Pie in the face

Aresearcher in Chicago claims that contrary to its claims of fame, Lombardi’s is not, in fact, the first pizzeria in America.

Peter Regas looked through turnof-the-20th-century newspapers and business directories and found that it wasn’t Gennaro Lombardi who opened that Spring St. restaurant and started serving cheesy pies in 1905, as legend has it, but two other men in 1904. Lombardi didn’t take over until 1908, in a brief initial stint, and then for good a decade later.

Not only that, but pizza places were in business in New York City as far back as 1895.

But take all this pizza revisionism with a grain of salt and a pinch of hot pepper. Regas, as we said at the beginning, is from Chicago.