Jeff Ruby doesn’t blame Lawrence for his addiction to pizza. He was hooked before he came here. He does, however, blame Lawrence’s pizza-lovers for ruining his car, which he drove all over town delivering for Pyramid Pizza in the mid-1990s.

“I had a Volvo that was in the prime of its life when I started delivering, and a year and a half later the brakes had gone out,” Ruby says. “I ended up selling it for like $600 or something like that. This was probably a $10,000 car. Delivering pizzas is a stupid thing to do if you have a car that’s not a piece of junk.”

That, it turns out, was just one of many lessons Ruby learned about pizza.

The less painful lessons – the ones about pizza’s history and the people who make it – are included in his new book, “Everybody Loves Pizza.”

James Roberts cuts up a slice of pizza for a customer Friday evening at Papa Keno's, 1035 Mass. The pizzeria is featured in a new book, Everybody

Ruby, who received his journalism master’s degree from Kansas University in 1997 and now is deputy dining editor at Chicago magazine, co-wrote the 144-page book with Penny Pollack, dining editor at the magazine.

“Pizza is just the perfect food,” the 33-year-old Ruby says. “There have been a lot of books written about pizza even in the past few years. Even so, the market is just gigantic. You could take any angle. Our angle was to celebrate it, write about the history and talk about the things that make people love it.”

The book includes the evolution of pizza in various regions of the world and the United States, an explanation of different pizza styles, recipes from top pizzerias and celebrity interviews, including talks with chef Wolfgang Puck and Frank Carney, the Wichita native who founded Pizza Hut and later jumped ship for Papa John’s.

It also has plenty of quirky pizza trivia, including:

¢ An interview with 74-year-old Roger Jehan, an Oregon man who is dubbed the world’s oldest pizza delivery boy.

Jeff Ruby, co-author of Everybody

¢ A list of top pizza moments in movies (No. 1 was from “Saturday Night Fever”).

¢ Pizzeria celebrity sightings (Angelina Jolie likes Pastime Restaurant & Lounge in Baton Rouge, La., while David Letterman prefers Post Corner Pizza in Darien, Conn.)

Pizza list

Perhaps the centerpiece of the book is the pizza directory.

It includes a list of the top 10 pizzerias in the country. Una Pizza Napoletana in New York tops the list, followed by Delorenzo’s Tomato Pies in Trenton, N.J.

In addition, the book has a list of 546 “great American pizzerias” gathered by Ruby and Pollack.

Three Lawrence restaurants made the cut:

¢ Rudy’s Pizzeria, 704 Mass.

Ruby says Rudy’s is the “classic college-town pizza.”

“We dig stuff like that,” Josh Reese, Rudy’s manager, says of the ranking. “We take pride in the fact people like our product.”

¢ Papa Keno’s Pizzeria, 1035 Mass.

Ruby says he remembers Papa Keno’s because of the way the pizza smell wafted out onto the Massachusetts Street sidewalk.

“The pizza is pretty outstanding,” says Greg Keenan, Papa Keno’s owner. “The past 15 years, we’ve tried to improve on our product. We’re almost at 99 percent; we have just a few more areas to improve.”

¢ Pyramid Pizza, 701 W. Ninth St.

Ruby says he didn’t include Pyramid simply because he used to work there. It earned its place.

“We put a lot of energy and time into developing recipes that are better than average – that are quite good, actually,” owner Tom Walton says. “In the crust, we have much more of a bread crust than other places. We have a tangy, sweet sauce. And we use 100 percent real mozzarella cheese.”

Two other pizzerias from Kansas were listed: Barley’s Brewhaus and Restaurant in Overland Park, and Knoll’s in Wichita.

Lots of pizza

Ruby and Pollack compiled the list through e-mails and interviews with friends and family, food critics and pizzeria owners.

While the authors didn’t eat at every pizzeria, they had their share of pie in the past year while working on the story.

James Roberts serves up a slice of pizza for a customer Friday evening at Papa Keno's, 1035 Mass. The pizzeria is one of three mentioned in a new book, Everybody

“I’d say I probably ate pizza in the past year probably 200 days, more than once every other day,” Ruby says. “My wife, after me doing this for a year, can’t bear to look at pizza.”

