Ohio Valley and Altoona pizza styles

[Mark V]

New to me. Things like these have a reason for their existence. Has anyone had these? I bet the Ohio valley version prevents mouth burns! I am sure there must be more regional varieties I am not aware of, I would be interested if you know of any others that are out of the norm.

On a side note, the Walmarts by me no longer carry sliced mozzarella, which I use for deep dish pizzas. They only have Kraft individual wrapped mozzarella slices, which at least is labelled as processed cheese food. I will not use. They do have blocks of the real stuff, but I am lazy.

"Altoona Style Pizza is truly a local delicacy for many residents in the city of Altoona, PA. Originally created by the Altoona Hotel, the pizza is described as having a Sicilian crust, with marinara sauce, and topped with salami, green peppers, and the star of the show… slices of American cheese."

https://explorealtoona.com/how-to-make-altoona-style-pizza/

"An authentic Ohio Valley-style pizza comes out of the oven with a baked crust, tomato sauce, and a thin layer of melted cheese. Then a thicker mound of mozzarella gets piled on top of it so that you experience a hot and cold bite simultaneously."

https://pizzaneed.com/ohio-valley-style-pizza/

[Mosca]

I ate lots of Ohio Valley style pizza as a teenager in Pittsburgh, at Beto’s in South Park. That was almost 50 years ago, but I still remember it.

I dunno. Anymore everyone seems to be elevating regional variations as if they are something worth pursuing. It was cheap, and all the kids hung out at Beto’s because we could watch the movie at the drive in next door from the parking lot sitting on the hoods of our cars while trying to chat up the girls from other schools.

Was it good? Sure, in the same way the food was good at the drive in in American Graffiti.

Should everyone make it this way, instead of making it other ways? Hell no.

Is it worth traveling for? Absolutely not, unless you are a fan of odd junk food.

Is it edible even? Sure, you can eat lots of it, fast, and reach for a second piece. There’s nothing actually wrong with it, but there’s no reason to search it out, either.


Altoona style pizza, I haven’t tried, even though Altoona isn’t that far from us (about 3 hours). The only reason for us to go to Altoona is to see the AA Railriders, and if we’ve gone that far then we might as well drive 90 minutes more and see the Bucs at PNC Park, see Major League ball, and eat great food in Pittsburgh. But here in NEPA there is a place in Scranton, I don’t remember the name, that serves a pie like that: sweet sauce and American cheese. It’s called a Sweetie Pie. And it is TERRIBLE. People love it, and I think they are nuts.

[ssandy_561]

I’ve tried it on two separate occasions and Ohio Valley-Style pizza is something I do not enjoy. We live close to Steubenville and have had it DiCarlo’s.

Now I’ve never had Altoona Style and I will not. 😝

To me it’s just an open faced salami sandwich and not pizza.

[Zman23]

Growing up in SW PA, there were 2 local pizza shops, both Sicilian style, where we would always get extra unmelted. I still ask for extra unmelted when i get sicilian pizza. Never got any other toppings cold. I didn't know Ohio Valley Pizza was even a thing until later in life.

As for Altoona style, no thanks!

[Smoker_Boy]

I’ve tried it on two separate occasions and Ohio Valley-Style pizza is something I do not enjoy. We live close to Steubenville and have had it DiCarlo’s.

Now I’ve never had Altoona Style and I will not. 😝

To me it’s just an open faced salami sandwich and not pizza.

I've lived in Ohio for 65 years and had no idea we had our own pizza style.

[Steve R.]

Turns out there is actually something worse than "Louisville-style" pizza.

[Smoker_Boy]

That was good for a laugh!!