Canadian city's signature pizza topping goes viral on X: 'I am absolutely intrigued'
(NEXSTAR) – A pizza fan in Canada has introduced thousands of X users to his city’s signature style of pepperoni pie, and the idea is getting a warm reception from folks across the internet.
The X user, who goes by @OxfordW0lf, took to social media earlier this week to share an image of the pizza, which looked to be covered in shoestrings of pepperoni.
“Fun fact about Ontario (where I live) is that we shred our pepperoni before putting it on pizza,” @OxfordW0lf wrote under the image, later clarifying that the style was specific to Windsor, Ontario, a city bordered to the west and north by Detroit.
The post has since amassed thousands of likes and retweets, with many commenters lauding what appeared to be the even distribution of pepperoni — and some even calling it "genius."
“Seems like the most efficient way to disperse pepperoni properly to ensure each slice gets an adequate amount of it. I ain't mad,” one X user wrote.
“This seems like an excellent idea,” said another. “I hate halfway biting into a slice only to pull out an entire disc of pepperoni, and with it drags out everything it was attached to. It takes away from the pepperoni meant for later.”
“I do not care for pepperoni but I am absolutely intrigued,” yet another admitted. “I can ‘feel’ the texture in my mouth. I must try it.”
Despite comments from several self-identified Ontario residents that they had never seen a shredded-pepperoni pizza, Windsor-style pizza is indeed a locally embraced tradition, according to multiple pizzeria menus in the city. The Windsor Public Library also has a webpage dedicated to the pizza style, attributing its invention to one of three famed Windsor parlors.
“Shredded pepperoni is what makes a true Windsor pizza different from other pies,” the library’s website reads. “When you bite into a round pepperoni, sometimes you get the whole pepperoni but then the next mouthful could be all cheese. The idea is that shredding means every bite of Windsor pizza should have the taste of pepperoni.”
Shredded pepperoni pizza isn’t entirely unheard-of outside of Windsor, either. Papa Murphy’s, a Washington-based chain with over a thousand locations in the U.S., has recently introduced its “shredded pepp” pies. And Hormel Foods debuted a “ribbon” pepperoni product for use on pizzas in 2024.
There will always be haters when it comes to anything new, of course — and shredded-pepperoni pizza is no exception. Among the many X users who were pleasantly surprised by the idea, there were several who seemed to feel it was somewhat egregious, though they offered little explanation as to why. One called it a “crime” on par with pineapple-topped pizzas, and another claimed it was the reason they would be staying away from Windsor for the foreseeable future.
“You could just cross the border in any direction and get decent pizza,” another critic wrote, attempting to shame the original poster. “But no, you do this instead.”