I have somehow managed to acquire myself a new long-distance boyfriend. He’s come to visit me a couple of times, which is always fun, but he’s left without eating any “Chicago pizza” and this disappoints him. I’ve tried to tell him that I’d love to eat pizza with him, but if he wants some sort of special experience, I don’t really know what’s what. I just haven’t lived here terribly long or eaten much pizza actually.
All I know, I tell him, is that my former roommate (life-long Chicagoan) says that “real” Chicago pizza is thin crust and “that deep-dish crap is for tourists”. But she never really directed me any place awesome for either. We have had deep-dish pizza (dragged by one of his friends when they were out here for business before we started dating), and it was not so good. Ginos, I think it was. He told me later they went to UNO without me, and that was better, but he’s still feeling like he’s missed out.
So, when he comes to visit again, where should I take him for fabulous pizza, either thin or deep-dish? Public transit accessible is a basic requirement, as I don’t have a car.
I was born in the city, lived in the burbs for years and still visit family and friends on a regular basis. And yes that deep dish shit is not Chicago pizza. Thin crust is the way to go. Just go to a couple of hole in the wall joints in your neighborhood. You will know good pizza when you taste it. Be prepared to pay for it though, it will cost about 3-4 times as much as that domino’s stuff that is NOT pizza. IMHO.
Now, when it comes to Chicago pizza, I do like the cracker crust style as exemplified by Vito and Nick’s. It’s head-and-shoulders above any other cracker crust pizza I’ve had in Chicago. Marie’s would be a distant second. I also enjoy Pat’s from time to time, and used to like Candlelight, but that place has become a bit inconsistent. Otherwise, I’m pretty much disappointed with most Chicago thin crust pizzas. From time to time, I definitely enjoy a deep dish.
Vito & Nick’s, Marie’s, and Candlelight all regularly show up on Chicago best pizza lists. I think Time Out named all three of them in their last pizza round up (in the spring, IIRC). Vito & Nick’s (84th & Pulaski) was also recently taped for Food Network’s Diner’s, Drive-ins, and Dives. It’s just another neighborhood bar on Chicago’s Southwest Side that happens to make (in my opinion) the best cracker crust in Chicago. The place is a real throwback, and looks like it hasn’t changed in fifty years. Be sure to note the carpeting on the wall. The fanciest beer they have on tap is Old Style, and they don’t take credit cards. Look at how thin and beautiful this thing is:
Marie’s (4127 W. Lawrence) is another time warp with its 70s-era red-vinyl upholstered booths, mirrored walls, and tuxedo-clad bartenders. None of it is meant to be ironic or hip–like Vito & Nicks, it’s just frozen in time. I find Marie’s pizza to be slightly thicker than Vito & Nicks and the sauce is not quite as heavily spiced. East Coast pizza snob/NYTimes food journalist Ed Levine (author of “Pizza: A Slice of Heaven” pretty much completely skips over Chicago pizza in his book, but when I heard him on local radio here in 2005 plugging his book, Marie’s was one of the local joints he mentioned liking (although with Coalfire and Spacca Napoli now in Chicago, he might find more pizzas to his liking on a return trip.) Marie’s also has the distinction of being attached to liquor store. Personally, I like to visit Marie’s from time to time for its old school charm, but their pizza doesn’t completely knock me over like Vito & Nick’s does. It also tends to be on the greasy side, but no round-up of Chicago thin crust is complete without a mention of Marie’s.
Burt’s (8541 Ferris, Morton Grove) is Pequod’s, but better. Burt Katz used to run Pequod’s in the 70s, so he’s continuing on the great Pequod’s tradition up in Morton Grove, and serving up deep dish, caramelized-cheese crust pizzas in his own eccentric way. When Saveur decided to do its first single-city issue in October 2007, Chicago was the city honored, and Burt’s pizza graced the cover. Word to the wise: if you go to Burt’s call ahead. He’s a lovable, but idiosyncratic motherfucker, and he really wants to know ahead of time how many pizzas he’ll need to be making, when you plan to arrive, etc., so everything will be ready for your visit. It’s not absolutely required, but it is strongly encouraged. Try not to be late. Burt’s masterpiece:
Candlelite (7452 N. Western) I’m a little more tepid in recommending. It’s very hit-and-miss, has changed owners in the time I’ve been going there, and since the newest owners, has been a little uneven. That said, it’s worth a shot, as when they’re on, they have a superb ultra-thin cracker-crust. And the garlic fries are awesome.
