cooking techniques and uncover new recipes. 56% of Gen Z use TikTok for cooking support compared to only 29% of Millennials, who are more likely to be found browsing YouTube for new dishes (66%).

Despite their gravitation toward social media-based learning hubs, Gen Z is less likely to post cooking-related content on social media, with only 18% saying they鈥檝e done so compared to 25% of Millennials. Among those who do post about food, 23% of Gen Z and 20% of Millennials say a dish has gotten cold while trying to capture the perfect shot.

Regardless of posting habits, the majority of both groups gravitate toward food that is visually appealing 鈥� 70% of Gen Z and 65% of Millennials have ordered food purely based on its looks.

The stovetop reigns supreme among kitchen appliances 鈥� 67% of both Gen Z and Millennials report stovetop cooking compared to the oven (14% and 18%, respectively) and the microwave (6% and 4%, respectively).

The majority of Gen Z (86%) and Millennials (82%) report owning a kitchen or dining table, but you might not find them dining there. 26% of Gen Z and 30% of Millennials confess that they regularly eat dinner on the couch.

Gen Z and Millennials: Outdoor Grilling

Both generations enjoy cooking outdoors, with 41% of Gen Z and 58% of Millennials owning a grill, and the recipes they try there are varied. One-fifth of Gen Z have tried grilling pizza vs. one-quarter of Millennials.

Whether they鈥檙e in the kitchen, at a restaurant, or grilling outdoors, Gen Z and Millennials each have their own cooking quirks. But the next time you鈥檙e feeling like your cooking skills are lackluster, just remember that it鈥檚 a skill that takes years to master. And when in doubt, a pizza is always a good backup plan. To find a Home Run Inn frozen pizza retailer in your area, click here.

Methodology

In July 2023, we conducted a nationwide survey of 1,000 Gen Z and 1,000 Millennial respondents. The average age of Gen Z respondents was 23 and the average age of Millennial respondents was 34. Respondents were asked about their cooking and eating habits as well as how often they cook at home and their weekly food budget.

Total respondents: 2,000

Margin of error: +/- 3%

Country: United States (USA)

Region: All Regions

Gender: All Genders

Age of respondents: 18-26 (Gen Z); 27-42 (Millennials)

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Brackets have been filled out and fans are eager to see how their hand-picked predictions will pan out and whether their top pick will go all the way and bring home the trophy.

But just how big is the appetite for this year鈥檚 college basketball tournament?

In order to get a better understanding, we surveyed college basketball fans across the country to ask them all about their viewing habits, favorite teams, go-to snacks, and pizza preferences during the tournament. And let鈥檚 face it, no watch party would be complete without plenty of pizza to go around.

Tournament Viewing Habits

According to respondents, fans plan to watch an average of 9.6 games during this year鈥檚 tournament. Considering the average game is slightly over two hours, that鈥檚 more than 20 hours of time spent watching college basketball. Throughout the tournament, 67 games will be played.

Top 12 Most Die-Hard College Basketball Tournament Fan Bases

Which fan bases will be watching the most? According to respondents, University of Michigan fans can claim the moniker for 鈥渕ost die-hard fans.鈥� Wolverine fans plan to watch an average of 13.1 games. Even if they aren鈥檛 part of the biggest postseason event, you can bet fans will be following their every move. Not far behind, Indiana, Michigan State, and Kansas fans all plan to watch at least 11 games!

Favorite Foods to Eat While Watching College Basketball Tournament Games

With so many games to watch, how do fans plan to fuel their appetite?

According to our survey, fans say they expect to spend an average of $82.70 throughout the tournament on food and drinks. The No. 1 go-to food for this year鈥檚 tournament is none other than pizza. Overall, 71% of fans said they鈥檒l be craving pizza the most, and they plan to spend an average of $41.33 on pizza while watching the tournament.

