Over the past five years or so, New Orleans has seen an explosion in the number of restaurants pulling artisan pizzas from wood-burning ovens,” according to The Times-Picayune.

“Michael Cegielski, a Chicago native who’s been living in the New Orleans area for a dozen years, grew up eating something a little heftier. The pies of his childhood were  monsters: deep-dish, yellow cornmeal pizzas loaded with slabs of sausage and sheets of cheese that cover the surface like a blanket.

Cegielski began making his version of Chicago’s take on the venerable dough-sauce-cheese-topping combination a few years ago. He started in his house, whipping up pizzas for friends and clients of his advertising agency. Like so often happens, the recipients started singing the “you should sell these” refrain.”