Cheese pulls, regional styles, crazy crusts, dogs and cats, models eating pies, memes, and, of course, piles and piles of ‘roni cups — enter the world of the pizza ‘gram. As it’s done across America, pizza has colonized social media, and as with many of our other passions, it’s inspired a legion of accounts completely dedicated to it.
So what are the accounts you should be following?
We were curious, but we didn’t want to clutter the internet with just another list, so to discover the answer we set out with a methodology. We started by looking at 20 of the most followed and influential accounts focusing primarily on pizza. Well-known handles like @pizza and @pizzagram; pizza writers and authorities like Adam Kuban of Margot’s Pizza and Scott Weiner of Scott’s Pizza Tours; pizza publications (PMQ, Pizza Today, and, of course, Slice); and actual industry influentials — people like Paulie Giannone of Paulie Gee’s, Anthony Mangieri of Una Pizza Napoletana, international pizza consultant Anthony Falco, and Pizzeria Emily’s Matt Hyland were all used as launch points. Yes, we also included Stool President Dave Portnoy.
We then looked at who these accounts follow, the idea being that influential handles would be well-connected to and following other key pizza luminaries. All told, we gathered some 20,000 handles and used Tell, a proprietary influencer relationship management tool to sort for “pizza” and narrow our list to about 350 influential pizza accounts. From there, we eliminated accounts that haven’t posted in six months and added relevant handles that somehow hadn’t made the cut. All told, we ended up with 250 accounts to consider!
We narrowed those 250 accounts down to nearly 80 handles in the following categories: regional guides, news, memes, and pizza porn. And because of course, they inspired their own niches, we’re including categories for Neapolitan and New York City pizza ‘grammers. While we did include a sparse few pizzeria owners and pizzaiolos whose pizza ‘gramming goes far beyond their own businesses, you largely won’t find many professional pizza makers here. While we’d certainly be curious about the most influential pizzeria/pizzaiolo accounts, that’s a whole other story!
While this isn’t a ranked list, you don’t compile this kind of information and not learn a few interesting things number-wise. Of handles with more than 5,000 followers (outside of Dave Portnoy whose numbers aren’t available because his account is private), who would you imagine to have the highest engagement?
If you thought that because it’s the Internet there would have to be a cat involved you were right: @the_pizzacat‘s average engagement is 65.9% and each post gets more than 19,000 likes. Pizza content studio, @devour.pizza comes in second with an average engagement of 20%. Of the accounts we tracked, the Stool President had by far the most followers — some 1.3 million. That was followed by Fuck Jerry‘s pie account @pizza (631,822 followers) and @instapizza-lover (159,249 followers). Pizza, it won’t be news to you, is popular.
Are there other great pizza handles, micro and macro accounts, worth following that we haven’t included? Surely. As we said, we haven’t even tackled pizzerias, pizzaiolos, or the companies that provide them with their ingredients! Will you agree with everyone on this list about their takes on your favorite places? Doubtful! But you can consider this ground zero for following pizza obsessives. If you think we missed one, please comment (or reach out at pizza@best-pizza.nyc).
If, like us, your feed is already up to your neck in pizza, consider this list a great way to make sure you’re not missing out on some seriously cheesy handles.
REGIONAL PIZZA BEACONS
@50toppizza A panel-ranked list of the world’s best pizzerias by an Italian-based organization. #50toppizza
@Youngandfoodish Daniel Young is the “London-based leader in the pursuit of pizza, pastrami, and other food essentials.” He’s also the organizer of the London Pizza Festival and author of “@WhereToEatPizza, The Experts’ Guide to the Best Pizza Places in the World.” #LondonPizzaFestival
@Pittsburghpizza Laine Carey has been documenting the best pizzas in Pittsburgh since 2017. #PittsburghPizza
@sexyslices This anonymous pizza blogger (est. 2015) passes eternal judgment on Buffalo’s pizzerias so you don’t have to. #sexyslices
@njpizzagirls Milvian Prieto and Marissa Rosado are two self-described “Jersey girls” who document their pizza adventures in the state. #NJPizzaGirls
@chicagopizzasummit Celebrating the Chicago pizza community since 2016.
@sliceofsf A New York transplant on a mission to anonymously review every pizza place in the Bay and beyond. #sliceofsf
@nepapizzareview Jim Mirabelli posts his pizza adventures around Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) in a quest to find the ultimate pizza experience, Old Forge-style and beyond. #nepapizza
@themunchmobile Peter Genovese is the feature writer at The Newark Star-Ledger and author of ten books, including “Pizza City: The Ultimate Guide to New York’s Favorite Food”.
@utpizzalife Brandon Lemmon has been seeking out the best slices in Utah and Las Vegas since early 2018.
