We all know what pizza from New York and Chicago looks like, but in Maryland, we have our own pizza. Because of our very own Mr. MoCo’s passion for this kind of pizza, we covered it in our first podcast back in 2014. Maryland-style pizza is distinguished by its rectangular form, biscuity crust, sweet tomato sauce, and smoked provolone cheese.
The phrase “Maryland Style Pizza” refers mostly to Maryland neighborhoods that are suburbs of Washington, DC; Montgomery and Prince George’s counties are home to the majority of these restaurants. Since many individuals have strong opinions about its distinctive ingredients—whether it’s the sauce, the dough, the cheese, or a mix of all three—this pizza variety frequently provokes discussion.
All of this started in 1955 when Ledo Pizza, then known as Ledo Restaurant, opened its first location in Adelphi, Maryland (Prince George’s County, seen below). When the first restaurant debuted, the circular pizza pans were still relatively new, so they decided to stick with what was working and used the rectangular pans instead. In recent years, Ledo Pizza has adopted the moniker “Maryland Style” to refer to its pizza.
The rectangular pizza tradition, which was influenced by Ledo Pizza and the original Gentleman Jim’s restaurant in D.C., the Cavalier Restaurant, which was owned by Gentleman Jim Hance after it relocated to Twinbrook and became the first Gentleman Jim’s, has been continued by many of the most well-known pizza restaurants in the area, including Stained Glass Pub, Continental, Gentleman Jim’s, Pizza Oven, 4 Corners Pub, etc. Although Swiss cheese is the standard at Gentleman Jim’s, provolone or mozzarella can also be used to make your pizza.
After closing in July 2010, the original Ledo Restaurant moved to College Park (Knox Road) in the heart of the city a month later. It just reopened as a Ledo Pizza restaurant after closing. In Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida, the Ledo Pizza chain now boasts more than 100 locations.
