Feb 3rd they are opening a Giordano’s reasonable close to my home (compared to the current 3 hour trip that would be required). Lots of people here are very excited and I’m sure it will be a mad house at first. I know I’ve eaten there several years ago, but I’m possibly getting my Chicago Pizzas confused.
So, what is the “can’t miss” pizza from there. If you are a born and bred Chicagoan and only had one last chance to get something from Giordano’s what would it be (and don’t say something from another place unless there is also one within 15 minutes of my house).
You will have to eat their stuffed pizza because I think there’s a law, but stuffed by anybody is not really THE Chicago-style pizza, just A TYPE OF Chicago-style pizza. I prefer their thin-crust and consider THAT a form of THE REAL Chicago-style pizza. Others WILL disagree.
Yeah… I should have clarified… we have a bunch of really good thin crust pizzas around here, but not so much with thick/stuffed pizzas.
Of course for another non thin crust pizza I would be thrilled if Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder happened to come here (I think there is only one location). I had one about 30 years ago and still remember it as amazing.
Can you feel my jealousy from there? I can still taste the stuffed pepperoni pizza from when I was there in the early 90s at U of C. I learned recently that you can order on-line but the real deal in person? YUMMO.
If we are having Giordano’s then we are going to order the stuffed spinach one for sure, and probably also a stuffed “Chicago Classic” (pepperoni and a variety of veggies). It would only be when all the kids are visiting and leftovers never go to waste.
I’ve been eating at Giordano’s since I was kid, but was disappointed in my last visit to the local store.
Ordered a stuffed mushroom and anchovy pizza. The waitress had to ask us what an anchovy was. (Yes, anchovies are on their menu). Then she came back and said that they were out of Miller Lite. How does a pizza pub run out of beer? :eek: Finally, the manager came over and said they were out of anchovies, too.
The meats are good but so heavy when added to all that cheese. The spinach is delicious and balances the heavy cheese nicely. I make out of town visitors try it whenever we take them for Chicago pizza and they always end up raving over it. I’m
I’d have put Classic on sausage, onion, green peppers and perhaps mushrooms. I’m not a huge pepperoni fan in general (I mean, it is fine but one of my last preferences) but stuffed should be a sausage party.
I’ve been looking at their menu and I saw that they also have a couple of versions of the Italian Beef (which is hard to find around here). The “Southside” seems to be a normal one, and the “Northside” is baked in pizza dough. Anyone had one? Are they worth trying? (and no I can’t just walk over to Al’s to get something better).
We do mail-order from them from time to time, getting a one-topping stuffed pizza. They don’t offer the combinations you can get in-store (I remember the Classic was my fave). Usually we do sausage or pepperoni. Much better than the pizzas we can get around here, but still not as good as fresh made.
The spinach stuffed has also been really good, but with one caveat. The last time we got one (last summer), they made it different than they used to. It was pretty much just a cheese pizza with several whole leaves of spinach layered in the middle. It didn’t look, feel, or taste right. I probably should have called to complain/ask, at least to find out if that’s how they are making them now or if someone made a mistake.
Quick question: I’ve only seen the name in print. Does the first syllable sound like jor (/ʤor/), or does it have a slight ee or y sound to it, making it more like jyor (/ʤjor/)?
Now I’m ticked… I just found out they had a soft opening on the 27th. I could have had some a week ago! I’m pretty sure it will be crazy there tonight so I’ll wait a few days and check back in with my thoughts.
And if you want to get more persnickety, it’s not what is a standard deep dish in Chicago (as in Lou Mlanati’s or Uno’s.) It’s a stuffed pizza, which is either a subset of deep dish or its own thing. (Deep dish does not have two layers of dough and is not as thick as a stuffed pizza. Stuffed pizza came about in the early 70s in Chicago at Nancy’s and Giordano’s came soon after. Chicago deep dish was the 40s, IIRC, with Pizzeria Uno.)
Anyhow, I’d pick sausage and mushroom or green pepper. Sausage is pretty much a default topping for any Chicago pizza. Pepperoni, not so much.
As Shawn Spencer would say, I’ve heard it both ways. But I always say it with four full syllables. Jee-Or-Don-oes.
If I were on a “last chance” to get one more Giordano’s before going to the gas chamber, it would be the stuffed with spinach and mushrooms. Yumm!!
And I agree with the other posters who said that stuffed is only one “Chicago style” of pizza, and probably not the one that most of us eat most of the time. I think of it more as a “special occasion” pizza. Certainly not for munching while watching a movie or milling around at a party.
I can still taste the stuffed pepperoni pizza from when I was there in the early 90s at U of C. I learned recently that you can order on-line but the real deal in person? YUMMO.