Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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Wednesday, October 9
Your mom.
Piece pizza is the best in the city.
I used to think Pequods was the best.. but is it just me, or since they did renovations.. not as good now?
Gino's EAST!
Salernos!!!!!!!!
I agree about Salerno's and offer La Gondola (thin crust) and Calo as other great choices.
I agree that all of the pizzas mentioned above are very good. I would like to add:
Lou Malnatti's and Pizza Metro.
Apart Pizza on Montrose is so creative, thin, and yummy.
Rico's Pizza if you're in the south suburbs. Father and Son's has a pretty damned good thin crust (and is around the corner from my place), Lou Malnatti's for deep dish, and Ian's for wacky-ass pizza toppings.
Apart Pizza on Montrose is so creative, thin, and yummy.
Pequods which is the only Chicago pizza that comes close to D.C.'s Armand's which is the best in the nation.
Also Pete's Pizza on Western is decent
Not so sure about pizza, but Pizza Broker in the loop has great pepperoni calzones.
If you are in the suburbs - Louisa's Pizza in Crestwood is amazing. In the City - Pizzano's in the Loop, but the one on State isn't bad either.
Coal Fire!
Charlie...I could not agree more.
Aurelio's is the best pizza in Chicagoland.
Good call.
Italian Fiesta, hands down!
Coal Fire is the best! Although, I enjoy Spacca Napoli as well...
heavier pizza - pequod's
lighter pizza - coal fire
different pizza - chicago pizza & oven grinder
@charlie/rich - what about the aurelio's near the loop grey hound station? i've only ever been to the one in... macomb (yes, at WIU)
In the past three decades I've had pizza all over the city (from Rogers Park to Bridgeport), including many neighborhoods that I can't recall.
It's all good, and good for your soul.
Party Cut: Bacino's on Wacker or Lincoln. This is quintessential Chicago-style thin crust. Hearty, cheesy,and not light on sauce. My go-to pizza.
Pie-cut: Apart Pizza on Montrose. It warms my heart that a couple of people have already mentioned this. Interesting variety of toppings and with a slightly sweet sauce, I definitely shed a tear when I moved out of Ravenswood.
Other: Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinders on Clark. My parents would bring me here as I grew up, and every time someone would say, "Why would you get a grinder? How could you not get the pizza?" Well, eventually I moved a block from this old stand-by and frequented it enough to want to try something new. You heard it here: if you can pry yourself away from the pizza bowl and partake in one of the grinders, you won't be sorry. (You still need to get the Mediterranean bread. You always need to get the Mediterranean bread.)
@jen....I've been to both, and the Loop is comparable, good enough to get a taste for how good the pizza is.
I think the sauce and crust are comparable..but the Homewood location takes me back. :-)
Mucky Fingers...I'm DOWN with that!
depends on what kind I'm in the mood for...
I just discovered Pequods last year and really, really like it. Like a lot.
Piece for their mashed potato topping.
Paula and Monica's has a really good veggie pizza.
And Festa... I have lots of fond memories of Festa pizza nights.
I'm going to go ahead and say that Nancy's Pizza is my favorite. I haven't had a chance to branch out too far but of the 3-4 places I've tried, Nancy's takes the 'pie.'
There is no debate, there is only Lou Malnatti's. The best pizza in the whole world!
pequod's, definitely. i don't think i've noticed a change in pequod's pizza quality since the remodel, but i do miss the dank and the old surly staff.
also, when i'm in the mood for a thin crust, folks mentioned pizza metro and father & sons. i agree! father & sons has a tasty roasted eggplant thin crust.
Sssshucks,
all this pizza talk makes me want a Real slice from
Grimaldi's
in Brooklyn!
@charlie/rich - what about the aurelio's near the loop grey hound station? i've only ever been to the one in... macomb (yes, at WIU)
Jen
I grew up on the stuff from when I was a wee lad 40 years ago. Some places are better then others it's said.
Go to Homewood and and order a meatball pizza with extra sauce, well done. Request it be cooked in the "original oven" and I guarantee you will love it.
Best?
No such thing.
I'm partial to the pizza's from Union Pizza in Evanston these days.
I have too many pizza loves to pick one.
However, I haven't seen The Art of Pizza mentioned. Mighty fine slice.
For just everyday delivery kind of pizza, I have to say I love Pizza Metro!
Another vote for Apart Pizza. Practically the only place we order from anymore. Consistently yum-tastic.
Art of Pizza is delicious! However, ANY pizza in Chicago will beat out this crap they have in Silicon Valley. Bleh!
What? No one even mentions the original Pizzeria Uno on Ohio?
It's never been the same since they remodeled (was that 20 years ago) but they opened the year I was born and served me my first illegal beer when I went to Navy Pier. And don't gorget the gasoline salad.
I loved Bubamara and was sad they closed. Spacca is good but their prices are crazy. I like Pizano's. There's an Apart in Edgewater, on Broadway just north of Bryn Mawr, that's great.
