Review: Parry's Pizzeria and Market in American Canyon, California

A New York Style Pizza Restaurant in California? You Betcha

Locating authentic New York style pizza is always going to be a challenge outside of the Big Apple, but it is an even bigger challenge 2,000 miles away on the west coast. Thank goodness for places like Parry's Pizza, a family-owned pizzeria located in American Canyon, California. American Canyon is a relatively new town 30 minutes north of San Francisco and on the way to Napa Valley, but Parry's Pizza could very well put it on the map!

What makes Parry's Pizzeria so different from other run-of-the mill pizza parlors is that it just screams of authenticity and passion about their pies. One of the first signs on the counter instructs you not to get on the cell phone while ordering pizza. As serious as this was, Evelyn Tropeano (wife of Piero "Pete", owner) was more than friendly in taking our order and seating us.

The décor at Parry's Pizzeria is also homage to the Northeast Atlantic area of the United States and the Piero family's life interests. There are numerous model cars and figurines on shelves; pictures of a military relative on the counter; and then a great artistic rendition of Pete standing in the middle of characters from the Sopranos. Pete is from Danbury, Connecticut. But he also grew up in the Bronx. And he was born in Italy. If you ever met someone in real life that could fit in as an extra in the Sopranos world as a restaurant owner, it is Pete Tropeano.

When my family went to choose what kind of pizza we were going to have, we couldn't help but notice the extreme difference in pie sizes at Parry's. First off, you can get pizza by the slice. But slices at Parry's are big enough to be folded by two hands and required maybe half a day to eat. There were several other sizes, but the most impressive was the 32", 10 pound pizza known as "The Big Gun". Although tempting to purchase, the Big Gun is not for the squeamish.