Dine and Dish: 99 Craft Pizza in northwest Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Pizza is such an Instagram-worthy food item.

99 Craft Pizza at Nees and Palm in northwest Fresno dared to think outside the pizza box.

"Detroit style is a pan pizza, it's a little thicker," says General Manager Steve McCrary. "Sometimes, people get turned off when they hear the word 'pan.'

Detroit-style pizzas are cooked in a rectangle steel pan.

You can get the traditional red top with cheese topped with parmesan and basil, or you can load it up with pepperoni.

"I can't tell you how many times people said, 'This is the best pizza I've ever had." so reaction has been good," McCrary said.

They also toss the dough to make what they call the California round pizzas, but their selections are unique.

Just like other pizza joints, pepperoni is king here.

"A close second would be our Gilroy garlic chicken," McCrary said. "It's a white sauce pizza with roasted garlic and ricotta cream sauce, which is kind of unique."

If you're looking for something different, this is the place.

99 is named for the highway and the menu selections sport local names.

The Underground Gardens pizza is a vegetarian masterpiece.

John Cleveland is one of three partners in the business, which also offers hard to find gluten-free pizzas.

"The satisfaction? You can imagine, right, not having had pizza or bread," he said. "It really is tremendous to see."

It can be difficult to stand out in a crowded pizza field, but the crew figures they have 99 reasons to give them a try.