Who has the best pizza in the Rockford area?

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) – A little more than a month ago, dozens of stateline residents revealed their favorite convenience store pizza .

Now it’s time to turn to the local Italian restaurant scene that has been delivering what has been called some of the best pizza in the country for many years.

But, what defines a signature Rockford pizza? Two longtime restauranteurs say it’s all in the ingredients.

“You have to treat your pizza like a baby, I guess,” said Frank Calvanese, owner of Deli Italia and the original owner of Little Italy that operated in downtown Rockford for many years. “Your dough, you gotta use quality cheese, premium cheese, good sauce, of course.”

Those ingredients, and everything else that creates the essence of a Rockford pizza, must be fresh.

“Fresh mushrooms, fresh green peppers, fresh onions, fresh garlic. Sausage. Homemade sausage,” said John Frisella, who’s been making pizza in Rockford at John’s Italian Restaurant since 1974.

“Not only are the ingredients, themselves, very important, how they’re used is crucial to making a true gourmet pie.

“We buy olive oil by the drum,” Calvanese said. “And that’s what we use. We don’t use vegetable oil. That’s really what makes that flavor come out of your fresh ingredients.”

Local residents say because the Rockford area has so many pizza places, there’s something for every taste.

“The perfect pizza would definitely be mushrooms, anchovies, spinach, tomatoes, of course, the meat-lover pizza,” said Savon Blosser, of Rockford, who prefers thin, bubbly crust.

Ike Eklund, of Rockford, goes with standard meats and cheese—lots of it—when he’s out with his family.

“There has to be pepperoni—maybe some sort of sausage on it,” Eklund, 12, said. “Stuffed crust with oozing cheese is probably the best crust. And on a side note, if your pizza falls apart, it doesn’t matter. Just eat it.”

Rockford’s love for pizza goes back decades. Frisella said he doesn’t know exactly how long, but he said there were only a handful of pizza places in Rockford when he opened at his original location near the corner of 11th Street and Harrison Avenue. Now, there are dozens, each influenced by a different region of Italy.

“A lot of people in Rockford make good pizza,” he said. “It’s not just us.”

The verdict: Eyewitness News asked dozens of stateline residents which area restaurant has the best pizza. It was close. But, the majority said Capri , which recently reopened in Loves Park after a fire shuttered their longtime Rockford location two years ago, was their overall favorite.

Here are the Top 10 pizza places in the Rockford area based on what viewers told Eyewitness News on social media, via email and on the street.

1. Capri Restaurant (Loves Park)
2. Lino’s (Rockford, Loves Park)
3. John’s Italian Restaurant (Rockford)
4. Nunzio’s Restaurant (Loves Park)
5. Vinny’s (Rockford) – Sam’s (Charles Street, Rockford), TIE
6. Gerry’s Pizza (Rockford)
7. Giuseppe’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant (Rockford)
8. Primo’s (Rockford) – Pietro’s (Roscoe), TIE
9. Anna’s Pizza (Rockford)
10. Deli Italia (Rockford)

Other Rockford-area pizza places receiving votes were Anna Maria’s (South Beloit), Schiro’s Restaurant & Lounge (Rockford), Salamone’s (Cherry Valley), Pino’s (Rockford), Napoli’s (Loves Park) and Marie’s Pizza in Freeport.

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