Americans have transformed the Italian pizza for decades: Chicagoans with a love of deep dish, New Yorkers with an affection for giant slices, Californians with a penchant for Asian and Hispanic toppings, and Evansvillians with an obsession with supermodel skinny thin crust thanks to longtime pizza staple, Turoni’s.
But imagine pizza dipped in mustard or topped with peanut butter. Now, try it. Here, we offer three pies from chefs thinking outside the pizza box.
Mustard Miracle
Rounders Pizza: 510 W. Mill Road, 812-424-4960; 12731 N. Green River Road, 812-867-7172.
The sauerkraut pizza, sans tomato sauce, comes piled with chunky sausages, tomatoes, and beef and slices of onions, pepperoni, and green peppers. Atop all of that is a smooth blend of cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. The sauerkraut makes it feel so wonderfully German, and the Bavarian is a big, beautiful pizza served with a condiment: spicy, brown mustard.
Peanut Butter Pleasure
Samuel’s Place: 518 S. Main St., New Harmony, Ind., 812-682-3001.
If you think peanut butter only belongs with jelly, bananas, or chocolate, you haven’t tried the peanut butter pizza at Samuel’s Place. Everything about this dish resembles a traditional cheese pizza, except for the thin layer of peanut butter atop the crust. The result admittedly isn’t for everyone, but the peanut butter adds a surprisingly mellow, sweet-yet-salty taste to the pie.
Bountiful Bleu
Greek’s Pizzeria: 240 S. Green River Road, 812-402-4733.
Any good chicken cordon bleu recipe demands a light dredging of the chicken through a seasoned flour, but place the recipe on pizza — like Greek’s Pizzeria did — to add more flavor. Topped with baked ham and grilled chicken, the assortment of cheese and a tomato cheese sauce makes for a different and worthwhile pizza.