1. rosangela's
2. nick&vito's
3. salerno's
oh bubamara...is it really closed?
pizza doc was pretty decent...spacca not so bad either..
What? No one even mentions the original Pizzeria Uno on Ohio?
I'm with ya Len. I get in about once a year. I have very fond memories as a child eating there and Gino's East with my family. We would wait for what seemed like hours...
Chicago was so laid back then. It's hard to struggle with the tourists now at Uno. Always some pushy dude with 4 kids claiming he ate there the day it opened.
Good call.
off topic, satko from bubamara is opening what dish calls a "french/italian" spot soon. i leave it to his other fans to to find the info if they haven't seen seen it.
on topic, i'm originally from a city that actually makes pizza, so i dunno what y'all are talking about. pizza in chicago. heh.
(i do like apart on broadway. i wish i could like spacca napoli's limp, lifeless creations.)
Dominick's Pizzeria in Villa Park (absolutely no association with the grocery chain).
Just a great all-round pizza. Not too greasy, not too sweet, not too thick or thin. Great balance of cheese and sauce. Crust is top notch.
I pick up a pizza from Dominick's Pizzeria about once a month and it's always well-prepared.
139 W Saint Charles Rd, Villa Park, IL (about one mile west of Route 83)
MARIE'S.
I love the barbecue chicken pizza at Chiki's in Rogers Park.
The Florian in Hyde Park. It's so good that I once had their spinach deep dish delivered to me in Poland.
A yo Spook!
Didn't you use to come into
Sal's Famous in Bed-Stuy for
a slice and a Soda?
See I use to work there until my boy Buggin Out staged a protest because Sal wouldn't put no brothas on the wall!
So Sal called the police who choked my boy
Radio Raheem
to death with a night stick right there!
So I tossed a garbage can
through
the window, and a riot broke out and Sal's got burned to the
ground
What, no love for Burt's Place? Or did he close up without fanfare?
The answers to this will inevitably depend on where you grew up and where you live now. Far as I'm concerned, the world's best is outside Philly.
But for Chicago, Malnati's for deep dish, Palermo's in Oak Lawn for thin crust.
I'm with Greg on Burt's Place in Morton Grove. Anyone who likes Pequod's owes it to themselves to go out there and try Burt's. It is stylistically pretty much the same, but better executed. I do like Great Lake, though it might be a little over-hyped at this point.
Giordano's. Accept no substitute.
Hand's down, Renaldi's on Broadway, just north of Diversy.
The best deep dish (NOT that stuffed crap) I've ever had.
In 15 years here, I have yet to find a better pie.
I've never had their deep dish, but Renaldi's thin crust with onions is pretty damn good ... if you don't mind paying $279 for it. My girlfriend lives near there and we'd sure go a lot more if they didn't charge so damn much. Nearby sushi places selling Fed-Exed raw fish are cheaper than Renaldi's bread, tomatoes and cheese.
Great Lake or Sapore di Napoli for Neapolitan
Pat's on Lincoln for thin crust
Gigio's in Evanston or Cafe Luigi on Clark for NY Style
Art of Pizza for Deep Dish
emphatically seconding Art of Pizza for deep dish. I also like Spacca Napoli for Neapolitan-style thin crust.
Pequods & My Pie. Good stuff.
#1 Marie's on Lawrence
#2 Homemade
Pizza Rustica.
Pizza Rustica.
Pizza Rustica.
Pizza Rustica.
3913 N. Sheridan
Buttery crust, freshes basil, made by the thickest accented (and nicest) italians ever.
I like Gruppo di Amici on Jarvis, but actually my husband Ted makes my favorite pizzas.
Home Run Inn has great pizza.
For all of the South Siders out there:
*Phil's on 35th is sinfully delicious.
*Milano's on 109th & Western. Their deep dish is easily the best deep dish in the city. Try the roast beef!
I second both Gigio's to basic thin crust (I go there probably twice a week) and Gruppo di Amici for wood-oven thin crust. Malnati's deep dish is also a favorite, after all this time.
I have to try a bunch of these other places, as many of them sound really good.
Villa Nova, Stickney
In the late 60s and early 70s you could call ahead to Uno's and then jump the line when you arrived. On Friday afternoon's we would meet at the Loophole cocktail lounge of Don Roth's Blackhawk on Randolph. We would have an ice cold Martini (at least I would) and then go for a liesurly walk to Uno's where our sausage pizza was waiting almost ready. We were seated immediately and by the time we finished the salad (which was big enough) for two) the pizza was ready. (We saved some of the onions for the pizza.
That pizza is one of the few things I miss since I gave up pork and started keeping quasi kosher.)
In those days a small pizza was $8.00 IIRC.
Gulliver's on Howard & California for deep dish, Apart for thin crust
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Andrew Huff / July 23, 2009 11:14 AM
We asked this once before in 2004, but the pizza scene has changed a lot in five years.