Pizzeria Biga 711 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-544-2442; 29110 Franklin Rd., Southfield; 248-750-2500; pizzeriabiga.com; $$: Wherever your allegiances fall on the thick-and-chewy to thin-and-crispy spectrum, the toppings at Biga are remarkable enough to sway the most finicky of gourmands. With options like duck prosciutto, capicola or house-made Italian sausage for the meat lovers and wood-roasted vegetables or oil-cured hot peppers for the vegetarians, the range and quality are impressive. For those who aren't into tomato sauce, Biga offers as many "white" pies as red — mushroom ragù, with goat cheese or white clam with pancetta being two tempting options. Online ordering is now available.

Primo's 996 S. Adams Rd., Birmingham; 248-642-1400; primosbirmingham.com; $$: Primo's serves the Detroit-style square and deep pizza, with a crunchy crust and a chewy center. They don't overload it with sauce and spice, preferring to give it just the right amount of tomatoey goodness. And the cheese is cheese, not "cheese food." It stretches from the slice in your hand to the teeth in your mouth just like on TV. Plus they sell it by the (giant) slice for $1.50.

Renshaw Lounge 210 E. 14 Mile Rd., Clawson; 248-616-3016; renshawlounge.com; $$: This joint is like a classic pub, but with all the boozy fellowship of a dive. Local regulars will tell you Renshaw serves the best pizza in town, and one fan tells us their pies "rank up there with Green Lantern, Luigi's and Giorgio's." Maybe it's their raw sauce, which only cooks during its brief trip to the oven. They also serve a "breadza," which combines the gooey goodness of pizza with the doughy satisfaction of bread sticks. Enjoy it with drink specials and cold beer. 

Sam's Pizzeria and Cantina 2215 Wyandotte W., Windsor, 519-258-5086; samspizzeriaandcantina.com; $: Sam's feels a little more upscale and hip than a pizza palace, but sticks close to its roots. Calzone, focaccia, bruschetta: The crust is the star here, with inventive toppings such as escargot, mushrooms and garlic on the Francese pizza, as well as traditional versions. Finish off with fancy espressos, cappuccinos or a White Russian from the full bar. There's jazz on Thursdays and Saturdays. Breakfast menu from 11 a.m. to afternoon.

Sgt. Pepperoni's Pizzeria & Deli 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7272; majesticdetroit.com/sgt-pepperonis-detroit; $: The Sarge's managers are attempting to do a two-steps-up version of pizza — you can order a specialty sauce like basil pesto or tapenade, and the specialty toppings include roasted chicken, spinach, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, eggplant and squash (all served atop a pretty normal fresh red pizza sauce and mozzarella). Pastas and sandwiches are also offered.

Shield's Restaurant Bar Pizzeria 25101 Telegraph, Southfield; 248-356-2720; 1476 W. Maple Rd., Troy; 248-637-3131; and one more location at shieldspizza.com; $: Another spin-off from the Buddy's breakup in the 1950s, Shield's enjoys an excellent reputation. Their specialty pizzas include the Athenian, Polynesian, "meat lover's," and "BBQ chicken." 

Stosh's Pizza 24312 Van Dyke Ave., Center Line; 586-757-6836; stoshspizza.com; $$: A co-worker's wife swears by this pizza, and the price is right: A large, two-topping pizza sets you back a measly $10.99.

Supino Pizzeria 2457 Russell St., Detroit, 313-567-7879; supinopizzeria.com; $$, Serving brilliant thin-crust pizza with imaginative fresh ingredients — even an egg — with a delectable thin crust that's not too chewy. They serve five red pizzas and six white, meaning no tomato sauce; almost all are made with traditional ingredients, no pineapple, no taco fixings. The red sauce is supremely simple, nothing much besides some fresh-tasting though canned crushed tomatoes. The Primavera, a white, is topped with fresh tomatoes, artichokes, eggplant, red onion, mozzarella and spinach — lots of flavors. Also excellent is the housemade manicotti, a huge portion of ultra-thin pasta stuffed with ricotta and a bit of Parmigiano and topped with red sauce and mozzarella. Supino is making a strong bid for gourmet pizza supremacy, right in our own Eastern Market.

Tomatoes Apizza 24369 Halsted Rd., Farmington Hills; 248-888-4888; 29275 14 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills; 248-855-3555; tomatoesapizza.com; $: If you're looking for a thin-crust, fresh-tasting, garlicky, made-with-high-art pizza, Apizza's ranks with the best in the area. The pies emerge from their brief sojourn in the brick oven irregularly shaped and unequally sliced. Avoiding a mass-produced look is always good, and a variety of big and small slices means that you can match your grab to your satiety level. One of our readers raved, "The place is amazing, and this New York City girl, who swears there isn't pizza in Michigan that can hold a candle to New York's, is hooked on it. Everything is super fresh, the coal- or wood-burning oven (depending upon which site you go to) gives the thin-crusted pizza a crispness you can't really duplicate any other way. I highly recommend the four tastes pizza. Don't have them change anything, but the section you get to choose on, add garlic ... you won't regret it!"

See any inaccuracies? Let us know! Send an e-mail to mjackman@metrotimes.com or call 313-202-8043.

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