01x09 - Best in the Midwest

[bunniefuu]

Rolling.

And, Wells, coming to you

in three, two...

- Today we have
a Midwest mashup

of epic proportions.

- It'll be a lot of fun today,
guys.

- Hell yeah.
I'm looking forward to it.

Chicago, Cleveland,
and Detroit are in the house,

and they're here
for hometown glory.

Three devout
deep-dish pizza makers

enter the kitchen
to battle it out

over two rounds to prove

who's number one
in the Midwest.

- What do you guys think
about Chicago-style pizza?

- I think it's great
for tourists.

- Ooh!

They'll have to impress
the judges...

- Mmm, looks delicious.

And win over the voice
of the people,

a jury of Midwesterners.

So good.

Only one will walk away
with $10,000...

$10,000!

And the title
of Best in Dough.

Ohhh.

- What up, dough?

My name is Cliff Skighwalker,

and I'm
from Pontiac, Michigan.

Detroit-style pizza
is the best off top,

because you have
a crusty bottom,

the cheese baked
into the crust.

You get the airiness.

Every bite is amazing
with Detroit-style pizza.

- I'm Emmett Burke.
I'm from Chicago, Illinois.

Deep-dish pizza is baked
in a round pan

that's about 2 inches high.

You start with the dough,
layer it with cheese,

whatever toppings
you want to put on,

then the sauce goes on top.

I wouldn't call myself
a crusader,

but that's something
that I have a lot of pride in.

I'm a deep-dish purist.

- I'm Michael LaMarca.
I'm from Cleveland, Ohio.

Cleveland-style pizza,
it's a lot different than

any other deep-dish pizza
out there.

There's a heartier sauce,

heavier, deeper cheese,
breadier crust.

We put our toppings on
edge to edge.

Cleveland's here to represent.

I'm here to take home
the title "Best in Dough."

Today,
these three pizza pros

are laying it all on the line

to prove who's the best
in the Midwest.

I'm a lover
of all things carb,

Wells Adams.

Welcome to Best in Dough.

Guys, real deal.
Standby.

Rolling!

- Gentlemen, looking good.

- Okay, so let's get
right into it.

Our first of two challenges is

all about pushing you
outside of your comfort zone.

It's time for the
Out of the Box Challenge.

When you think of deep dish,

it's all about that thick,
delicious dough, right?

But that's gonna have to wait
for round two,

because for your
Out of the Box Challenge,

we want to see
you make pizza...

With no dough at all.

- I'm sorry, what'd you say?

- I think us three
should take him outside.

- I think we could take him.

- This wouldn't be
the first time I've been

on a show
where people wanted to k*ll me.

Let's dough!

Listen, I'm not expert,

but there are so many
dough alternatives these days.

You got cauliflower crust,

spaghetti squash crust.

There's even
ground chicken crust

which sounds gross,
but may be delicious.

I don't know.
The opportunities are endless.

This is going to be a true test
of your skills, guys.

Making a pizza

without flour-based dough

is something that I'm not
comfortable with at all.

- The winner of this challenge
will either take home a prize

or get an advantage
in the Final Dough Down.

And don't worry, you'll be able
to use your dough

in the second round, okay?

You have one hour to make

your stand-out no-dough pizzas.

Ready, set, dough.

Looking for peeled tomatoes.

Tomato paste...

Emmett,
what you looking for, man?

You know, I think--
I think I'm finding it.

We got everything stocked here.

- Start my sauce first,

just to make sure I don't run
into any hiccups.

I'm using sausage
as a base for my pizza,

and adding tomato sauce,
cheese, spinach,

artichoke hearts,
and Peppadew pepper.

It'll help offset
all that sausage.

We'll make that
a little thicker.

Cliff, what are you making,
man?

- I'm gonna do
a breakfast pizza.

- Breakfast?
- Yeah, man.

I'm making a breakfast pizza.

The crust will be potatoes.