@idreamofpizza Since 2008, Jason Feirman has been reviewing pies for his site IDreamofPizza.com, which he calls the “web’s largest collection of reviews.” Organizer of the annual @nycpizzarun and host of the All Things Pizza podcast, Jason has been posting pies to Instagram since 2013.
@tasteofnewhaven Pizza tours in what some would argue is America’s pizza capital, New Haven, Connecticut.
@ct_pizza Veronica Webb has been eating through all the pizza shops in Connecticut one at a time since 2017.
@ctpizzatrail Occasional top-down pizza posts going back to 2015 that show off Connecticut’s best pies. #ctpizzatrail
@wheretoeatpizza The account for author Daniel Young’s guide to the world’s best pizza places, “Where to Eat Pizza.”
@kentuckypizza Dominating pies in and around the Commonwealth since 2016. #kentuckypizza #pizzacrew
@Buffalopizzablogger Since moving to Buffalo, New York from Rochester, Mandy Bly has made it her mission to blog all things pizza in the Nickel City.
@101bestpizzaplaces Husband-and-wife team Barbara and Eric Cheifet have made it their mission to hit each of the pizzerias featured on every year of The Daily Meal’s 101 Best Pizzas in America list going back to 2015. Wow. #101bestpizzasinamerica
@pizzagodatl Atlanta-based pizza reviewer Paul Mooney (no, not the comedian) who has been going beyond cheese pull porn and posting regularly since 2017.
@stlouispizzaquest Danette Adamovich’s Missouri-based account was created to seek out the most flavorful, freshest, best-tasting pizza in “the delicious world of pizza in St. Louis.” #stlouispizzaquest
@sliceoflosangeles An ongoing quest for L.A.’s best slice of pizza. #SliceOfLosAngeles
@pizzahounds Josh Burbridge sniffs out the Midwest’s best pizzerias with Ernie, his “world famous Chicago Pizza Hound” in tow.
@thephillyreview Mostly pizza and cheesesteaks. #thephillyreview
@districtpizza One anonymous reviewer’s exploration of D.C.’s slices, jumbo and beyond. #districtpizza
@pizzzadelphia “Looking for that GOAT pizza.” #pizzadelphia
@pizzaofpgh “Find aht what’s good and what’s not so good pizza arahnd the Pittsburgh area. No fancy food fluff pics. Just the facts n’at!” With a local accent from Michael Pruss that is.
@pizzabilly Philadelphia-based Billy Marchetti says he’s” just a dude in pursuit of the world’s best pizza.” But there’s nothing “just” about someone who flies for pies. #🍕billy
PIZZA NEWS
@pizzatoday The #1 trade publication for pizzeria owners and operators. Expect pizza porn but also social extensions of their articles.
@slice You know it, you love it (and if you don’t know it, get on it!). The app that helps you eat real pizza. Support local. #SupportLocalPizza
@pmqpizzamag The marketing experts of this (now) 10-time a year publication have been exploring the latest tips, tricks, and pizza trends for 20 years. Memes, trends, porn, pics, you name it on Instagram since 2013.
@topfoodnews.pizza This handle purports to report “top food news worldwide,” but you can mostly expect properly geo-tagged pizza porn that’s actually geo-tagged.
PIZZA MEMES & THEMES
@pizzaproposals “When we make pizza at home it’s my wife’s job to shred the cheese. She’s the gratist.” More memes in that vein going back to 2014. Because you can never run out of pizza memes.
@ihavethisthingwithpizza Ashley Fern’s handle shows that pizza’s female demo is being largely underserved most everywhere else.
@pizzatattoos Exactly what it says it is, and from Garfield to gore, as amazing, wondrous, and horrifying as you would imagine.
@the_pizzacat The self-described “Original Pizzacat.” More cat named pizza than actual pizza, and yet… you still can’t look away, can you? And didn’t you always think pizza would have made more sense for Garfield than lasagne? #pizzacat
@pizza.boxes.guy Scott Weiner may hold the Guinness world record for pizza boxes (1,471 boxes at last count), but this Milan, Italy-based ‘grammer is more than 800 posts into his own virtual campaign for cardboard greatness going back to 2016.
@devour.pizza “Livin’ that aggressive pizza lifestyle.” This is the pizza account curated by the New York City-based, food-driven content studio Devour Media. #DEVOURPOWER
PURE PIZZA PORN
@pizza The “Official Pizza Instagram” by @Fuckjerry is one of the Interwebs’ prime sharing ground for pizza pics. Use #DailyPizza for a feature.
@little.peps Brooklyn-based product designer Brian James founded @little.peps in 2017 because pepperoni photos on his personal Instagram account were the only posts that generated comments.“People said I should start an account just for that, and I thought it was the dumbest idea ever, but I did it sort of as a joke,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
@hotgirlseatingpizza Exactly what the handle promises. This self-described “tasteful platform by @marta [celebrates] cool girls & hot pizza” with pizza parties in New York City and Los Angeles, and unlike similarly themed other accounts is (mostly) SFW.
