Does Chicago deep-dish properly have a top crust? Seems to me I recall someone coming back from Chicago with some deep-dish that was like that…
Hmm…I like spinach on my pizza but never with red sauce, only with white.
The girl I’m going with is underweight, we need to get some fatty pizza toppings in to her 
Just a heads up… as someone who is not from Chicago, neither of these names are pronounced like they are spelled.
My partner and another friend (both from Chicago) were discussing which they liked better, and it wasn’t until much later that I saw them spelled out, and I thought “ohhhh, that’s what they’re talking about.”
Almost as bad as the guy from Boston trying to explain to me where to park along the lake shore.
OK, I’ll bite: how are they pronounced?
I believe it’s the fennel seeds in the sausage that gives Chicago sausage pizza it’s distinctive taste/flavor. Not every Chicago pizza sausage contains fennel. And the places that use it might not tell you their secret ingredients.
Fennel seeds look like tiny footballs with longitudal stripes.
The classic deep dish does not. That’s what separates deep dish from stuffed pizza. Like I said, I consider a stuffed pizza a subset of deep dish, but not everyone does. Some treat it as two completely different things. And I’m not just talking about nit-picking foodies. Giordano’s, Nancy’s, Edwardo’s, and Art of Pizza all do stuffed pizza (although Art of Pizza also has something closer to a standard deep dish.) Single crust deep dish was developed at Uno’s in the early-to-mid-40s. Stuffed pizza did not come on the scene until Nancy’s in 1972.
Here’s an article on stuffed pizza. This particular blogger is of the opinion that deep dish and stuffed pizza are completely different animals:
I’m not sure I’d make the taxonomy so distinct, but I do share the opinion that deep dish and stuffed are different enough pizzas that some distinction should be made. I don’t really like stuffed pizza, but I like deep dish.
It’s not really a secret ingredient at all. Fennel is a common component of American-style Italian sausage. In fact, it’s THE defining flavor of what is sold generically as “Italian sausage” in an American grocery store. I’ve never had store-bought Italian sausage that was not a fennel-flavored fresh sausage.
Another vote for Lou Malnati’s.
It may not be strictly traditional deep dish but it is way better than the vile cheese slab & really sweet tomato sauce baked in a bland crust that Pizzeria Uno/Due get away with serving.
They are definitely pronounced as spelled… Gee-or-DAH-no’s and Mall-NOT-ee.
Anyway these were the top two in a recent poll I made for best Chicago pizza. Giordano’s is my favorite. Get the stuffed spinach.
You link is interesting. I would dispute that most of the big Chicago style stuffed pizza places have crust on top. I am a serious adherent of Giordano’s and Art of Pizza, and I’m pretty damn certain there’s no crust on top of them, I realize the blogger you quote says it barely noticeable, but I’m still really skeptical and I’ve seen Giordano’s made on TV often enough to claim some degree of certainty on that.
To the OP, I definitely encourage you to try any of the options. I agree that Gino’s East is really overrated and would not be my choice, but I think their supreme with the disk o’ sausage and the corn crust is distinctive enough to warrant a sample. I wouldn’t go there for a simple cheese or pepperoni though.
Uno’s is probably my least favorite because it’s the least cheesy and is frankly somewhat bland. It’s a poor example of what people imagine “Chicago Style” to me. That said, it has the best ambiance of the lot hands down and that is really worth something when considering tourists biases. That said, because it’s the thinnest of the “pan” styles it may appeal to some folks who aren’t into the cheese pie style and actually like a buttery, bready crust.
Lou Malnati’s is very similar to Uno’s to me. Thin and bready without enough topping to carry it off. Their toppings are however very tasty and they have some combinations that really are worth trying. This is a place where I always order “extra cheese” and something more than just 1 topping. Perhaps Lou’s and Uno’s are the most traditional representatives of the style, but I think the style has been improved upon in the ensuing 60+ years.
Giordano’s as mentioned is my favorite of the big names by a wide stretch. It’s stuffed pizza, but it’s similar enough to Chicago pan to be indistinguishable to a newbie. I just love their sauce and the pure cheesy indulgence of it, I tend to stick with pepperoni when I get Giordano’s because for me it’s all about the cheese. Too many veggies and stuff get in the way, but have at it. The biggest downside to Giordano’s is that it’s become a chain. All the big names have opened a lot of locations, but Giordano’s is probably the most widely spread and has the least character in some of the new locations. The food hasn’t suffered, but there’s no “vibe” at most locations, Rush and Superior excepted. Of course Giordano’s hasn’t been bastardized the “Uno’s” chain was, so fear not.