Top 12 Biggest Pizza Lovers

Which fans will be ordering pizza the most? Michigan State fans take the top spot as they plan to order an average of 3.4 pizzas throughout the tournament. Rounding out the top five biggest pizza lovers are LSU, Georgia Tech, Texas, and Oregon. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/K74m2/2/

Among all respondents, cheese ranked as the No. 1 favorite topping while anchovies were voted the most controversial.

Top 12 Biggest Drinkers

Pizza and alcoholic drinks go hand in hand during a watch party, which is why we also asked fans over the age of 21 how much they plan to drink while watching a game. On average, fans said they plan to consume about 2.8 alcoholic drinks during a game. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/czGn4/2/

College Basketball Tournament Party Fouls

There鈥檚 a fine line between keeping your cool during a watch party and committing a party foul. However, quite a few fans have crossed that line, according to respondents.

Overall, nearly 3 in 10 (28%) admit that they have 鈥渄ouble-dipped鈥� their food during a tournament watch party and nearly one-quarter (24%) have been hungover after watching a game.

Speaking of being hungover, the majority of fans (55%) said drinking too much during a watch party is the worst behavior, followed by talking throughout the game (37%).

College Basketball vs. Work

With so many tournament games to watch, fans are bound to sneak in time to catch up on the scores during work.

Among full-time workers, more than half (52%) plan to either watch tournament games or follow scores while they鈥檙e working. Remote workers were most likely to say they鈥檒l be following along at work.

Overall, fans say they plan to consume an average of 56.8 minutes of tournament content per workday.

Considering fans plan to consume nearly an hour of college basketball during their workday, bosses and managers might want to keep a watchful eye on employees while the tournament is on. Of course, there鈥檚 a good chance bosses and managers might be glued to the games as well! https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/9sYwK/3/

Methodology:

We conducted a survey with a nationally representative sample based on U.S. Census Bureau data. Respondents were asked about their viewing habits as well as food and drink consumption during college basketball tournament season.

Total respondents: 1,002

Margin of error: +/- 3.1%

Country: United States (USA)

Region: All Regions

Gender: All Genders

Gender balancing: Census

Age of respondents: 18鈥�99+

Age balancing: Basic Census

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Are you the type of person who has to religiously read online reviews before you set food into a restaurant? It turns out you鈥檙e not alone. Millions of people flock to review sites like Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and even social media sites like Facebook to see if a new restaurant is worth trying, what their best dishes are, or whether or not you should avoid it like the plague.

Research shows that the average person reads about seven reviews before making their decision to visit a business or not. But are all reviews and review sites created equal? What鈥檚 really behind the ratings and reviews that we rely on for information about all of the new restaurants and bars?

In order to better understand the rankings and platforms used to publish them, we used Eater.com鈥檚 鈥�38 Essential鈥� lists and analyzed 4,000 data points across Google, Yelp, Facebook and TripAdvisor. Let鈥檚 take a look at what we found out about restaurant ratings鈥攁nd which places in the world are the most opinionated.

Overall Rankings

Out of the review sites that we looked at鈥擥oogle, Yelp, Facebook and TripAdvisor鈥攚e noticed some telling patterns among them. The site with the highest ratings overall was social media giant, Facebook. Interestingly, the site with both the highest number of reviews and the lowest ratings was Yelp, which could mean that the majority of online reviewers are fairly critical. Finally, the site we found with the lowest number of reviews is TripAdvisor.

The Most Critical Restaurant Goers in the World

We all have that one friend who never seems to be impressed with any restaurant, but are there whole cities filled with these types? We looked at the average ratings across Google, Yelp, Facebook and TripAdvisor to get a sense of which 25 cities around the world were the most critical of their local restaurants online.

It turns out that the worst rated restaurants across all the platforms are in Austin, Texas, followed by Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York City, New Orleans, Montreal, London, and Dallas. Following these top 10 most critical cities are Chicago, Nashville, the Twin Cities, Paris, Atlanta, Miami, Portland, Las Vegas, Detroit, and Philadelphia.

And which cities in the world have the best-rated restaurants? According to our data, the best-rated restaurants were all in Charleston, Denver, Boston, San Diego, and Seattle.

