Dish Wed Jan 09 2013

How To Celebrate National Pizza Week

By Annie Conway

Did you know that it is national pizza week? I didn't either. In fact, I wonder if this is an officially sanctioned holiday at all, or if it is more like the Milkshake Mondays and Champagne Thursdays that I like to celebrate.

In any case, most of us don't need any encouragement to eat more pizza, official or not. But if you do, consider it your patriotic duty to partake in one of America's favorite foods this week. To make it easy to participate in this delicious holiday, we've gathered some options for you and arranged them in order of effort required:

Option One: I am too lazy to get up, but I will eat pizza if it is brought to me.

If you're just looking for a solid pizza to eat in your jammies during Downton Abbey, Pizza Metro will do the job well. Nothing too gourmet here, just good, square slices with a satisfyingly thick, buttery crust and a menu with ingredients in English.

But if you're feeling a little bit more adventurous, order a New Haven-style pizza from Piece. These are thin crust, but so loaded with toppings that you are guaranteed to have leftovers tomorrow. Break out of your pepperoni rut with a white pizza with extra garlic, sausage, spinach and mushrooms.

Option Two: I will consider putting on pants in order to get pizza into my mouth.

Let's be real, if you want the good stuff, you're probably going to have to leave the house. Luckily, Enoteca Roma is a gentle reentry into civilization. Laid back and lovely, this family spot serves classic Roman pizzas for two--thick and doughy like a focaccia and topped with some unusual suspects. Try the Ostia Antica with goat cheese, fresh arugula, and prosciutto added after it's baked. A glass of wine wouldn't be a bad idea either.

If you like your pizza with a side of rock and roll, check out the pizzetas at Three Aces--cause, you know, nothing says rock and roll like brussel sprouts on a pizza. Ok, ok, I'll admit that this is one of those places I love to hate because I think it's trying too hard to have a schtick (boy do people turn out for a faux tin ceiling!), but damnit, the food is good. I like brussel sprouts and I like pizza. So there.

Lastly, if you haven't been to Pizza Art Cafe yet, drop what you're doing, put on something forgiving and go there right now. Why everyone is not talking about Pizza Art Café all the time, every day mystifies me. This quaint Lincoln Square restaurant turns out some seriously delicious, perfectly thin and beautifully charred crust pizzas from their wood fired oven. Go there for their in-house smoked meats alone--try a Siciliana with smoked beef and roasted peppers--and be even further bowled over by the bruschetta, a mound of roasted dough topped with chunks of tomato and fresh feta. Don't be surprised if your dining companions lose all manners at the table and start tearing at the dough and scooping up lost toppings with their hands. The icing on the cake? It's also BYOB.

Option Three: I'm pretty sure I could make the best pizza in Chicago

Impressive... not satisfied with just eating outstanding pizzas, you want to make them too. Well lucky you, the experts at Frasca have whipped up a pizza-making class this Thursday at 6:30 pm so you can hone your kneading and tossing skills in time to impress your guests this weekend.