Pittsburgh Square Pizza Tour – DiSalla’s
My dad works in Pittsburgh, PA and has been telling me that he wants to take me to his favorite pizza joint for a while now. This weekend, we finally got the chance to go for it! Our first stop was DiSalla’s in Munhall.
As we went into the shop I immediately felt right at home. Maybe it was the friendly people waiting for their pies or the Steelers paraphernalia I saw hanging around or the old world ambiance that was all around. The counter ran the entire length of the shop with a great looking deck oven in plain sight. It was hot and the place smelled delicious.
With a big smile on his face, my dad ordered 8 slices. It didn’t matter that there were only three of us, or that it was 8:00 PM, or even that we had at least two more pizza stops to make on our tour. The truth is, now that I’ve tasted the pie, I can understand. We got 4 sausage and mushroom and 4 pepperoni and mushroom.
I looked around while we waited and they had some great signs and posters on the walls. I snapped a few shots (with permission) and before I knew it our slices were up.
The pizza shops on our tour all served pizza in trays. I saw a stack of what appeared to be partially baked trays of dough which get topped and baked to completion when an order is placed. The slices are square and the toppings are placed on top of the cheese. I was delighted to see sliced sausage rather than balls of it. I knew from looking at it I was in for a treat.
The pizza was amazing. I think I can safely say that I’ve never tasted pizza like this. The sauce was sweet and the toppings were fresh. The dough had a light, crispy consistency but it wasn’t totally crunchy. It was far from the bread-like crust that you find in most New York style shops. It was love at first bite.
Needless to say, we devoured the slices as soon as we got to the car. Disalla’s square pie was worth the 3 hour trip to Pittsburgh in my humble opinion. It has inspired me to figure out how to bake this style of pizza and I promise you’ll see me trying that real soon.
Visit DiSalla’s Pizza Parlor
948 E 8th Ave
Homestead, PA 15120-2150
Phone: (412) 462-5070
Tell them Pizzamaniac sent ya!
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Mr. Pizzamaniac,
I need some help. Twenty two years ago I lived in Philadelphia for a couple of years and prior to that was raised in Pittsburgh. My all time favorite food was sicillian or square pizza primarily from Perry Pizza or Zangaro’s Pizza both on the North Side. Neither of these places still exist. What made these pizza’s great was the pans used to make them. Those pans were steel and black-seasoned…the best. As I am now in California (22 years) there is no such thing as square or sicillian pizza and I have been searching for more than 10 years. Please tell me that you know of a pizza maker from the pizza heaven of Pennsylvania that would be willing to sell me one or two of those famously used blackened square pizza pans so that I can create my own here at home. I would be eternally thankful to you and or your audience if you or they could supply me with a contact. My next step is to fly back there and steal a couple.
Thanks…Jim B flyball@hotmail.com
May 17th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I was born in Braddock, grew up in Swissvale and worked at for US Steel near Homestead. DiSalles Pizza in Munhall was a mainstay of our diet. I’ve since lived in NY, NJ, CAL, FL, MICH, WISC etc. and never found anything like this “Pittsburgh Pizza”. The square “Scicilian Pizza” I’ve had does not measure up. I would appreciate receiving the original recipe if anyone has it.
October 21st, 2007 at 7:33 pm
My wife is from Homeville in Munhall and I’ve had GiSalla’s pizza but frankly it didn’t come close to DiCarlo’s Original that I used to get on Rt. 51 in Overbrrok (Pittsburgh).
Who can forget Bill “Chilly Billy” Cardille’s Saturday night movies?
January 11th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
DiSalla’s Pizza in Munhall is the best! Great pizza & great price.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:45 am
if ANYONE knows where i can get the recipe for Disalla’s Pizza, the one on carson st. or Mt. oliver( there was one on warranton when i was a kid) i could die a happy man
August 19th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
why dont you call them. I grew up on it. I believe they used to sell unbaked pies for you to bake at home but thats a way back youd think by now theyd have it in grocers freezers.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
A couple of weeks ago I was having a craving and I took my children over there to have some of the best Pizza EVER and found that they have closed with no forwarding address. How sad is this economy to let one of the oldest businesses in the city close. I grew up on that pizza and recommended several people to go there and now there gone!!! what kind of world do we live in??!!
September 24th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I too was saddened when I found the Di’Salla’s on Carson had closed. I first went there with my grandmother decades ago. Does anyone know if they opened a place elsewhere or if the one in Homestead has the same pie?
October 18th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
They’re definitely still open! We bought a pizza there tonight after the game and it was awesome – incredible sauce. Wow!