We also wanted to look at which cities were the most opinionated. In order to determine this, we examined the average number of reviews across Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor. The most opinionated city according to our data is Chicago, who had the most reviewed restaurants out of all the cities in the world. New York took the no. 2 spot, followed by San Francisco, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Diego, Nashville, and Houston came in at no. 10.

Just short of the top 10鈥攂ut still plenty opinionated鈥攚ere Portland, Austin, Miami, Charleston, Atlanta, Detroit, the Twin Cities, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Boston.

So, which cities had the least number of reviewed restaurants? The city with the least reviewed restaurants was, surprisingly, London, followed by Paris, Denver, Seattle, and Montreal.

Breaking it Down by Review Platform

In order to get an even better understanding of ratings and reviews, we wanted to look at the data by review platform to see if this changed any of the results that we found overall.

We took a look at the highest ratings, lowest ratings, highest number of reviews, and the lowest number of reviews for Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor鈥攁nd we found some pretty interesting patterns.

On Google, the three cities with the highest rated restaurants were Philadelphia, Seattle, and Charleston (which was fairly consistent with our overall findings). The three cities with the lowest rated restaurants on Google were Paris, London, and Montreal. Coincidentally, London and Paris also accounted for the cities with the lowest number of reviews on Google (in addition to Denver). The cities with the highest number of reviews on Google were Chicago, New York, and San Francisco鈥攙ery consistent with our overall data.

On Yelp, however, we found almost entirely different results. The cities with the highest rated restaurants were Charleston, Paris, and Nashville. We also found that Paris was one of the cities on Yelp with the lowest number of reviews, along with London and Montreal. Interestingly enough, we found that there were some parallels drawn between the cities with the lowest rated restaurants and the highest number of reviews on Yelp. Los Angeles was one of Yelp鈥檚 cities with the lowest rated restaurants but it also had the highest number of reviews. San Francisco also had the no. 2 spot for cities with the lowest rated restaurants and claimed the no. 3 spot for the highest number of reviews on Yelp. We also found that New York was listed in the cities with the lowest rated restaurants and Chicago took the no. 1 spot for the highest number of reviews, keeping consistent with our overall data.

Facebook also yielded some different results from Yelp and Google. The cities with the highest rated restaurants were Denver, Paris, and Seattle鈥攕imilar to our overall best-rated restaurants list. The cities with the lowest rated restaurants were Washington D.C., Portland, and San Francisco. The cities with the highest number of reviews on Facebook were Chicago, San Francisco, and New Orleans, which all came fairly close to the overall data. And the cities with the lowest number of reviews were London New York, and Paris. This is certainly an interesting find, as New York has the highest number of reviews on Google.

Finally, TripAdvisor also had completely different data outcomes. The cities with the highest rated restaurants on this review site were Charleston, Boston, and Detroit鈥攚hich at least had Charleston in common with Yelp and Google. The cities with the lowest rated restaurants were London, Montreal, and Washington D.C., producing similar low rated restaurant results to Google. On TripAdvisor, the cities with the highest number of reviews were New York, New Orleans, and Las Vegas鈥攚hich all came in on the top five on our overall data. The cities with the lowest number of reviews on TripAdvisor were Denver, Detroit, and Seattle, which might explain why Detroit cracked the top three for highest ratings.

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There鈥檚 just something really wonderful about summer. Winter may have the holiday season, fall may have its magical falling leaves, and spring has its much-welcomed warmth, but the summer season has more than just a few things that make it special like vacations, hours of leisure for kids out of school, and grilling out in the backyard.

To celebrate summer and all of its fun, we took a look at Google trends data to find out what the most searched for summer obsessions were around the country.

Let鈥檚 take a dive into all of the data we found. (click image to expand view)

Every region celebrates the summer a little differently, and when we looked at the Google trends data for the most searched summer obsessions by state, we found some interesting patterns and even a few clich茅s.

