Chicago - The Great Pizza Debate
 

Which restaurant serves the best? What's your opinion? Looking for lots of answers on this one...I only get to eat pizza once while on my trip to Chicago and want to say I've had the best. :D

This is going to depend a lot on personal preference, but my favorite is Lou Malnati's.

What type of pizza - thin-crust, deep-dish or stuffed?

Are you willing to travel into the outlying neighborhoods (which will take some time) to get the "best"? Asking because I thought you had a very full schedule already and the "best" probably won't be nearby where you will be going.

As an expatriate Chicagoan, my preference is Lou Malnati's. But when my expatriate siblings are in town at the same time I am, we end up with a spirited debate (one sis prefers Giordano's, DH likes Gino's, etc.) and end up compromising with Edwardo's.

I don't really care for deep dish, so aside from a local "chain" like Malnati's, I just like the neighborhood pizza shop that cuts their thin-crust pizza into squares.

There's no way you'll find "the best"...the debate is endless.

That said, my personal preference is Lou Malnati's.

My kids recently discovered Connie's because that's what's sold at Wrigley. So twice this summer we've gone to the one in the next suburb over. It <i>is</i> very good pizza. Don't know whether this is true of all their locations, but that one has a very good lunch buffet.

I only eat deep dish/stuffed a couple of times a year. For more frequent eating, I prefer thin-crust. But when I do eat stuffed, I like Giordano's.

We enjoyed Pizano's at State and Chestnut.

We went to the Art of Pizza as we wanted to try deep dish &amp; stuffed in the same meal.

We also went to Chicago Pizza &amp; oven Grinder to try their grinders as well as their &quot;pizza pot pie&quot;.

If you make it up north, Calo's (about 5335 N. Clark) is great for thin crust. And, the rest of their menu is good, too. Just don't go on the weekend or you'll be waiting for a bit.

There's no debate. It's Lou Malnati's. Butter crust, sausage.

Yes exiled, we are willing to make the journey in search of the best.
On another note, apparently my traveling companion cannot handle pizza very well due to the sauce. Any place that provides other options for her besides your basic &quot;sauce loaded&quot; pizza or at least another entr&eacute;e option would be appreciated.

If you're in the Roscoe Village neighborhood, Pete's Pizza on Western Avenue, a few blocks north of Roscoe, dishes up a fine stuffed pizza.

jewels, just about every pizza place I can think of offers alternatives. Usually salads, pastas and sandwiches.

Also, most of the bigger and well-known places should offer an &quot;alfredo&quot; or white sauce. This should not cause any problems for someone who needs to avoid the acidity of the tomato-based sauces. They also will do a light or no-sauce option, I am sure.

Paula

My least favorite place for deep dish is Geno's. They have corn meal in their crust, which isn't appealing to me. Malnati's is my favorite followed by Giardano's and Uno/Due.

For stuffed, Lou Malnati's is definitely the best. Judging from the responses, this seems to be the overwhelming opinion. For thin crust, there are a few places on the south side that are fantastic- Roseangela's in Evergreen Park, and Traverso's in Naperville and Orland Park. You probably won't be in the south burbs on your trip, so seek out a Malnati's. I personally think Uno and Due are crap- they have gone downhill the last 10 years.

Uno's and Due's aren't at all like the originals.

There are about 10 in the city that are thin crust that are all fab and fight for the &quot;best&quot; each year.

I went to Rosangeles all the time as a young adult. I've had Traverso's.

And I think Ed &amp; Joe's vintage (been there years and years and years) is the best. Thin, thin crust and scrumptous toppings. In the Southern part of Chicagoland, anyway.

I love Grinders but it isn't pizza.

I'm not a big Malnati's fan.

I agree with you, JJ5. Uno's and Due's pizza is pretty blah. I don't like the fact that when you order sausage pizza, they put a whole slab on top. Half the time the meat isn't cooked through. There sauce isn't too great, either.

I don't get the appeal of either. Both restuarants are small and cramped. Not to mention the long wait.

If my memory serves me correctly, Geno's does the same with their sausage pizza. I do however, like the cornmeal crust.

I forgot about Pete's. Good stuff, but a bit out of the way if you aren't driving.

Good luck on your search.

You know, after watching &quot;Check Please&quot; and reading &quot;Chicago&quot; magazine etc.- I would say that almost all the really, really top pizza outfits are not downtown.

There are several that may be in the running for best thin crust on the North and NW sides, for sure- and some out in the West burbs.

It's super subjective.

There are some people that idealize the sweeter sauce, like a Chesdan's King (Archer Ave.- SW side proper)Pizza with the works. Or Arennello's (divine but sweet)- all the Palermo's are sweeter too. But then you get those percentage of people (my friend Danna is one) who hate sweeter sauce pizza. So you would truly need to describe your context taste for pizza or know if you like cornmeal, super thin crust like a cracker (crisp) etc. etc. etc. Chicago pizzas are NOT like NYC pizza with that (to us) mushy bendable and to me, bread dough that isn't cooked &quot;enough&quot;.

If you are a meat eater- and go for the greatest sausage taste as well, that may change the picture of best, as well.

I like Gino's East with the corn meal on the crust bottom, must better than Malnati's. To me, Deep Dish Pizza has to be hot and perfect to be good and not have that great slab of solid cheese (that some other people love) overpowering the whole. And to me, you have to taste the crust and the olive oil- and not experience it as a solid piece of bread dough type of bottom.

It's rarely done perfectly. There's not 1/2 as much quality control in deep dish as there is in thin crust or medium crust pizzas.

For me the favorite of all is still Ed &amp; Joe's (Oak Park Ave.- Tinley Park- right off the train station- no need to drive or park-if you take the Metra from downtown). It's a long ride but there is a Fodors person from AZ who still wants me to fly/mail partially cook frozen to him. In Chicago magazine and on metromix.com I've seen it come in within the top 5 repeatedly. But I'm sure some others closer are comparable.

jewels02, sorry, haven't been online for a couple of days. Storms and whatnot.

Which is best is, indeed, subjective; however, most of the locals agree on a few places.

And Sarge is correct. Several places offer up &quot;white pizzas&quot;, too, for those who have problems with tomato acidity.

You can also check the LTHforum, Yelp, CitySearch, Metromix, Chicago Reader or any of the other &quot;usual suspects&quot; for more information, if you wish.

My suggestions:

If you were looking for thin-crust, Neapolitan-style, Coalfire on Grand, just west of Ogden, in West Town. Or Spacca Napoli in Ravenswood (on Sunnyside).

If you were looking for stuffed or pan pizza, the Art of Pizza on Ashland in Lakeview. For the stuffed pizza: suggest the spinach/mushroom. Recommend that you get a smaller size, not the larger. I usually get delivery (being on the North Side) but I normally don't get the stuffed pizza. (I'm a thin-crust gal myself - and Art of Pizza is my pizza of choice.) Sorry, I haven't been to their location since they expanded to three times their original size - due to demand for their goods.

The most-cited pizzerias that I don't specifically mention here are only OK - but not the best, IMHO.

If you want to see the menus of any of these places, you need only to go to Metromix, into the restaurant's review and you will see a hyperlink to &quot;View Menu&quot; on most of these - or go to the Chicago MenuPages website.

Giordano's was delicious. Uno's and Gino's were not that great. We got to Gino's as they opened so there was no wait, thankfully.

Gino's is different outside of downtown. That's the trouble, in comparing- because there just is not that much quality control place to place or even time to time within deep dish, IMHO.

I do love the Giordano's in Orland Park's deep dish. It is extremely good.

I have to vote for Lou Malnati's.