Pequod’s might be my all-time fave. It helps that it’s right down the street from my apartment, but it’s just so good and unique enough to warrant a sample. The burned edges are divine. Consistency can be an issue for Pequod’s, it perhaps more bready than any of the options above and when the cheese portion gets skimpy it can be really disappointing. That said, when it’s on it’s extraordinary.
As an aside, I hope you’ll try and get to a game at Wrigley at some future date. That’s sort of the whole point. I feel a little sad for people who visit Chicago and do a tour of the park. It so completely misses the point. There’s not really any “sights” aside from the Ivy and everything about it’s appeal comes alive when there’s a crowd and sun and a game and a goodly portion of beer before, during and after. It’s pure baseball, but not in the grimy, uncomfortable, edgy way that Fenway is. It’s baseball how Don Draper would pitch it. The park when it’s empty is just an old building with some statues and green paint.
Sorry, but you’re wrong. That’s what defines “stuffed pizza.” Two layers of dough. All stuffed pizza has two layers of dough, no exceptions. That’s what “stuffed” means. You can see the top layer in this picture.
Also, from Giordano’s own website:
Or, just watch this video of a Giordano’s pizza being made. About 0:50 in comes the second layer of crust.
I don’t like Giordano’s because it’s too cheesy, too saucy, and the sauce is too muddled tasting. Give me clean tomato flavors any day. Of course, we will agree on Pequod’s. Which I’m surprised by, because it’s not the excess of Giordano’s.
Thanks, that was my recollection as well, as a former Chicagoan. Hence the question. I might cut some slack on Giordano’s, which I could see pronouncing as “jor DAH ohs”, which isn’t far off.
Somehow I feel betrayed.
Actually, it’s merely correct.
The “i” is not pronounced. It’s merely inserted because otherwise the “g” would be pronounced “hard” (as in “get”). That’s because there’s basically no “j” in Italian, or at least not one which functions like the English “j”.
Hence English “Julia” is Italian “Giulia”, for example.
Anyway, it’s the best pizza in Chicago. No matter how many crusts it has!
Having just returned from the bathroom, I can confidently say yes, I am a chick.
puly, I agree that stuffed is a subset of deep-dish, but the differentiator for Lou’s and Pequod’s to me is that I can eat it with my hands (though I usually don’t.) Can’t do that with Giordano’s, etc. deep-dish. I realize this is just how it is in my head, but there you go.
Ah, and for completeness’ sake, although he does not have an outlet in Chicago proper I can say that the famously crotchety Burt of Burt’s Place (and who developed Gulliver’s and Pequod’s styles previously) in Morton Grove does indeed make a very fine pizza with very fresh ingredients, so long as you follow his rules. I like the guy though; he reminds me of my dad.
I’ve managed to try the big 4 Chicago pizza places over the past few years.
My favorite has to be Lou Malnati’s. We typically order the butter crust. The toppings and sauce were quite good. This is now our go to place when we are in Chicago and want pizza. The restaurant itself was somewhat bland though, although we had a blast talking to the bartender the time we sat at the bar.
Giordano’s and Gino’s East are about on the same level for me and are in the middle. This is good Chicago style pizza. I will no longer order the sausage as one big slab though. Gino’s East off Michigan Avenue had good atmosphere.
Uno is far and away my least favorite. The crust was way too dry and the corn meal over-powered it. I will not go back there. As someone else mentioned though, the restaurant is pretty neat inside.
If you happen to be in the mood for a Chicago dog before or after your pizza, I recommend stopping in Hot Doug’s.
You just haven’t tried hard enough.
I agree with you. Pequod’s (and Burt’s) is somewhere between pan and traditional deep dish. Between the caramelized cheese crust and the doughiness, it’s definitely not a typical example of Chicago deep dish. I’d call it a cross between Detroit style pizza (a la Buddy’s) and deep dish. But unless you’ve had Detroit style pizza, that means nothing. Like I said, they themselves call it a pan pizza, but it’s not (to me, at any rate), like a typical pan pizza, either. It definitely feels more like a deep dish, and I personally feel it closer to Chicago deep dish than stuffed pizza is.
Finally another person of impeccable taste in this thread.
Thumbs up to Lou Mal.
If you’re not dead set on deep dish, there’s a place called Renaldi’s not too far from Wrigley that I recall being quite good. I ain’t been there in a while, though.