Coalfire (1321 W. Grand) exemplifies East Coast/Neapolitan pizza. Technically, it’s supposed to be New Haven-style pizza, with the coal-burning oven and all. It’s much lighter on the toppings than a typical Chicago thin crust, and the dough is completely different: charred and slightly crisp on the outside, chewy in the center. The flavor is reminiscent of naan straight out of the tandoor. If you’re only used to Chicago-style thin crust, this may take some getting used to for you. Here’s what a pie looks like:
Huh, guess I messed up on a setting. But the images are pretty cool, and since traffic in this forum is light we shouldn’t run into bandwidth issues. I’ll keep images enabled for a while and see how it goes. Nice post, pulykamell. Nice pix.
Seriously I looked at it 3 minutes ago and my salivary glands will not stop producing. :eek:
I’m from Illinois but not from Chicagoland. I’ve heard that Gino’s was great so if that’s what the OP had, hmm. I’ve had Uno—very good. I also lurvs me some Giordano’s.
Candlelite has, once again, switched owners. I’m not sure when the last time you were there was, but the garlic fries were gone under the last new owners, and they’re back under the new new owners. (And, OMG, they’re amazing!) I agree that their pizza is hit-or-miss. Sometimes it’s as good as that Vito & Nick’s looks, sometimes they burn stuff or have tasteless sauce. (The BBQ Chicken pizza seems the most prone to burning, but if you want “real Chicago pizza”, you won’t be ordering BBQ Chicken anyhow, right?)
However, the *best *thing about Candlelight is that they’re half a block from my front door and they have 2 for 1 pizzas on Tuesday nights! So anyone who wants to try them, PM me and I’ll meet you there!
WhyNot, the next time he’s in town we should hit Candlelight, then, as I know he’d enjoy hanging out with you and your family again, and your little one sure thought he was fun.
Thanks so much, everyone.
So, how is it that Chicago is known for it’s deep-dish pizzas when “real” Chicago pizza is the cracker thin crusts?
Yes, yes! And the little one likes their “sliders” - 2 little cheeseburgers that have to be close to 3 ounces each, they’re big for little burgers! - that the kitchen is happy to make without buns for her. They’re awfully nice about our gluten issues for a place who’s menu revolves around starch!
I think it’s because the deep dish style was invented here. You can get thin crust everywhere from Brooklyn to Naples but the Lou’s/Gino’s/Due style pizza pie is still pretty much only found here.
I’ve had it in other places around the world and …yeah, let’s not go there.
Great pics, pulykamell!
I had Burts’ a couple weeks ago. We called ahead and had a mushroom and sausage - for my money it’s the best pizza in Chicago.
For thin crust, I have to also add Delisi’s on Western. Their style has been imitated at countless places but it’s my favorite thin crust.
Burts
8541 Ferris
Morton Grove
847-965-7997
Delisi’s Pizzaa
5806 N. Western
Chicago
773-784-6320
Hey WhyNot, we don’t live far from each other… I’m directly east from you near Howard & Sheridan.
As to the topic at hand, I’m a thin crust guy as far as Chicago pizza goes. Not sure which is my favorite but I really like the cheap joints like Bacci’s where you can get a giant slice for $3 or $4. I like the deep dish stuff occasionally, especially the spinach variety.
I’m sorry, Pulykamell, I mean no disrespect…really I don’t. But I must say, my Maine Coon cat, Tibby, has gacked up more attractive furrballs in his day and he’s not even Italian.
I don’t wish to step on any Chicagoan toes, particularly in your own forum, but yoos guy’s outta leave pizza pie fabrication to the east coast United States, and decidedly south of the Big Apple. You’ve got your Italian Beef and your Chicago Hot Dogs, be proud of them. But, the only thing “deep dish” should be on your rooftop pulling in TV signals.
I’ve got nothing against you Great Lakers, I spent four years in Cleveland a while back and didn’t consider it a Mistake on the Lake, at all. In fact, I actually enjoyed my stay there a great deal—I’m sure the beer, hallucinogens and frequent sojourns to Julie’s Comet Gentleman’s Club had little to with it. (BTW: have you ever seen what an experienced bottomless dancer cat walking down a saloon bar can do with a row of beer bottles, without using her hands? I can’t say it was particularly wholesome, or even hygienic…but, it wasn’t altogether uninspiring). Where was I again? Oh, yes, pizza.
