Hah! Shows what I know of my childhood geography. I always had to sit in the wayback seat of the station wagon…
I just wish the primate house (Tropic World) was open at Brookfield. Best part.
Just got back from biking the Salt Creek Trail to the zoo. My wife grew up right across the river from it.
Sounds like Connies!
I main beef with Deep Dish is that at the more prominent places the crust is basically focaccia. Unos/Due I think are the worst in that regard, Gino’s is a bit denser and the corn meal makes it more palatable. Lou’s I think it going to be the most neutral and mainstream of the group and I find it kinda bland. The doughiness is usually proportional to how generous they are with toppings. Extra cheese, greasy meat and sauce ideally soaks down to the bread and makes it less bready in texture.
The UP-NW line from Harvard stops at the Clybourn station. You’re walkable to Pequods from there.
Warning, the Mag Mile is in dire straights these days. Honestly, I don’t know that I’d recommend anyone wasting any tourist time going at this point. The watertower is still pretty and the hotels are still nice, but the shopping is basically dead due to COVID (they were dying slowly before then and the looting last summer contributed).
Deep dish is not supposed to be doughy, and certainly not foccacia-like. It should be thinner than a Sicilian or a Detroit-style pie. That’s why I was surprised by the Uno’s picture – it’s been awhile since I’ve been to the original, but that picture didn’t look anything like I remember it; the second, non-commercial photo I posted looks more like a real Uno’s deep dish. Also, note, Gino’s does NOT have cornmeal in the crust, though they may dust with it.
Pequod’s is the place that does a more foccacia-like pie; it has a much thicker crust than a standard deep dish, and it’s just called a “pan pizza” on the menu. Like looks at this thing:
It’s delicious, and I’ll take it as my favorite over a regular deep dish and for sure a stuffed, but if your complaint about deep dish is it being doughy, it’s odd that you like Pequod’s, as it’s doughier than its traditional deep dish brothers.
I think we’re thinking of different things when we say the word doughy.
Pequods is much lighter and airier than Unos and the like. The crust almost dissolves into the toppings. Unos, Lous and Ginos can sometimes end up having the mouthfeel of hard tack if they get dried out or cold.
Ah, yes. I see. I agree that the classic deep dish places have a denser dough that is harder.
But the poor OP only has time for one pizza… I wish there were an overwhelming winner here.
I think the OP has learned the best way to spend 24 hours in Chicago is to spend it arguing over pizza styles and restaurants.
Perhaps an unpopular opinion but I think sending tourists to Pequod’s or Burt’s Pace or similar pan-type for their sole Chicago pizza is not the right move. I really think that the showstopping cheesy-saucy-sausage-y deep dish is the way to go.
And that’s not to take away from those pan guys. Getting that crust right night after night across all sorts of toppings is not easy. It’s simultaneously dry yet oiled, dense yet light & crispy.
My current favorite is actually in the near western 'burbs, Wood Dale. White Cottage
Hell, plenty of places freeze and ship. Even Papa Del’s from C-U!
I wouldn’t send a tourist on a 24-hour stop in Chicago to any of those places, either. (Note my initial post only includes Lou’s and Giordano’s. The discussion did eventually drift, with my help, of course, into other pizza joints and styles, but that was more a side discussion than practical advice for the OP.) They’re a bit outside the tourist zone and would kill too much time. Only if someone is specifically a food tourist would I send them there. The OP has two choices next to Midway: Lou Malnati’s for deep dish and Giordano’s for stuffed. Both are fine benchmarks of the style. If you want to go over-the-top, go with Giordano’s, even though it’s not something I personally enjoy. Save that for the end of the day before you go back to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day strolling through the city and, hopefully, enjoying an architectural boat cruise.
July in Chicago is typically hot, sunny and dry. If that is the case, don’t spend your times indoors! Trust me when I say that, around here, we have plenty of bad weather days you can do that if you happen to be in town at the time. Instead, go to the lakefront. Go to Navy Peer. Take a tourist cruise and see our beautiful skyline from the lake.
As an update, we are absolutely doing the architecture cruise. You guys sold us well on this idea. Everyone is excited even my 11 year old, which was unexpected.
I was leaning strongly towards Pequods as the pizza choice until these last few posts, so we will probably play it by ear. I’m thinking it will be our dinner stop on the way into Chicago after we check into the hotel. I am hoping we can do one of the more fine dining restaurants in Chicago Friday evening. (more fine dining, not actual fine dining as the kid is still a picky eater)
Clearly the pizza question is intractable, so we may end up picking from a hat. I’m personally torn between what looks like I might actually like it, and what looks like it would be interesting, if not actually to my taste. The stuffed pizza looks, not great, but like a good experience. Decisions decisions.
It looks like, based on me being the only on in my family interested in getting a hot dog, that I will be getting one at the airport before we leave. Such is life.
I am making a push for drumming up interest in the aquarium too. I’ll report back if that goes well or not.
Just to be clear, if you are at the planetarium you are a stone’s throw from the aquarium and then a stone’s throw from the natural history museum. Be sure to check ahead. I am seeing the planetarium listed as closed.
And everyone is different but I think Pequod’s is outstanding.
The “One True Pizza” more often than not, is the one you grew up with. For me, that’s Lou Malnati’s. I’ve had Giordano’s and wasn’t wowed. One minor plus to Lou is that you can buy frozen pizzas to be shipped at www.tastesofchicago.com All this pizza talk is making me hungry, so I just popped one into the oven.
Hopefully by July, the Adler will be open, especially since the Field and Shedd are open. You can very easily consume the day between those three museums. If you do decide on making it a museum day, look at getting a CityPass - it may come out cheaper, even if you don’t go to the Sears, sorry, Willis Tower Skydeck.
Just be mindful of when and from where the architecture river cruise leaves. Almost all of them are at Michigan and the river, not terribly close to the museums.
Yikes, I sure wouldn’t. If anything, pick up one from someplace near your hotel and bring to the airport if short on time.