And the toppings will be
eggs, cheese, and sausage.

And I'm gonna try to layer it

so that it still, you know,
has some pizza integrity.

- It's lunchtime.

- Man, breakfast is
good anytime.

What you talkin' 'bout?

- All right, you guys ready
to meet your judges?

- Yes.
- What's up?

- There they are.

- Hey, guys.

- Hi, Wells.
- Hi!

- How we doing?
- Good.

- Ciao, guys.

I'm very excited
for this today.

- Hell yeah.
- Nice to meet you, Chef.

- Look at my Midwestern folk.

You know,
I'm a Chicago gal, myself.

- Oh, it's you, huh, today.
- Yes.

Solid, corn-fed,
people of the earth.

- You tell me
I'm gonna go make

a pizza with no dough,
I'm sweating b*ll*ts.

- Yeah.
- Yes.

- I'm screaming.

I'm running
all over the place,

- praying God.
- Yes.

- I'm doing
everything I have to do

for a miracle.

- Emmett, what are you using
for your base?

- Sausage.

The ingredient I'm gonna use
for the crust

is spicy Italian sausage.

It can be an adhesive.

And it can also be
a nice buffer

between the cheese
and the sauce.

You're still gonna
have cheese.

You're still gonna have
a nice robust sauce.

And you're gonna have
sausage crusted pizza.

Bring it all together,
you know?

Hey, Michael!

What are you making, bud?

- I'm gonna make
a Detroit-style pizza.

- But hold on, Cliff,
aren't you the Detroit guy?

- Yeah, yeah, I am.
- He's making your style?

- I mean, who's the best style?

If he's doing a Detroit
in the first round,

I mean, that kind of gives you
some answers to that question.

- I'm expanding my horizons.

I feel you.

- Michael, have you ever done
this before?

- I actually have
a gluten allergy,

and Friday night at work,

I have to get creative
to find dinner.

- A pizza chef
with a gluten allergy.

And I love that.

You know what, Michael?

I love
that you haven't given up.

Keep doing pizza.
Kudos to you, brother.

- Thank you, Chef.

- One of the things
that fascinate me

when I came here,

the difference
in styles of pizza.

- Yeah.

- Feels like every state,
and even town,

have their only little style
of pizza.

In Italy we also do
different styles.

There's Roman-style,
Sicilian-style,

I guess sfincione,
Neapolitan-style.

- You're like the Bubba Gump
of pizza, dude.

- There's popcorn pizza,
fried pizza, Neapolitan pizza.

I started making pizza
because I love pizza

and was just tired
of paying for it.

And the pizza
that I was paying for,

I knew I could make better.

There's
a meticulousness to it,

breaking down cheese
and toppings and stuff.

Not to get too deep
or philosophical,

but there is that feeling
of working out

your inner problems
and your inner demons.

I love everything
about making pizza, man.

- Hey, Emmett.
- Yeah?

- You opened your first store
eight years ago?

- Yeah.
- What made you do it?

- Something I always wanted
to try.

I thought it would be fun,
you know?

Growing up
in the suburbs of Chicago,

I delivered pizzas.

I'm from a big family.

We had this huge
blue Suburban.

Car always smelled like pizza.

When I got to school
in New York,

I found out they didn't have
Chicago-style pizza.

And I thought that was crazy.

So now I own Emmett's Pizza
in New York City.

Either way,
we're making dough.

You got a bunch of stores,
right?

- Yeah, we just opened
our 13th and 14th store.

I started making pizzas

probably around the age
of 6 or 7.

I used to go to work
with my mother.

Our family bought
an existing pizza place

and built it
from the single store

to where we are today.

- Congrats on that.
- Thanks, man.

- Psh.

- You guys ever done
anything like this?

Oh, yeah.
I've done a whole bunch.

And I'm also on
the United States Pizza Team.

- Is that right?
- Yeah

I am the captain of
the Unites States Pizza Team.

We are pizza makers
that compete

at the World Pizza
Championships

in Parma, Italy every year,
so there's probably

about 800 competitors
every year.

The best of the best
of the world is there.

- What about you, man?

You ever done
any pizza competitions?

- Every night
at my restaurant, man,

I'm trying to be the best.
You know?

- Being in competition
with one chef

who has two very successful
pizza restaurants

in New York City,
and a guy who has

a pizza franchise
with 14 locations,

makes me a little bit nervous.

The cards are stacked
against me.

I make pizza for people
out of my home.

Every time I get somebody
to give me money

to make a pizza for them,

that's
my biggest accomplishment.

You know, I've definitely
put in the work

to be in the same room
as those guys.

The pressure's on.

And I need to execute
to the best of my ability.

So we'll see what happens.

- 25 minutes remaining.
25 minutes.

- Whoo!

- I just saw Michael put
a ton of sugar in his sauce.

And I don't know how good
that's gonna end up being.

I mean, I want
the acidity of the tomato

to shine through,
the freshness, right?

Yeah.

- All right.

What are you making
with the sour cream?

- That's gonna be
the sauce component.

- Okay.

- It's gonna be a little
mixture of the sour cream,

sriracha, lime juice,
that I'm just gonna add

on top of the eggy sausage.

- Nice.
- Oh, goodness.

- Hey, cooks,
you got ten minutes.

Ten minutes till plating.

Sticking a little in the pan,

but I'm gonna make it work.

- It looks like Michael's crust
is sticking to the pan.

You gotta have strong
forearms to get in there.

Look at him go!

It's a brand-new pan,

so it's just sticking to it.

My heart is pounding
through my chest.

It's, like,
a make-or-break moment.

Oh, my God,
is this gonna come together?

Is this gonna work?

I wanted
a crown of cheese on top,

but it's all stuck
to the side of the pan.

- I'm worried that--
that he's gonna get

out of the pan.

- You got it?
- Yeah, I'll be all right.

- Okay.

- Oh.
- Okay, it came out.

- Don't do that at home.

Gettin' there, guys.
Crunch time.

Yeah, Mike,
you called it, dog.

- Just be patient.
Chip away at it.

- Yeah, I'm gonna serve it
in the pan.

Emmett's pizza
just came out of the pan.

- Not looking good, uh-oh.
It's not holding together.

- I think he must
underestimated the challenge.

- One minute, guys!
- One minute!

- Cliff, what you putting
on top of your pizza?

- Just a little, like,
sour cream lime juice drizzle.

- Sour cream.
Now that's Midwest.

Five, four, three...

Two, one.

All right.

- Seeing all of the pizzas
together at once,

I'm pretty nervous.

And I'm hoping
I'm in a good position

to impress the judges.

- All right, guys, bring us
your dough-less pies.

- Oh.
- Ooh, look at this.

- Smells delicious.
- Yeah.

Okay.
All right, Emmett,

tell us what you made
for us.

- So that's
a sausage-crusted pan pizza

with sautéed broccoli
for a topping.

What did you use
to replace your dough?

Mainly sausage.

I put some egg
and some breadcrumb in it

just to help bind it,
but primarily hot sausage.

I love the spiciness
of the sausage.

- Mm-hmm.

I really like
the broccoli's crispiness.

Yeah, it's important
you get that crisp on it.

- You got a little bit
of a crispiness

on the sausage on the crust.

- I loved how this feels
like a pizza.

You can handle it.

Love the balance in the sauce.

Even got
a little tiny cheese pool

which made me very excited.

- Cliff, you're up next.

- Judges, what I have
for you today is

a Midwest breakfast pizza.

Ooh.

Potato and sausage with egg

to kind of bind
everything, cheese.

And then I garnished

with a sour cream-based sauce,

cilantro, and red onion.

A hardy,
and hopefully delicious,

start to your day.

- As a Midwesterner, this is
sticking to your gut,

sticking to your bones.

It's very hardy.

The cilantro is surprising,
the red onion.

That pop of freshness keeps it
from being a boring bite...

- Yes, nice and fluffy.
- You know?

- Yeah, I appreciate you.

- I would get very excited

if my mom wake me up
in the morning and say,

"Have breakfast,"

and I find this
as a breakfast.

I never had a hug
from a Midwestern,

but if I had one,
it would taste like this pizza.

- I mean, you could also have
one right here if you want.

I got you, man.
Come on, bring it in.

Bring it in.
My guy.

- Oh, yeah.
- Oh, yes.

It feels exactly
like your pizza.

Last but not least,

Michael, tell us
what you made for us.

- I made a Detroit-based pizza
with a sausage crust,

artichoke hearts,
and Peppadew peppers

laid on top
of a bed of spinach.

I wanted to be as close
to a pizza as possible.

So that's why I used
a sausage crust,

'cause sausage is
something familiar with pizza.

- Right.
- Michael, the sausage.

Very spicy, I like it.

It wakes me up.
It's making me sweat.

I call this Italian tears.

- Yeah.
- I love them.

I love the freshness
of the artichokes.

It makes me think
that I'm eating

something healthy,
but I have to say...

that sausage was thick.

It took away a little bit

from some
of the other ingredients

that I wanted to tasted.

And also I think

sauce was tiny,
tiny bit too sweet for me.

I thought
it was really great.

There's nothing more Midwest
than all this sausage.

Having all of these, like,
interesting veggies makes it

kind of a new Midwest.

There was sophistication there
with your veggie choices

that I thought
was really wonderful.

- Thank you.

- All right, guys.
It's the moment of truth.

Time find out who won
the Out of the Box Challenge.

Okay, Eunji,
our resident expert

of all things Midwest,
who is your favorite?

- My favorite pie was...

Cliff's.
- Thank you.

It was everything
you would want in a bite.

And you used potato,
which I loved.

It was the most delicious, man.

- Thank you so much.

- My vote goes to...

Emmett.

- All right.

- Great with the garlic,
loved the broccoli,

loved the freshness.

Basil was great.
It was delicious.

- I want to thank you guys

for bearing
with this challenge.

With no dough,
as a pizza chef,

I understand
how difficult that is.

But my vote goes to...

Cliff.

- Wow, wow.

I am a huge breakfast guy.

If I have something like this,
the sausage--

and I love the diversity.

I love the onions.

It remind me of something
that my family would do,

so congratulations,
good job.

- Oh, thank y'all,
seriously.

I'm--I'm very surprised.
Thank you so much.

- Cliff, you win
the first challenge,

which means you have
a big choice to make.

Prize or advantage
in the second round?

It's totally up to you.
So what's it gonna be?

- I appreciate
what these guys bring

to the table.

I want to compete with them
on the same level.

So I'm going with the prize.

- All right.
- Yay!

Well, it was
a good decision,

because you my friend just won

your very own, very fancy
Lavazza espresso machine.

- Like that big
pinky-out energy.

- Yes.
- I'm with it, come on.

- Congratulations, Cliff.

- Yay.

- Thank y'all so much, man.

Dope.
Very, very dope

- All right, boys, it's time
for the Final Dough Down.

The Midwest throwdown
is upon us.

- The rivalry
between Chicago-, Detroit-,

and Cleveland-style pies
runs deep.

And it's time
to settle the score.

- We want you to create
a deep-dish pizza that proves

who's best in the Midwest.

You only have
1 hour and 15 minutes.

One last thing.

Pizza isn't just
for fancy judges like us.

Six pizza-lovers are joining us
to taste your work

and help us judge.

We call them the jury.

City pride is
on the line here, guys.

$10,000 and the title
of Best in Dough

is going back to the Midwest.

But will it go to Detroit,
or Cleveland, or Chicago?

We'll see.

It's dough time, baby!
- Whoo!

Right now,
they are in their element.

I'm very excited.

I want to taste that dough.

I love a pillowy, fluffy dough

with a super crispy
undercarriage.

- Yeah.

Do we have garlic powder?

With Cleveland-style pizza,

we put our toppings on
edge to edge.

We use provolone,
and mozzarella, pepperoni.

And we put our sausage
on the pizza raw.

So it cooks in the oven,

and it adds to the flavor
of the pizza.

I'm gonna start forming
my dough.

Cleveland-style dough
is more of a bread recipe

than a pizza dough recipe.

We use live yeast,

but we put shortening
in our dough.

That makes it softer.

We put oil on the bottom,

and it sits in the oil
and gets crispy on the bottom.

Do you guys use
provolone cheese

on your pizzas ever or no?

- No, I--I like it,
but I just don't do it myself.

I didn't win round one.

Sure, I'm disappointed,

'cause I am captain of
the United States Pizza Team.

It says what I make is better
than what else is out there.

It's a big risk.

Going into round two,

this one's
for all the marbles.

It's on.
Let's--let's go.

- Round one, we--I got a vote
but didn't win.

So this round,
I'm here to win.

I'm making a classic
Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.

You start with the dough,
layer it with cheese,

jalapeño, pepperoni,

and then the sauce
goes on top.

The trick to making

Chicago-style pizza is--
is love and time.

You know, you gotta work
the dough a lot more.

It's a little bit thicker.

Takes a little bit more time
in the oven.

Chicago-style dough,
it's flaky,

and it's a lot airier
thank I think

people would imagine.

It really is best
in the Midwest.

- Emmett,
he's proofing his dough

on top of the deck.

It creates structure
into your crust.

And also, if you have
an under-proofed dough,

the dough might not have
that flaky texture.

It will result
very chewy crust.

- With the win in round one,
it's 0-0 now.

It's a brand-new game.

Have to come through and make

the best pizza
you possibly can.

I'm making a surf and turf
Detroit-style pizza

with garlic shrimp,
meatballs,

and a sweet and spicy
finishing sauce

that complements the pizza
really, really well.

One thing
about Detroit-style pizza

that I love is the history.

There was a surplus
of oil pans post w*r.

And, you know, it was like,

"What are we gonna do
with all these pans?"

And it's like,
"Let's cook out of them."

And it became
Detroit-style pizza.

Just like
a regular Friday night

at the pizzeria,

and you just gotta
handle your business.

Not to be on
some braggadocious,

but what makes
Detroit-style pizza the best

is the myriad of textures
you get with it.

You have the cheese
baked into the crust.

A crispy bottom, but the dough
is light and airy.

Every bite is amazing.

Boom.

- Eunji, what exactly is
deep-dish pizza?

- You have to think
about the dough and the crust

like a blanket.

And it's supposed to cover you

and protect you
against the cold.

I mean, it is
a special occasion food.

You gather
with your family and friends,

an you're celebrating,
you know, First Communion...

- Okay.
- Graduation...

- Okay.
- You know, parole.

- So you feed a large crowd
with a deep-dish pizza.

- Yeah.
- Hey, guys.

What--what do you guys think
about Chicago-style pizza?

- I think it's great
for tourists.

Ooh!

- Mike said deep dish
is for tourists.

You know,
at least Chicago gets tourists.

- You got 45 minutes!

- Might add a puree
to thicken that up.

- Michael also is making
his sauce from scratch again.

I hope that he's gonna
tone down the sweetness.

A very thin line
between sauce and ketchup.

- But ketchup's got,
like, a vinegary, like--

- You don't put ketchup
on your pizza.

- Yeah.
- No, just don't.

- It sometimes is good.

- You guys eat ketchup
with your pizza?

- I've done it with mustard.

- I've done it with--
- Mustard on a pizza?

- You--you gotta try it.

Oh, my God.

Hey, Emmett,
I see you're working

on your sauce right now.

Tell us about it.

- I like to use fresh garlic,

mix a few different tomatoes
in there,

just looking for, like,
the right consistency.

You know,
Chicago-style pizza's

typically, like,
a thicker sauce.

His sauce was
pretty damn good...

- Mm.
- The first round.

It's probably gonna be
one of best sauce

I ever had anywhere else.

Cliff.
- Yes, sir?

- What you doing
with your meatballs?

You're not making your own?

- I'm not making my own.
- Oh.

I mean, you got the time.

Are you sure about that?

- I mean, one hour--
I can cook a whole meal.

- Yeah.
- It's very easy.

- Not to mention
preservatives and nitrates

that are
in these pre-made things.

- We get it,
you're from California.

- You know what we call
nitrates in the Midwest?

Flavor.

Yeah, I bet.

- Hey, Michael!
- Yes?

Is that a margarine can
I see next to you there?

- Yes, it's a little secret
at the end.

- Oh.
- Sounds very Midwest to me.

You okay down there?

I'm okay.

Ready to get these pizzas
in the oven.

It's in the oven
for 30 minutes.

The concern that the pizzas
are not gonna be finished

in time is very real.

I'm going up against
pizzas that--that bake

in about 15 minutes.

And mine's
about 30, 35 minutes.

I've seen
some deep-dish pies

that have cheese,

and then the tomato sauce
on top of the cheese.

- That's the way
you're supposed to do it,

because it bakes for so long,
the cheese will burn

'cause it's in there
for such a long time.

- Trenta minuti left, guys.
Thirty minutes left.

- Cliff must have overheard

the type of pizza
that I used to eat as a kid,

'cause threw out some scrimps.

- Shrimp?

- That doesn't sound
very, uh, Midwestern.

- No.

All right, guys,
not to freak you out,

but the jury has arrived.

And they look hungry.

'Sup, y'all?

- Hopefully they're nice.

- Four votes total
determine the winner.

And these six strangers
account for one of them.

So you might want
to go butter 'em up.

Or margarine 'em up,
I don't know.

- I love a good combination
of wine and pizza.

- Yes.
- Keeps it classy.

Keeps it classy, you know?

- Aha, the jury.
- Hey!

Voice of the people.

Who likes deep dish?

- I love deep dish.
- I love pizza.

- In Chicago,
it's all about the cheese.

Like, if you're not
a cheese-lover,

- it's not gonna work out.

- Detroit, I feel like
it's more crunch.

And I think Chicago gets cold

a little bit faster
than Detroit, personally.

No, never!

- Michael, are you putting
the secret ingredient

on right now?

- No, no, no, sh, sh.

Michael, don't reveal
the secrets.

- I won't.

- Yeah, don't worry
about your secret.

This isn't
a nationally-televised TV show

or anything.

Oh, damn.
That's crazy.

- 30 seconds.

- Trenta secondi.

Trenta secondi.

- Cliff, what are you making,
man?

I'm just putting together

a little sweet and spicy sauce
to finish.

- Five...
- Four, three, two, one!

Give me the pie!

- Wow, all these look great.

- They turned out good, man.
- Yeah.

- My pizza came out
exactly how I wanted it to.

I could leave,
making sure

that Cleveland-style pizza
is introduced to everybody.

I just don't want
to get no votes.

- All right, pizza makers,

bring us your deep dish.

- Oh.
- Ooh.

- Okay.
- Okay, okay, okay.

- Oh, it is pizza time.

- That looks so good.

It smells even better.

Pass me your plate, love.

Cliff, we'll start with you.

Uh, tell us what you made.

- So, judges,
for today I have

a surf and turf
Detroit-style pizza.

- Ooh.
- Okay.

There's meatball,
and then shrimp as well.

You know, there's a rule
about fish and cheese,

but shrimp is just something
that I like to put on pizza.

It's a signature item
for the pizza I make back home.

So I wanted
to kind of bring that here.

- Oh, wow, that sauce.

- Sweet...
- Mm-hmm.

- Savory, spicy.

- There's
a sweet and spicy elixir there

kind of mixed
in with the sauce, but--

- That's the, um--
- The elixir.

- Sriracha honey thing?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

- Thank you, Cliff.

Now it's time
to taste Michael's pie.

- I made a very traditional
Cleveland-style pizza.

It has cup and char pepperoni,
sausage.

Sweet and a little spicy.

It should be a little crunchy
on the bottom,

little airy in the middle.

Sweet flavors
and some salty flavors

to balance it out.

That cup,
how cute it is.

- Mm-hmm.
- Uh-huh.

- Look how crunchy it is.

Like a little bowl of love.

Is this your most popular pie
at your restaurant?

One of our
most popular pizzas, yes.

- I can see why.

I'm just gonna eat
another cup.

- They're addictive, right?
- They're really good.

- Thank you Michael.
Emmett, tell us what you made.

This is
a pretty straightforward,

classic Chicago-style
deep-dish pizza

with, uh, pepperoni,
and I--and I put

a little bit
of jalapeño in there.

Wanted something that tasted
more kind of nostalgic

and--and classic,
just a little bit of heat.

I don't think
you'll really taste it, but--

- I gotta ask.
What is in your sauce?

- Secret's in the sauce, man.
You gotta bring it.

If you're putting
that much sauce on something,

you know, it's--
it's really a high priority.

- Were you looking to have

a little bit more, uh,
deep browning on your crust?

- Yeah, just--
it was a time issue today.

- Okay.

- I really like
the jalapeño, um--

Yeah, it's
pretty subtle, right?

- Yeah.
- It's very subtle.

- Um, I'm typically
a giardiniera--

- It's 'cause you're
a Chicago gal, right?

- And subtlety is not
a strength of mine.

- Yeah.

Amazing job, guys.

Thank you so much
for your pizzas.

We have a lot to discuss.
Please head backstage.

And we're gonna have, uh,
some tough decisions to make.

- Yeah.
- Thank you.

- Oh, really good.

- It's delicious.

Let's start with
Cliff's Detroit-style pie.

The crown he delivered.

I'm not a fan
of the meatballs.

Honestly, I cannot taste it.
- Yeah.

- And the shrimps--
yes, they're very nice,

but I think they disappear
a little bit with the sauce.

- Is it possible
that you can have

too much flavor going on?

It's sweet, it's spicy.

Everything's happening
in the sauce.

Because there is too much,

you actually taste very little.

Yes.

- His, like, sriracha and honey

was the perfect addition
to this.

And this dough is great.

The dough is beautiful.

Every bite is a crunch.

Listen to that...

Yeah, that's what you want.

- That was an excuse for me
to go for another bite.

Yeah, yeah.

- The crust,
it has that crunch.

- I was surprised
that I really did enjoy

the shrimp on there.

Yeah.

- I wish Cliff's pizza
had more cheese though.

- I agree.

So what are we thinking

about the Cleveland-style now,
Michael's pizza?

- Maybe I'm biased,
I'm an Ohio girl,

but it's the most,
I think, classic

between the three styles.

It's really crispy.

Like, the pepperoni...
- It is, yeah.

- Like, it has a crunch to it.
- It does.

- Mini pepperoni cups?
Those are my jam.

- This looks so much
like a picture

of a perfect pizza.

The taste of it--
like, it takes me back.

The crust is crunchy.

The undercarriage is
the most brown of all of them.

Yeah, it's bold.

Pepperoni and sausage,
provolone.

And you can taste
the sauce finally.

Not as sweet,
it's very well-balanced.

The crust, I gotta say,
the margarine trick did it,

because look how crispy it is.

There is a lot of grease.

And, you know, you can see it
just kind of running off.

- But I gotta say,
in this case...

- I like it.
- I'm a fan.

- Yeah, I mean, you were
just dropping the oil,

and I was like,
"Mmm, look's delicious."

- Hey, Eunji,
but you know what?

We're talking
to the California guy

that liked broccoli
on the pizza.

- Yeah.
- Okay?

We gotta move on
to Emmett's pie.

- Okay.
- All right, Eunji.

You're from Chicago,
so what do you think?

- The sauce is very good.

For me,
if it's gonna be this deep,

would have loved to see
a li--a few more layers.

Like, that to me is, like,

kind of more classic
Chicago deep-dish style.

- This guy should be
king of the sauce.

I want
to drink it with a spoon.

Like, I will pour it
all over myself

and be happy
for the rest of my life.

But, you know, I was looking
for that deep caramelization

that Chicago deep dish has.

But, you know, there is
a very shy crust underneath.

- Well, it comes down
to time constraint for him.

He even said that he just
kind of ran out of time.

You know...

It's--it's a nice excuse to
say, "Ah, I ran out of time."

No, you didn't.

You could have used
the oven before.

- I enjoyed the tomatoes
on Emmett's a lot.

It's nice
and soft and flavorful.

- Not sure if I really taste
the jalapeños at all.

- Oh, I taste them.

- I was expecting, like,
a behemoth of a pizza,

and it's manageable.

- Now that we've tried
everyone's pies,

I need to go and see
what the jury thinks.

- Yes.
- Okay.

- My jury.
- Hey, man.

- Hi.
- I am dying to know.

So please show me your votes.

Wow, landslide.

- Nice job, guys,
- Good job, guys.

- Yeah, man, proud of y'all.
Proud of y'all.

- Nice job.
- Definitely.

- Pizza makers,
the votes are in.

One of you has made
a $10,000 pizza.

Let's hear from Daniele first.

- Let me say this,

today we might have
the best pie

ever made on the show.

My vote goes to...

- Michael.
- Yay!

- That undercarriage
did all the difference for me.

And those pepperoni?
You capture my heart.

- Thank you.

- This was the hardest vote
for me, uh, so far.

My favorite pizza was...

Emmett.

Yeah, hell yeah.

- I don't know
what's in that sauce.

I don't know if it's legal.

It's amazing,
and you should jar it,

and you should sell it,
dude, no joke.

- I'm about to know.
He's gonna give me the recipe.

- Is he?
All right.

- For me, so excited

that the Midwest
repped this so hard.

My vote goes to...

Cliff.
Yay!

Whoa.

The dough

and the caramelization
on the side was

just spectacular.

- We are deadlocked right now.

Emmett's got one vote,
Cliff's got one vote,

and Michael's got one vote.

Yeah.

- So it all comes down
to the jury's vote.

Three pizza makers
stand before me,

but only one may be
Best in Dough.

The jury vote goes to...

Michael,
congratulations.

- Yeah!
- Whoo!

- Yeah!

I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

Honestly, the level of relief,

the level of happiness.

Oh, my God.

- Didn't want
to let down Detroit.

I wanted to tie
a proverbial bow on it.

But I think I did
Detroit-style pizza proud.

- Good job, man.
- Oh, my God.

- I'll say I'm disappointed.
I--I came here to win.

But, uh, this has been
a tremendous opportunity

to highlight
Chicago-style pizza.

You know, it's
something that--that I have

a lot of pride in.

- That's awesome, man.
- That's yours, man.

- Oh, my God, man.
- Congratulations.

- Thank you so much.
- Yeah.

- Of all the things
I've done in the past,

all the competitions we won,

this was
the single most important one

I've ever won.

All I want to say is,

Cleveland, this is for you.

Next up,

we have
three fine dining chefs

slinging high-end pies

unlike anything
we've seen before.

So you guys are all
fine dining chefs, huh?

- It would appear so.

- That's why I'm wearing

this ridiculous outfit
right now.

Fancy.

It's starting right now,
so don't go anywhere.