Campsites were the top summer obsession search in Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado (not surprising considering all of the beautiful terrain and national parks). As for Utah, Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, and Ohio, it鈥檚 all about relaxing in the great outdoors: Their top summer searches were for hammocks. But in Tennessee, New Mexico, Hawaii, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey, they all have fresh fruits and veggies on the brain with 鈥渇armers market鈥� as their top summer keyword search.

For many of us, summer is all about getting outside and enjoying the most of the weather before winter comes once again, which means participating in plenty of summer outdoor activities.

Californians are certainly no stranger to outdoor activities and they most commonly searched for 鈥渟kateboard鈥� (along with their neighbor Nevada). In Vermont and Alaska, 鈥渂ike rental鈥� was the most commonly searched summer obsession, and Louisianans apparently can鈥檛 wait to head out on the water in their boat, which was their most commonly searched summer term. In Oklahoma and Alabama, the top summer searches were for softball, which is most likely because they have two of the top women鈥檚 softball teams in the country (who have gone head to head a time or two in the national championship). Interestingly, only Arizona had a top search for 鈥減ublic pool鈥� (perhaps because their average high in July is 106), and Maryland was the lone state that had a top search for amusement park. South Dakota was also a bit of a loner in their summer search, with the only state to have a top search for 鈥渃ounty fair.鈥�

And with the summer season comes summer food and drink, which means lots of grilling and drinking a cold beverage out on the porch, patio, or by the pool.

In much of the Northeast鈥擭ew Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island鈥攊t鈥檚 all about their favorite regional summer treat: the lobster roll, which was the most Googled summer obsession. In Nebraska and Wisconsin, their top summer searches were for 鈥淢oscow Mule鈥� and in New York and Illinois, the top searches were for where they could find a good rooftop bar (most likely to escape that city heat). Just one state鈥擬ississippi鈥攕earched most for popsicle, and only Florida had grill as their top summer search. North Dakota was also an outlier, with the only state to have a top search for corn on the cob.

For the rest of the country, it was all about keeping cool however they could. In Oregon, Montana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the top summer searches were for 鈥渁ir conditioner.鈥� Meanwhile in Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and South Carolina, they want to keep cool on the porch with a nice breeze on their porch swings. In Iowa, their idea of keeping cool in the summer is apparently having a nice sprinkler to run through, which was their top summer search. And in Texas, it鈥檚 more about keeping your drink cold rather than yourself: Their top summer search was for the word 鈥渒oozie.鈥�

The Top 10 Most Googled Summer Obsessions in the Country

Now that we know what was trending regionally and by state, let鈥檚 take a look at what the top summer obsession searches were nationally. Coming in at the very top was (unsurprisingly) the word burger, followed by trampoline, farmers market, skateboard, air conditioner, grill, hammock, watermelon, popsicle, and flip flops. All of these summer pastimes are great by themselves, but put them all together and you鈥檇 have yourself the perfect summer day.

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We know what you鈥檙e thinking: If popping a frozen pizza in the oven comes out perfect every time, why mess with it? We get that point of view, practical one, but what about on those summer nights when you鈥檙e longing to spend as much time as possible outside? Maybe your kids are playing ball in the backyard, or you鈥檝e got a few friends gathered around on your deck. The last place you want to be is next to a hot oven waiting for the pizza timer to go off.

Those summer evenings basically beg you to fire up the grill and cook al fresco so you can soak up every last ounce of the day. Burgers or hot dogs are an obvious menu choice, but by the seventeenth burger of summer in just as many days, things can get a little stale. So we present to you a novel idea to help you get unstuck from your grilling routine: Home Run Inn pizza on the grill. (Yes, we went there.)

Simply slide the frozen pizza directly onto the grates of a preheated gas grill that鈥檚 set to medium-low heat. Or, for indirect heat to prevent burning on the bottom of the pizza crust, light the outside burners to medium and leave the middle ones off.

After six to 16 minutes of cooking with the grill closed (check out this post for details on exactly how long based on your pizza of choice), turn the 鈥榸a about 90 degrees. Close the grill cover, and continue cooking for another six to 16 minutes (again, consult that post for specific timing instructions).