Some recent threads in the main SDMB have inspired me to wax poetic about my tender years growing up in Philly-South Jersey. People in-the-know pretty much poo poo both NYC and Chicago pizza as being mere wanna-bees to a piping hot, cheese-dripping, authentic South Jersey pie. And, if you don’t risk a little Mafioso drive-by cross fire walking in the door, you’re in the wrong pizza joint.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Windy City, feast your eyes on a real pizza pie!;
Sorry, Tibbytoes, but I don’t believe you. My very close friend Naughty Handkerchief Origami also grew up in that area, and while he’s got a lot to say about how awesome a Philly Cheesesteak is and why the Eagles/Phillies/Flyers really are the best team to root for, he’s got not a word about South Jersey pizza. In fact, he too was seeking out pizza to eat when he visited me last.
I’m not from any areas famous for pizza, which is why I started this thread, but I’m sure that if Philly/South Jersey were famous for it, I’d have had some already.
That said, I’ll be visiting him again at the end of the week. I promise to ask him when I get there.
While Jersey pizza has definitely improved over the years, my memories of it are still of the ketchup-on-wonderbread concoctions of my youth. There was a time when Pizza Hut really was the best pizza in town.
Tibbytoes, you have to understand there are many styles of pizza that all can coexist peacefully in the greater pizza universe.
I do like East Coast pizza. A lot. It may be my favorite style (along with true Neapolitan), and here in Chicago we have a place called Coalfire that makes a wonderful New Haven-inspired style of pizza. In New York, I’m really a fan of Grimaldi’s and Patsy’s. However, most of the regular New York street-corner pizza, I’m not a fan of. Just like I’m not a fan of most Chicago pizzas. I’m very particular about pizza. Only about 5% of it is truly exceptional. As you can tell, I’m not one of those “there ain’t no such thing as bad pizza.” I’ll eat it all, but there’s only a small percentage that give me great joy to eat them.
Vito & Nick’s is one of those places. It’s not an East Coast pizza, nor does it pretend to be. It’s Chicago bar pizza, specifically, Chicago cracker crust. Chicago cracker crust pizza is Chicago’s other indigenous pizza, and I would say is consumed by locals in far greater quantities than deep dish (my first deep dish was in high school, and I was born here). The crust is very thin and very crispy, like a cracker. It is not foldable nor is meant to be. It is cut into squares (party cut), as its meant to be eaten as finger food along with your drink at the bar. The sauce is more heavily spiced that in East Coast pizzas. It’s a beautiful pizza, satisfying a particular pizza craving. I’d be sad if the style were taken away from my pizza options.
Now, given the pictures you linked to, I have to say, and I’m doing my best not to be biased, that the Vito & Nick’s pizza looks better than the pizza you linked to. Now, if you had linked to this Patsy’s pizza, I would have a difficult time deciding. Now that is one pretty pizza.
(GAK)…I believe you’ve activated my furball reflex, madam!
Surely, you’re confusing South Jersey with South Vietnam, or the South Pole, or someplace without a mom and pop pizzeria on every corner, yes!?!
Heck, I think the Jersey Shore alone could hold it’s own in the best pizza department
The very best pizza from any place, and any time was from Dino’s Pizza Parlor in my hometown in New Jersey about 40 years ago. The cheese! Oh, how it stretched and stretched and stretched some more. Then, with an al dente breach, it would snap back to position, sometimes spraying the person seated next to me with pizza grease. And the taste? It wasn’t just mozzarella and smoked provolone, it was mozzarella, smoked provolone and the distilled aura of angels. As for the sauce, dough and toppings? Well just think of those in the same light that Salieri described Mozart in the movie, Amadeus and you’ll be on the right track.
Let me put it another way. If I were on a sinking boat with just enough life preservers to save my wife, two kids and dog, or being faced with the option of replacing each with a slice of Dino’s pizza…well, after licking the grease off my fingers from the first slice, as Lucky’s wire-haired muzzle went under for the third and final time…I’d be faced with some very tough decisions…I mean…perhaps, if I weren’t too hungry, I could spare one of the kids, but…
…sorry for the hijack, I just had to defend a horrendous slur. You may proceed.
