In September of 2020, the Daily Meal rated the Top 101 Pizzas in the United States, and six iconic Chicago pizzas won spots on the coveted list. So, what better way to celebrate the coming end of the school year than to have an outdoor, socially-distanced pizza party featuring the six Chicago pizzas that made the list? Forum staffers organized a taste-testing event, where the crust, cheese, and sauce of each pizza were judged by a panel of 10 avid pizza eaters, all self-proclaimed experts in the field, in Latin’s sophomore class.
The Daily Meal rated Pequod’s pizza as #2 in the U.S., with Piece Brewery and Pizza coming in at #10, Lou Malnati’s at #22, Forno Rosso Napoletana at #27, Vito and Nicks at #46, and Bonci at #82. But out of these delicious pizzas, which one did Latin students like the best?
Each pizza was served in a nameless pizza box to avoid biases toward familiar restaurants, and each taste-tester filled out a survey, ranking the crust, cheese, and sauce of each pizza on a scale from 1 to 5. The averages were then calculated to reveal Latin students’ favorite Chicago pizza.
All of the pizzas sampled were delivered and reheated for sampling, so they were equally disadvantaged in this regard. To make them comparable, all of the pizzas were plain cheese. However, some were deep dish, others were traditional, and a couple were in their own category (thin crust, focaccia/Sicilian style)—which made the test a bit like comparing apples and oranges (or pepperoni and sausage?). Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the reviewers all sampled the pizzas at the same time, sharing their comments with their fellow judges as they wrote their reviews. Although 10th graders are capable of thinking for themselves, a significant “herd mentality” effect may be at work here, and the results should be interpreted with that in mind.