We’ve all heard of New York and Chicago style pizza, but we have our own style of pizza here in Maryland. As we discussed in our inaugural podcast back in 2014 due to our very own Mr. MoCo’s enthusiasm for this type of pizza, Maryland-style pizza is characterized by its rectangular shape, biscuity crust, sweet tomato sauce, and smoked provolone cheese.
While we use the term “Maryland Style Pizza,” it mainly pertains to areas in Maryland that are suburbs of Washington DC, with this style predominantly found in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. This pizza style tends to spark debate, as many people have strong opinions about its unique components– whether it’s the sauce, the crust, the cheese, or a combination of all three.
This all began when Ledo Pizza, called Ledo Restaurant, opened its first restaurant in 1955 in Adelphi, Maryland (Prince George’s County, pictured below). The circular pizza pans were relatively new when the first restaurant opened…so they went with the rectangular pans and ended up sticking with what was working.
Many of the most popular pizza spots in the area (Stained Glass Pub, Continental, Gentleman Jim’s, Pizza Oven, 4 Corners Pub, etc.) have carried on the rectangular pizza tradition that was inspired by Ledo Pizza and the first form of Gentleman Jim’s– the Cavalier Restaurant in D.C, which was owned by “Gentleman” Jim Hance after it moved to Twinbrook and became the first Gentleman Jim’s (Gentleman Jim’s traditionally uses Swiss, but can make your pizza with provolone or mozzarella too).
The original Ledo Restaurant closed in July 2010, but relocated a month later to downtown College Park (Knox Road). It recently closed and reopened as a Ledo Pizza restaurant. The Ledo Pizza chain has expanded to include over 100 restaurants in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida.