Buddy’s Pizza in Dearborn, Totally Worth Crossing the Border For

A little while back I went on a press trip to Dearborn, Michigan. A small group of bloggers got together and stayed at the adoba hotel Dearborn, visited the Henry Ford Museum, had a crazy scavenger hunt at the Fairlane Shopping Center, and enjoyed a few meals together.

In standard press trip style the majority of our meals were arranged. We had two lovely breakfasts and one decadent dinner at Giulio & Sons Restaurant at the adoba hotel Dearborn, and we also ate dinner at Buddy’s Pizza.

Now here’s the thing, I wasn’t exactly super-de-duper excited about eating at a pizza joint. It’s not that I don’t like pizza. It’s just that my home town, Windsor, is sort of famous for having amazing pizza. (Google it, “Windsor-style pizza“. Seriously, it’s a thing.) So, to be honest, when I got the email that announced that our other dinner was going to be at Buddy’s Pizza my excitement at the upcoming trip deflated a bit. How the heck was some Michigan pizza place going to hold a candle to what I eat, and eat perhaps a bit too regularly, at home?

But like I said, group trip, arranged meals, I was sort of obliged to go with the flow here, right? And oh man am I ever glad I did because it was so, so, good! While the square style pizza that Buddy’s is famous for, and has been serving for over 65 years, is definitely different from the pizza I get on the Canadian-side of the border it was certainly in no way inferior.

When ordering I found myself eyeing the personal sized pizzas and thinking “Four pieces, how the heck is that going to be enough food?” Wrong again. The squares are big, and three to four of them is the perfect dinner portion. I shared part of an appetizer and opted to save some room for dessert, so I got part of my meal boxed to go. Otherwise I likely would have eaten all four pieces and found it to be “just right” sized.

The garlic bread and cheese that we shared was good, but the main course was fantastic.

I’d like to introduce you to my pizza…

Check out the crazy amount of toppings piled on there. There was none of this “one bite you get a bit of the good stuff and another bite maybe it’s only cheese” silliness. Each messy and delicious bite was a mouth full of gourmet style topping goodness. Also worth noting, I ordered my pizza on multi-grain crust and it tasted like pizza crust, not cardboard.

I mentioned I saved room for dessert right? Well I was glad that one of my fellow travellers talked me into sharing this….

Though I didn’t have any beers when I visited that night I did sneak a peek at their beer menu and was pleased to see they carry a decent selection, including several Michigan craft beers.

Physically the restaurant was cozy, with a classical pizza joint feel to it with maybe a tiny dash of sportsbar thrown in. The service was great. The washrooms were spotless. Just overall a great spot, and a great experience.

Here is a restaurant I definitely would have overlooked if I had been on my own, yet am I ever glad I was “coerced” into eating here because the food was truly fantastic. From pretty much the moment my mouth first met a square of Buddy’s Pizza I found myself plotting, “How will I get back here and when?” and thinking about how much my pizza connoisseur husband would love this place. Buddy’s Pizza is totally worth the thirty-some minute drive over the border. (I should probably note that Buddy’s has nine locations spread across the metro Detroit area. I think it’s safe to assume that they are all equally great to eat at, but I can only vouch for the Dearborn location, which is where I had the pleasure of dining.)

So what about you guys?  Would you cross the boarder just to eat dinner? (I sure would!) Have you ever tried Detroit’s square-style pizza?

For further info:
* check out the Buddy’s Pizza website.
* sneak a peek at their menu online.
* follow Buddy’s Pizza on Facebook.
* connect with Buddy’s Pizza on Twitter.

Disclosure: I was a guest at Buddy’s Pizza at part of the #EcoTravelwithadoba blogger trip.