Ruby says he thinks pizzerias are becoming more gourmet-oriented than in the past. Many are going for fancier toppings – or at least more toppings. One pizzeria even has jelly beans and Spam on its toppings list.

“I’m sure it would make an 80-year-old guy who grew up in Naples say, ‘What the hell? What are you talking about?'” Ruby says.

Despite the fact he ruined his car here, Ruby looks back fondly on his time in Lawrence.

“I’ve always been addicted to pizza,” he says. “I’d say my level of addiction increased exponentially when I was in Lawrence.”

Recipes

The following recipes are printed in “Everybody Loves Pizza.”

Barbecue chicken pizza

Dough:

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup clover honey

1 1/4 tablespoons salt

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup semolina

5 tablespoons pure olive oil

1/4 cup warm water

3 cups lukewarm water

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Dissolve honey and salt in lukewarm water. Combine flour and semolina in large mixing bowl. Add most of water that contains honey and salt to the flour, keeping back about a cup. Mix wet and dry ingredients until patsy, and then add the olive oil. Mix the olive oil and dough and add remaining water as needed to get fairly stiff consistency. Add yeast and knead dough for 10 minutes. Dough should be smooth and elastic when done. Cover dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Divide in half and knead into tight, uniform, individual balls. Cover balls with damp towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest about an hour before making pizzas, or for 30 minutes if you plan on refrigerating them for later. On a floured surface, flatten each dough ball to size.

Topping:

6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast

7 ounces prepared barbecue sauce

14 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

4 ounces thinly sliced red onion

3 ounces shredded smoked Gouda

Quickly cook off a couple of chicken breasts in your oven, preheated to 500 degrees. Slice into thin pieces and marinate in 2 ounces of barbecue sauce. Set aside and chill. On a lightly floured surface, stretch out each pizza dough ball to a 10-inch diameter, leaving raised edge around the circumference for the dough of the crust. Divide remaining barbecue sauce and spread evenly over both skins, up to but not over the outside edge. Spread 5 ounces of mozzarella evenly over the barbecue sauce on each pizza. Sprinkle the smoked Gouda and the cilantro evenly over both. Arrange chicken over both pizzas, and sprinkle onion over chicken. Finish by sprinkling remaining mozzarella over top. Place baking stone in oven and preheat for 500 degrees for one hour. Slide pizza onto preheated stone and bake for about 10 minutes.

Source: Caiota Pizza Cafe, Studio City, Calif.

Chicago-style spinach-stuffed pizza

Dough:

3 cups unbleached flour

1/4-ounce cake of fresh yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

2 ounces margarine

1 cup warm water

4 ounces salad or vegetable oil

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt, margarine, water and oil. Set the dough to the side in a separate bowl, and cover. Let set for 3-4 hours until it is almost double in size. Do not punch down but form until 2 1-pound balls and lay on a sheet pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Stuffing:

1 pound 2-percent part-skim mozzarella

8 ounces frozen chopped spinach

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

Pinch of nutmeg

Fresh mushrooms (optional)

Shred or grate mozzarella. Set to side. Thaw frozen spinach and squeeze moisture out. In a large bowl, combine spinach, salt, pepper, garlic, nutmeg and Parmesan. Mix well. Blend in mozzarella. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Sauce:

3 ounces whole peeled canned tomatoes

3 ounces canned Italian pear tomatoes with basil

2 ounces crushed peeled canned tomatoes in juice

1/2 teaspoon dry basil

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 ounce salad or vegetable oil

In a blender or food processor, blend all ingredients until mixed well but not pureed.

Assembly:

Butter bottom and sides of 2-inch-deep, 12-inch-round pizza or pie tin. Roll out a 1-pound ball of pizza dough until about 1/8-inch or less in thickness. Lay dough in pan and work way around the pan, lightly pressing dough up the sides and making sure dough is flat on bottom of pan. Fill pan with spinach mix a little over halfway up sides of pan. Roll out other dough ball, but thinner than bottom dough. Lay piece of dough over the top of the pan. Tear hole in the center of the dough. Work way around edges of pizza, pressing dough firmly to sides of pan and other dough. Trim off extra dough so it is even with top of pizza pan. Spread sauce over top of pizza so it is completely covered.

