Slicin' Up Your Daily Meal

No matter how you slice it, when it comes to pizza – you can’t go wrong. Square or round, thick or thin, cheesy or cheese-free, this culinary masterpiece simply can’t be topped (unless we’re talking pepperoni & olives). 

So today, we’ve got to hand it to our friends at The Daily Meal. These guys scoured the country in search of America’s best pies, and with over 800 pizzerias to taste-test (seriously, how do we get that job?), boy did they have their work cut out. 

The star-studded roster of pizza experts has compiled their favorites, and the votes are in: feast your eyes – and your taste buds – on the 101 Best Pizzas in America 2015. Care to take a bite?

Naturally, we rounded up a few of our favorites – all of which happen to be proud users of the GreenBox. Celebrities by association? We think so, and we couldn’t be more excited for these guys. Power to the pizza ☺

Pizza Moto
Pick of the Pie: Margherita (Tomato, fresh cow’s milk mozzarella, basil, pecorino and olive oil)

Best known for their bubbly, char-kissed Neapolitan style pies, Moto’s mobile oven is a city standout. Hand-built by their team of designers and artisans, Moto “rolls” with a one-of-a-kind crew, serving olive oil-drizzled and mozzarella-dotted wood-fired perfection that’s sure to satisfy. 

Emily Pizza

Pick of the Pie: The Classic (Tomato sauce made with puréed Jersey tomatoes, mozzarella and basil)

Tucked away in the corner of Brooklyn’s cozy Clinton Hill neighborhood, owners Matt & Emily fell in love over pizza...and they haven’t looked back since. A welcoming spot that feels like home, Emily’s artisan-style pies (and top-notch burgers) are worth crossing the bridge for. 

Pi Pizzeria

Pick of the Pie: The Delmar (Deep-dish with mozzarella, cheddar, barbecue sauce, chicken, red and green peppers, red onion and fresh cilantro)

“There’s more than meets the Pi” at this St. Louis staple, where their signature deep-dish isn’t complete without a side of spicy pickles and a prime craft beer. Pi is a presidential favorite, with Mr. Obama himself declaring their pizza the “best he’s ever had.” 

From Pi’s sustainable practices to their commitment to the community, these guys know how to do good by doing well – and we love ‘em for it.  

Grimaldi’s

Pick of the Pie: Pepperoni

Not officially GreenBox users – yet!, but we couldn’t help but give this classic NYC pizzeria (and GreenBox team favorite) a shout-out. They’ve been feelin’ much-deserved love lately, with Yahoo.com comparing their authenticity to the beloved Jon Stewart (who we miss terribly, but that’s a whole other blog topic). The Daily Meal calls Grimaldi’s one of Brooklyn’s “most storied pizzerias,” and with pie like that, there’s no doubt as to why.

Build Good Pizza and They Will Come

Build good pizza and they will come… even the U.S. President.  Just ask Chris Sommers of Pi Pizzeria based in St. Louis Missouri.   That’s just what happened back in 2008, when Obama was passing through on his campaign trail.  The advance team had ordered carryout from Pi and when Obama tasted it he proclaimed it to be the best pizza he’d ever eaten. 

Obama talked so much about “that pizza in St. Louis,” in fact, that when he became President, his assistant, Reggie Love, called in May 2009 and invited the Pi team to the White House to “satiate their cravings” (in the words of Sommers).

Pi attributes the success of its pizza to the quality of its ingredients.  The restaurant’s thin crust dough is always vegan and their deep-dish crust pizza is vegan, on request.  Gluten-free crust made from rice flour tapioca flour, potato starch, egg whites, olive oil, vegetable oil and water is also on the menu as is vegan cheese and vegan meats.

Pi is also committed to creating ecologically sustainable, “environmentally benign” restaurants.  90% of the restaurant’s materials, including art, furniture and flooring, are reclaimed and only 25% of its waste goes to landfill.  And Pi was the first restaurant in St. Louis to adopt the 100% recycled multifunctional GreenBox pizza box.  Sommers involves his restaurant in Earth Day too, with a focus on developing a green restaurant division for the organization.

So what has Sommers been up to since 2008?  He opened a Pi restaurant in Washington, D.C., of course!  Not to mention three more stores in the St. Louis area as well as a couple of roaming pizza trucks.  He also did some catering recently for the President’s recent campaign fundraiser in the St. Louis area, a nice by-product of producing quality pizza.

So build good pizza and they will come… Oh, and don’t be afraid to create some hype about it.  Chris Sommers wasn’t, as evidenced by his multiple television appearances and press mentions… not to mention his 2008 launch of election win pizza, the Broccoli O'Bama.

The GreenBox Heads North with Ali Baba Pizza!!!

In the past few months, the GreenBox has been stampeding all over the United States and beyond. We've added customer after customer to the list of forward-thinking folks who recognize the GreenBox as a superior product and the new way forward in pizza packaging. Before I get to today's big news, allow me to briefly summarize our progress thus far.

The GreenBox family has seen tremendous growth in the past few months alone: Whole Foods Markets is adding the GreenBox to more and more stores as we speak...local chains Pi Pizzeria in St. Louis and the New York Pizza Department in Arizona have been added to the list of American chains using the GreenBox...Sigma Q (an absolute giant of manufacturing in Central America) represents the progress of the GreenBox around the globe...I could go on, but I've got news to deliver.

Drum roll please: Canadian chain Ali Baba Pizza is hopping on the GreenBox train, and we here at ECOvention couldn't happier. I'll let Ali Baba CEO Mark Murr do the talkin' for me:

“We travel all over the world looking for new ideas, and we are excited to introduce the GreenBox to our customers and to pioneer its use in British Columbia.”

We couldn't agree more, Mark - and we're thrilled to be part of Ali Baba's transition to the pizza box of the 21st Century. As the first Canadian chain to transition to the GreenBox, Ali Baba Pizza is blazing a trail amongst our friends to the North.

And check out that amazing box (see above)! The Ali Baba GreenBox is giving the Pi Pizzeria version a run for its money!

The New Pi Pizzeria GreenBox Is Turning Heads!

When's the last time you heard someone describe a pizza box as "sexy"? Unless you run with a very odd crowd, you've probably never heard that word applied to food packaging of any kind. But that's the only way to describe the GreenBox now being carried by the (decidedly sexy) Pi Pizzeria.

Take a gander at that box. Drink it in. Don't be surprised or disturbed if you start to feel...certain feelings. It's OK; we're all friends here. There's nothing wrong with being attracted to a pizza box - as long as it's the GreenBox, of course. (As for those hopelessly outdated standard pizza boxes, I wouldn't be caught dead with one of those - I have standards).

We gotta hand it to the folks at Pi Pizzeria; that GreenBox is just plain pretty. I wouldn't be surprised to see a group of St. Louis construction workers whistling and cat-calling as a Pi Pizzeria GreenBox breezes by them on the street. "Hey! Babe! Where ya goin'?? I just wanna talk to ya!"

Don't be embarassed; feel free to return again and again to check out that pic! And check out Pi Pizzera - the only pizza restaurant we've come across that has been personally touted by the President of the United States (also known as the Leader of the Free World). That's a heck of an endorsement...and that's a heck of a good-looking GreenBox.

Things are getting exciting, folks...