If you keep your grill in pristine condition and are worried about shreds of cheese falling into the middle, you can use a ceramic pizza stone as a buffer between the grates and the dough. Just make sure you set the stone in the grill during the preheating process so it鈥檚 super hot by the time you slide the pizza onto it.

Use a food thermometer to test the pizza鈥檚 temp to know when it鈥檚 done. Once you see 160 degrees Fahrenheit, you鈥檙e golden. Slide the pizza off the grill using a spatula (or two) and serve it up to your friends, who will now likely be entering you into grilling competitions behind your back.

Full disclosure: Your first run might not be so pretty. Grilling pizza involves a little trial and error since every grill heats up a bit differently. But we promise you it鈥檒l be the tastiest of experiments, and you鈥檒l come to see grill marks on a pizza as a badge of honor.

The post How to: Master the Grilled Pizza appeared first on 老司机app.

The Patriots will battle the Eagles. Justin Timberlake will rock half-time and now you are just left to figure out the most important part of the evening 鈥� the food! Here at 老司机app, we love pizza, of course, but we also love our favorite tastes from the Big Game. So we combined some of them below for the ultimate Super Bowl pizzas. Make them for your party and let us know what you think!

BUFFALO WING PIZZA

There are many ways to do this one depending on your spice tolerance as long as you get in the key flavors 鈥� chicken, buffalo sauce and blue cheese. If you are making your pizza from scratch, you鈥檒l want to mix the red sauce with some buffalo sauce (we recommend Frank鈥檚 Red Hot) as the base and then top with mozzarella, blue cheese, chopped up cooked chicken and minced celery. Need to save time? Use one of our frozen Home Run Inn cheese pizzas and sprinkle on some blue cheese. Toss the chicken in buffalo sauce before you put it on the pizza and bake. Once done, sprinkle minced celery and for spice lovers, an extra drizzle of buffalo sauce across the pizza. Serve with blue cheese dressing or ranch for dunking.  You can also check out this great recipe as well.

PHILLY CHEESE STEAK PIZZA 

Since the Eagles made the Super Bowl it鈥檚 only appropriate to pay homage to their home city 鈥� Philadelphia. What better way to do that then with a Philly Cheesesteak pizza. Here at Home Run Inn we start with our ultra thin Veggie Lovers pizza because it鈥檚 already loaded with fire roasted peppers and onions (If you want to be completely authentic and ditch the red peppers, feel free to start off with a cheese only base). Add either American or provolone cheese to the pizza before you cook it and feel free to add more saut茅ed onions or peppers if you wish. Top with sliced beef (skirt steak or thinly sliced rib eye work best) and bake following the instructions of the pizza.

WALKING TACO PIZZA

We looked to our walking taco party pizza for some inspiration for this one. First gather all of your favorite nacho toppings 鈥� pickled jalapenos, sour cream, guacamole, refried beans, etc. Take one of Home Run Inn鈥檚 thin cheese pizza and use that as your canvas. Feel free to bake the pizza as is or add a bit of queso or pepper jack cheese. You can even top with nacho-spiced ground beef.  Once baked, add all of your favorite toppings including nacho chips which you can crumble right one top. Dig in.

SEAFOOD PIZZA 

If we are going to show some love to Philly then we must show some love to New England as well. Yes, we know not everyone is a fan of Tom Brady and his eight visit to the Super Bowl, but the food in New England everyone could agree to love. Although New Haven has its own style pizza, you can still make your own New England inspired pies. Seafood is key! A popular variation is a white clam pizza. You can use Home Run Inn鈥檚 cheese pizza base (or make your own without sauce) and top with shucked little neck clams, garlic, Pecorino Romano, and oregano, similar to this .  We鈥檝e developed a 鈥淪urfs Up鈥� pizza full of shrimp and crab (go ahead and add some lobster) that is sure to give you your seafood fix as well.

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