One Ontario city's distinctive way of doing pizza has had social media abuzz over the last week after a resident shared a photo of his pie to some very mixed responses — and millions of views.

The picture of a Windsor-style 'za posted to X on October 28 has now been seen by more than 12 million people on the platform, many of them taken aback by one particular topping choice that has long been characteristic of the border-area locale, but that apparently very few people from outside of the region have seen before.

"Fun fact about Ontario (where I live) is that we shred our pepperoni before putting it on pizza," the poster wrote with the snapshot of their meal, likely unaware of how much the post would blow up in the days to follow.

While some see the sliced pep as blasphemous, it seems far more people are finding the new-to-them concept to be absolutely genius. A handful said things like "I'd try but I'm skeptical" and "curiously would," while some others were up in arms over this being misrepresented as a generally "Ontario" style.

I lived in Ontario for 28 years and I have never seen such an abomination. https://t.co/O3eiQtKRk2

— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) October 30, 2024

After replies like "Ontarian here, we absolutely do not do this" and "I have left Ontario for perhaps 48 total hours in my entire life, and I have never heard of this," the diner clarified in subsequent posts that "apparently it's just Windsor that does this, I had no idea the city I live in was so unique lol."

Unique, it definitely is, which has made Windsor's pizza the subject of not just internet chatter, but even entire documentaries.

Gaetano Pugliese, co-founder of Windsor-style pizza joint Ambassador Pizza in Toronto, explained to blogTO what, exactly, makes the city's pizza so special. And though it does start with the famous minced pepperoni, there are some other requisite factors.

This is so genius if you think about it, every bite is filled with pepperoni instead of that first bite, taking three pepperoni circles off and being left with cheese pizza 🤌🏽 love this 🍕

— The Bath Bomb Dealer 🧖🏽‍♀️🧖🏻🛀🏽 (@JumpyJellybean_) October 29, 2024

"The number one aspect of it, like visual characteristic of it, is the shredded pepperoni. Without tasting it, that's the first thing you're going to notice. And there's a few reasons for that," Pugliese, who hails from Windsor, says.

"The guy who decided to do that was trying to save time and figured you're not going to get these cups of grease, and it's a lot faster for production when putting the pepperoni on.  You taste a lot more and get a little bit in every bite, so it kind of worked out. We've been doing that in our style for almost 80 years now."

But, he says that there's another ingredient that is arguably considered more important to a true Windsor pizza.

Seems like the most efficient way to disperse pepperoni properly to ensure each slice gets an adequate amount of it. I ain't mad

— kim (@thegr8kimbinoo) October 30, 2024

"Some people would actually say that the cheese is probably the most important aspect. It comes from a cheese producer in Windsor called Galati Cheese Company."

The family-owned and -operated producer has been providing its high-fat mozzarella and other variations for more than four decades, and, as Gaetano says, "most people would say that it's not real Windsor pizza unless it's Gatali cheese. When we opened up here [in Toronto], that was the first thing we needed to secure, the shipments of their cheese."

Also crucial to a Windsor pie? Canned mushrooms that hold their texture, flavour and moisture better than fresh ones, and cornmeal on the dough to help create "a really nice micro climate. It doesn't burn and it goes right directly on the stone."

Pizza creators in the area have also said that the oregano-rich sauce, which varies between establishments, is another key attribute that differentiates their 'za from anywhere else in the world.

Whether you love the look of it or think it a disgrace to a beloved dish, Windsor pizza is a tradition that is only becoming more well-known and isn't going anywhere — and that even some of its doubters seem interested in trying.