@pizzagram Scrolling through Tasting Table’s guide to all things pizza you have to wonder why it is that more food publications don’t have their own niche food accounts. Use #ttpizza for a chance to be featured.
@ronicups In search of the best cupping pepperoni. Pizza Loves Emily chef Matt Hyland may have started it jokingly in secret in 2016, but this all-’roni-cups-all-the-time account will shoot past 20,000 followers any day now if it hasn’t passed it already. “It’s that greasy twinkle sparkling in your picture.” #ronicups
@pizzavstacos “The greatest battle of all time… only one can win.” Tag #PizzavsTacos to get featured by the account’s curator Ben de Ayora. #Onlyonecanwin
@pizzaiconn They say brevity is the soul of wit and @pizzaiconn’s pithy intermittent captions have been coming wit’ plenty of cheese and ‘roni cups since early 2017.
@thepizzamonster1 Pizza pajamas, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes, and lots and lots of pizza. All pizzas featured on this account have been eaten by The Pizza Monster herself, Tara Lynn, going back to 2014.
@itsthepizzaslut Kaleigh Gardner says if a ‘slut’ is defined as ‘someone who gets around,’ well, yes, she’s flying around the country JUST for pizza.
@youmakepizza Memes, recipes, and giveaways, but mostly… pizza porn.
PIZZA GUIDES, EXPERTS, & CONNECTORS
@forzapizza Forza Pizza originally launched as a blog in 2015. Its founder Alberto DeCicco turned his site into “the social pizza network” in 2018, a place where you can share pizza in every way possible and compete at it! The accompanying Instagram account features pizza pictures, videos, recipes, swag, you name it…
@thezareport Miriam Weiskind is a professional pizza enthusiast, writer, and tour guide for Scott’s Pizza Tours (she’s also the five-time female champion of Jason Feirman’s New York City Pizza Run). Her mission is to educate, write about, and taste pizza all around New York City and beyond.
@akuban The OG pizza blogger, Adam Kuban is the founder of the much beloved, since defunct pizza blog Slice, and has been documenting New York City’s pizza scene since 2003. His bar pie pizza popups @Margotspizza are possibly the hardest tickets in town to score and his account features pizza tips, tricks, recipes, recommendations, and more. If you think you love pizza but you’re not following him, you don’t love pizza as much as you think you do.
@scottspizzatours Pizza historian, @PizzaToday columnist, pizza box book author, Guinness World Record holder, host of REALLY DOUGH on Amazon, and founder (obviously) of Scott’s Pizza Tours.
@chicagopizzatours Jonathan Porter is the owner of Chicago Pizza Tours, bus-driven and walking tours that have been delivering a dynamic Chicago pizza experience for a decade. #chipizzagram
@pizzacityusa The handle accompanying ABC 7 Chicago’s “Hungry Hound” food reporter and James Beard Award-winner Steve Dolinsky’s book “101 Reasons Why Chicago Is America’s Greatest Pizza Town,” podcast, and weekly guided pizza tours.
@sarahminnick_ Sarah Minnick is the “Queen of Pizza” at Lovely’s Fifty Fifty in Portland, Oregon. One of the country’s premier pizzaiolos whose use of seasonal ingredients contributes to setting the bar.
@pizzatherapy Hawaii-based author and pizza marketer Albert Grande believes in the principles he outlined in “The Pizza Therapy Pizza Book,” namely that you can find joy through pizza. His account features pies and many of the key people behind them in the pizza world.
@pizzaquesting Pizza Quest blogger and longtime author Peter Reinhart has been on a journey of self-discovery through pizza going back to its early days on the internet. His unending pizza quest continues here on Instagram.
@joe_rosenthal Opinionated, passionate, and unafraid to weigh into controversy, this pizza obsessive and Twin-Cities based professional mathematician is (with his wife) also the co-founder of Richard Eaglespoon, “an invitation-only culinary experience… existing only on the fringe of reality” that presents a “bizarre range of comfort foods through the lens of detail-driven nostalgia.”
@pizzablonde Monica Wojnilo, a Boston-based pizza ‘grammer and blogger calls herself, “Just a girl with an iPhone and a never-ending appetite for pizza, bagel bites, 00 flour, and everything in between.” That may be so, but she’s racked up more than 30,000 followers since launching her quest in 2013.
@mikepizzapie.essen1 Following Paulie Gee’s example, husband-and-wife team Hilda and Michael Klotz have launched a Kickstarter to open their own pizza restaurant adventure in San Francisco. Follow their journey as they try to take the final step and open a small pizza shop to share their pizzas with their community.
