In 2020, pizza really showed us what it is made of. As Long Island’s dining scene imploded, regrouped and now stands poised for whatever comes next, pizza just kept rolling along, a reliable and inexpensive source of delight and satisfaction that could be enjoyed in a restaurant, on a sidewalk, under a tent, at home or (and here, I speak from experience) in the front seat of a car.

If anything, Long Island pizza is getting better — so much better that this year, we’ve expanded the list from 10 to 22. Five of the slots are filled by places that opened within the last 12 months, and eight more are older restaurants that have either never made the list before, or had fallen off and have now redeemed themselves. (Another first: no rankings; the list is alphabetical.)