Order 10! Detroit-Style Pizza, But Make It Miami
Square pies, in tiny square boxes. It just makes sense!
Whoever decided that circular pizzas belong in square delivery boxes had an interesting interpretation of geometry. But we’re not here to talk about that guy. No, we’re here to talk about the guy who brought sharp cornered slices from the Motor City to the Magic one: Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog.
In life, and in pizza, timing is everything. Take a pie out of the oven too soon, and you’re left with a rubbery rag of dough with tomato and cheese on top. Launch a concept too early and you’ll spend most of your time educating your customers on what exactly it is they’re ordering. Chef Jeremiah’s been there. As one of Miami’s food truck pioneers (Miami OGs will remember GastroPod), he knows what it’s like to be a little too early to the party.
“Usually my story arc is that of a very early on-setter as far as being on trend or ahead of the curve, then having to explain what we’re doing,” he says. “I’m happy with the way this one turned out, because the food truck struggle was real - they tried to arrest me every day or tow our truck – whatever it was. As I get older, I’m done with that side of the struggle. We’re making pizzas here.”
And boy, are these tiny little guys good. We sat down during lunch service to try out their new mini pie specials, which were essentially a serving size of their most popular appropriate pies: the SPC Veego, made with the freshest-tasting veggies we’d ever had on a pizza, the SPC III Pepperoni with cutie little ‘roni cups that covered every square inch, and the SPC Red in the Head, Fire in bed – with house-made Calabrian chili oil that was surprisingly sweet and more mildly spicy than you’d expect.
We got a literal and metaphorical kick out of the red pepper flake and parsley toppings, which came packed in adorable dime bags. Next time we come, we’re capping off our experience with some soft serve ice cream topped with a generous pour of cold brew for a modern twist on an affogato.
Bullfrog wasn’t born dreaming of being a pizzaiolo. He just wanted to make pizzas for his kids on Fridays. “I would fire five, and they would just crush them,” he says. “Our kids have pretty well developed palettes, so if it’s shit, they won’t eat it.”
And so, with rave reviews from his toughest critics he thought, why not make these for the masses? It took him years to strike the golden formula for increasing volume without decreasing the ingredient quality. Who knew all it would take was finding a square pan?
This was in 2016, and within a year, Square Pie City was born. He gave Miami it’s first taste of Detroit-style pizza through pop-ups at Box Elder (RIP – but also come back? Pls?) and Babe’s Meat Counter. Then came the setbacks: a flopped lease. A pandemic. Bullfrog shelved the idea and went back to doing his personal chef thing. Meanwhile, square pies edged their way into the Miami foodie vernacular via Old Greg’s in 2020, Vice City Pizza in 2021 and, for a limited time only, Pizza Hut.
They front-loaded all the local education Bullfrog would have had to undertake, which left him with nothing to do but to sling really damn good Detroit-style pizza. He dusted off Square Pie City and popped up at TimeOut Market Miami before taking it on the road to Nashville, Chicago, Orlando and finally! settling down at his permanent location in the Design District, where Harry’s Pizzeria used to be. See? Timing really is everything – especially when it comes to making dough.
“Pizza is three things: dough, sauce, cheese. We buy the best cheese, we make really good sauce from the best tomatoes that we buy, so then all of our effort goes into the dough. I eat, live and die by my dough.”
There’s a literal team dedicated to the dough, which sits through a long and slow fermentation to make it light and fluffy. Bullfrog describes it as being closer to a Nonna or Sicilian slice than a Detroit, with a few Detroit touches. Needless to say, folks from Michigan love it. And so did we. The crust is plush and airy but has a flaky exterior, kind of like the way parmesan crisps feel.
While he’s not a fan of crazy pizzas (think taco pies), he does like to have fun with combinations that make sense. A few weeks ago, he offered a version with fior di latte, honey pickled Fresno, egg yolk jam for his Sunday brunch service and in the past, he churned out an expectedly popular picadillo pie, as the go-to weeknight meal of Cubans is very similar to Italian bolognese.
So what’s next for Square Pie City? A low-ABV cocktail menu is on its way with vermouth-anchored offerings, including a seltzer-based collab with J. Wakefield. Bullfrog also just started a fermentation program, so they’ll be making their own hot honey. And, he’s got his eyes set on a second location in Orlando – all in good timing.