NEW YORK CITY PIZZA ‘GRAMMERS
@nycpizzagram This account, founded in 2013, tackles the New York City pizza scene, slice by slice. #nycpizzagram!
@jessanotherslice Yelp Elite member and Slice influencer Jess Einstein has been posting regularly for about a year, documenting her pizza adventures in New York City and beyond.
@dollarpizzaslicenyc This handle has been posting thorough, thoughtful reviews of $1.00 pizza slice locations in New York City since 2014.
@obsauced Mikey Rodriguez is a New York City-based pizza obsessive who has been posting about pies since 2012. Whoah! Be on the lookout though, he’s also that guy who snags all the corners from a slice pie (wink).
@nycbestpizza If your humble guide may be so bold as to suggest his own account: NYC Best Pizza uses Gotham as a base on a quest to eat all of the city’s most significant slices, but pizza adventures from the founder of The Daily Meal’s annual list of the 101 Best Pizzas in America range far and wide.
@pizza_nightmare Pizza Nightmare “hates pizza, loves pizza.” Sound like a complicated relationship? Sounds like hates bad pizza loves good pizza. The handle features short but detailed reviews around New York City and homemade pies.
@5boropizzachallenge “Five slices. Five boros. One day.” What started as an annual adventure between two slice-loving friends has grown into an annual challenge (and fundraiser for Transportation Alternatives), for die-hard pizza and urban enthusiasts. In addition to being the official handle for the event, it’s also a place to regularly read about pizza.
@31daysofpizza Every year since 2002, Sean Taylor celebrates National Pizza Month (October) by eating a slice of pizza every day of the month and blogging about it. He’s been at it on Instagram too since 2012.
@stoolpresidente Love him or hate him, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has changed the pizza reviewing landscape. “El Presidente” has created a cult following of people giving “one bite” pizza reviews by the common man, for the common man (and a free app, One Bite). He’s on a mission to eat at every one of New York City’s pizzerias. At last count, he’d managed more than 430. “Everyone knows the rules…”
@matthewshyland The chef/owner of @pizzalovesemily, @emmysquaredpizza, and @violeteastvillage also regularly posts about pizza-related adventures outside his own restaurants.
@millennium_falco Brooklyn-based International Pizza Consultant, former Roberta’s “Pizza Czar” Anthony Falco travels the country and the world fixing and kickstarting pizzerias. #millenniumfalco #pizzaconsultant
@pauliegee123 Paul Giannone, former IT professional, and founder of Paulie Gee’s pizzerias in Brooklyn, Columbus, Baltimore, and Chicago, turned his pizza dreams into reality with some of the most well-regarded pizzerias in the country. His account documents his passion and pizza travels in New York City and around the country.
@felixleader Felix Leader is a Queens, New York-based audio engineer with a passion for eating and making pizza (which he documents on @toasterovenpizza) that’s also led him to design his own line of pizza apparel.
@serhan_ayhan If you pizzagram, you know Serhan Ayhan, the most recognizable face of Queens’ own Boston Pizza. Serhan lives what he calls “the Batman/Bruce Wayne lifestyle”—senior analyst for a due diligence firm by day, Detroit pizza popup paesan monthly. His pizza adventures range far beyond his parents’ shop.
@lanceate Lance Roberts wrote Serious Eats’ Slice blog back in the day. He still eats as much pizza as he can and compiles his own lists on PizzaRecs.com of the best places to find it.
@brooklynpizzacrew & @shealynsharleen Williamsburg Pizza’s Nino Coniglio is everywhere and seemingly tireless. Follow him and his pizza-loving fiancée Shealyn Sharleen Brand (he proposed at Pizza Expo, of course) on their endless pizza adventures. #brooklynpizzacrew #slicinoutwithshea
NEAPOLITAN PIZZA
@pizza_napoletana_stg This account is mainly in Italian, but it features Neapolitan pizzas from around the world. #pizzanapoletanastg
@stories.of.pizza If you love big airy corniciones, you’re in the right place. While it occasionally veers off into other styles, f]or three years, Stories of Pizza has been posting and rating, mostly, Neapolitan pies.
@pizza.napoletana Pizza Napoletana Nel Mondo finds real Neapolitan Pizzerias around the world and posts them with geolocations but mostly otherwise without commentary.
@napolipizzaguide Ratings, prices, reviews… it’s almost enough motivation to learn how to read, if not speak, Italian.
— Arthur Bovino is a New York City-based pizza expert and contributor to The Sauce by Slice. He’s the founder of The Daily Meal’s annual list of the 101 Best Pizzas in America and author of “Buffalo Everything: A Guide to Eating in ‘The Nickel City’”. His writing has been featured in The New York Times, Bon Appétit, and Travel + Leisure among other publications. Follow him @nycbestpizza and thepizzacowboy.com.
Header Image by Ryan John Lee
Leave a Reply