Please let me know your favorite pizza joints! Planning a visit at the end of this month. Thanks so much!

This could get ugly real fast, but here's my favorite purveyor of 'za in Chicago:

Lou Malnati. Sublime.

All of the main players are wonderful, however, so I think you'll have no problem finding some good pie.

Thanks! I've definitely heard of that one!

My Pi. Very good atmosphere and you can get big pitchers of Berghoff, too.

Giordano's!

http://www.giordanos.com/

Thank you!

There's a new, incredible place called Spacca Napoli. It has real Italian pizzas. Read for yourself:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic...94ab6a18c8c56e

PIzanos Pizza on N State. An old joint that isn't full of tourists!

Another vote for Lou Malnatis!

There is thin crust and thick crust.

Most of my favorite pizza joints are thin crust and are not downtown. But Lou Malnati's is delicious. My favorite thick crust used to be Uno's or Due's near Ontario in the '60's and ''70's but they are different than they were, IMHO- now. But those are still good ones too. Giordano's and Gino's East are good- not as unique and more "chained". I love the cornmeal crisp on the bottom of Gino's. There's a lot of difference in the sauces, IMHO. Some have a layer of sausage, some are pieces etc. They are all a little different. Most thick crust are extremely filling with the tomato layer on top.

To the person who posted about Berghoff's. They closed for good last month.

Actually I used to like the King Pizza at Chesdan's on Archer Ave.-on the South Side of Chicago the most for all categories. And that was a thin, thin crispy crust style with a great sweeter sauce. There is one similar to it near us and in multiple locations now, and also an outfit I like probably even more called Arrenello's.

You will get lots of different answers.

I have to have fresh mushrooms, never canned, and good green pepper, and great sausage.

There are huge followings for many thin and medium crust pizza styles:
Connies (I dislike), HomeRun Inn, Vito and Nicks, and countless other of neighborhood establishments.

No more Berghoff beer? That's a shame.

Berghoff beer will still be available, as far as I know. It isn't brewed on site, but at a brewery in Monroe, WI.

But if you want pizza and homebrew, Piece on North and Damen has New Haven-style (whatever that means--it's just good thin crust) pizza.

HTH,
Racy

JJ5 - Chesdan's is gone? Man, that was the best part of dating a guy from the South Side (me being a Northsider).

My vote for Lou's. Moved out to western subs 12 yrs ago - still cannot find a good thin crust (not a chain).

Not pizza but a neat tribute to the great old joint:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/s...ck=1&cset=true

smokey, Chesdan's moved from Archer Ave. to Homer Glen. It's at 143rd and Bell Rd now. Just looked at the recent rec's and people are still driving from North and NW suburbs to get Chesdan's.

Ironically, I would have to go 10 blocks out of my way on the trip home from work and don't. As good as it is, I've found some in our area that are equal or close.

Many large and popular pizza joints of the far South or SW sides of Chicago have migrated to all the collar suburbs. There are some great thin crust pizzas in Chicago Ridge (Papa Luigi's), Oak Lawn (Palermo's) and at least 20 or 30 others are very good in Palos, Orland, Tinley, Burbank, Hickory Hills, etc.

My sister is in CarolStream, and I agree- they can't compare.

Gino's off State Street on the near north. Unbelievable deep dish.

Another vote for Giordano's. Eat it there though. It never reheats well, and I have had the ones they freeze so you cook at home and it is just not the same.

Lou Malnatis for the thick stuff (which for the most part I've never been too much of a fan of). But Aurelio's in the south suburbs is really where it is at for their thin crust.

Yes, Aurelio's is another good one. It's my daughter's family's favorite. Vittrad, try Arrenello's- it's similar but with a sweeter sauce. Aurelio's does a huge variety of toppings well also.

cd, I too like Gino's probably the best. It's not at heavy as Lou's, IMHO, but not as complex or deep in taste either, but I must admit I like the crust better and I can taste the corn meal. And yes, the deep dish have to be eaten right out of the special ovens. Most times if you wait or try to reheat, it's a lead balloon. I tried the frozen- 1 time. Not even close- too wet.

Many, many people who think they don't like deep dish (who live outside of the immediate Chicago area) really don't know what a deep dish done well can be.
Most of the things they get are chains and/or in locations where it ends up being a massive hot soggy mass of semi-wet dough that is hard to digest.

This isn't the case when it is done right. And it's not easy. It's like the difference between a layered croissant and a heavy wet banana bread. Totally different. Great deep dishes are not leaden- and the tomatoes are on top so that the dough is not a sodden mass-but olive oil airy.

We always order "buttercrust, well done" at Lou's.

JJ5: I saw that Palermo on 63rd is still there. My friend and I (northsiders) used to order one every Sunday, drive down, pick it up and drive to Marquette Park to eat it. -- Back in the early 70's, tho.