Place baking stone in oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Place deep-dish pan on baking stone. Rotate a few times so it bakes evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and cheese is soft in the center.

Source: Bacino’s, Chicago

Modesto Neapolitan style pizza

Dough:

1 cup room-temperature bottled water

3 grams fresh yeast, or 1 packet dry active yeast

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups high-gluten bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

Extra flour for dusting work surfaces

In mixer, dissolve yeast and water and let stand for 10 minutes. Add olive oil and salt to water and yeast, and mix well with beater attachment for 1 minute. Blend in 1 cup flour and mix at slow speed for 2 minutes. Change mixer to hook attachment and add remaining flour. Mix for 7 minuets, scraping sides of bowl to incorporate all flour. Dust a smooth, nonporous work surface with flour. Remove dough from bowl and knead by hand until smooth and velvety. Divide dough ball into three equal pieces, and work each section into a smooth ball by turning edges toward center. Place each dough ball in a separate well-oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in the refrigerator 24 hours. Take dough out of refrigerator an hour before you work with it. Lightly flour work surfaces and your dough ball. Using your fingertips, press the dough out, leaving a high-inch rim around the edge. When the dough is stretched to 14 inches, place it on pizza peel.

Topping:

7 ounces whole-milk mozzarella, slice 1/6 inch thick

1/2 cup vine-ripened San Marzano tomatoes

1/2 tablespoon freshly grated imported Romano cheese

1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Fresh Mediterranean oregano

1/2 cup roasted mushrooms

2 ounces raw bulk Italian sausage

1/2 teaspoon fresh minced garlic

Placed mozzarella on pizza dough first. Squeeze excess moisture out of tomatoes, mash them and spread them evenly over cheese. Sprinkle with fresh garlic, Romano cheese and olive oil. Season with oregano, crushing the fresh leaves between your fingertips as you sprinkle the herb. Spread roasted mushrooms across the pie. Pinch off small pieces of sausage and distribute them evenly.

To cook, place baking stone in the oven and preheat to 525 degrees for one hour. Slide pizza off peel onto the preheated stone and bake for about 12 minutes.

Source: Metro Pizza, Las Vegas

Veggie pesto pizza

Dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons fresh yeast

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 cup lukewarm water

Pour warm water into mixing bowl and add salt, sugar, yeast and oil. Mix until yeast is in solution (3-5 minutes). Add the flour and mix with a dough hook for 8-10 minutes. Remove dough from bowl and flatten it into an 8-inch disk. Cut dough into four equal quarters. Roll pieces into dough balls and cover with damp cloth. Let stand at room temperature for one to two hours. Take dough ball and sprinkle one tablespoon flour over the ball. Using fingers, press into the ball and begin to flatten it until it is four to five inches in diameter. With rolling pin, continue to spread dough until it is approximately 11 inches in diameter. Assemble, one at a time, on a lightly floured pizza peel.

Sauce:

2 cups sun-dried tomatoes

4 tablespoons pine nuts

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup walnuts

4 cloves minced garlic

Salt and pepper, to taste

3/4 cup 80/20 vegetable-olive oil blend

Soak tomatoes in hot water for 10-12 minutes, then strain. Mix all ingredients except for oil, place them on a cutting board and finely dice them. In a small cup or bowl, add diced ingredients with oil and mix. Spread the sauce onto dough. Make sure to keep sauce at least 1 inch from edge of dough.

Topping:

12 ounces low-moisture part-skim mozzarella

8 ounces canned artichoke hearts

4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes

4 ounces black olives

8 ounces feta cheese

2 ounces Asiago cheese

Place 1/4 of each topping on the sauce, in the order that they appear, onto each dough skin.

To cook, place baking stone in oven and preheat at 500 degrees for two hours. Slide each pizza off the peel onto preheated stone and bake for 5 to 7 minutes.

Source: Merlin’s Gourmet Pizza, Aspen, Colo.