My new favorite pizza: Pequod's thick

You know, one of the things that's weird about Chicago is that while it is unquestionably a great pizza town (unless you simply have a NY/New Haven paradigm of thin crust so lodged in your head that you can't see the forest for the trees pizzawise), there isn't one PERFECT pizza. I tried Vito & Nick's on Pulaski recently, and as admirable as everything else about it was, I felt the sauce was kind of bland. Only the pizza that had onion and garlic on it felt like it was as robust as it should have been without extra garlic.

Here's a good example of a pizza where one or two great things about it have made it my recent favorite even though it is not perfect. But what I like is good enough to make me want all pizzas to share something of what it has to offer.



(Apologies for the blurriness, this is actually one of my first photos when I first got the dig. cam.) The pizza is Pequod's thick. Pequod's is a bar in yuppieville, near Webster Place (or "the Butternut Square Shopping Center" as Moviefone would say). I've gone in there very occasionally for years (I remember I first heard that the federal building in Oklahoma City had been blown up there). But recently I got hooked on the pizza for delivery.

On the one hand it's a pan pizza, thick and bready, which I normally don't think much of. They're designed to fill you up on bread, quickly and cheaply, unlike a deep dish which is actually full of expensive cheeses and meats. This is a little more substantial than most, but still, it's basically pan.

The pluses for it are: a spicy, chunky, hearty sauce. And the process of burning, caramelizing, some cheese around the edges. I love burnt stuff like that. I buy the blackest roasted Starbucks, I would get a whole bag of burnt unpopped kernels at the movies if I could. And I love this burnt cheese along the edge, better yet, the kids don't like it so I get theirs.

I don't know how they do it, but everyone should. Burnt cheese. Mmmm.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... d's#reader

Mike G wrote:You know, one of the things that's weird about Chicago is that while it is unquestionably a great pizza town (unless you simply have a NY/New Haven paradigm of thin crust so lodged in your head that you can't see the forest for the trees pizzawise), there isn't one PERFECT pizza.

Mike, you know better than to say things like this. Chicago is not "unquestionably" a great pizza town. I confess to having a NY/New Haven paradigm of thin crust pizza because I find it to be the most remarkable example of pizza anywhere outside of Italy (and has anyone else been up to Sheboygan, WI for the VPN pizza up there? worth the 2.5 hour trip), but I think I can see the forest for the trees pizzawise. Chicago is unquestionably a great deep dish pizza town. I think you need the qualifier.

Burnt cheese. Mmmm.

Now here, you are absolutely right on the money. I'll scrape and scrape to get the burnt cheese off a pan. So tasty.

keep eating,
J. Ro

I'm not sure what qualifies a city as a "great pizza town". That topic is too incindiary for me to tackle now. However, I would like to present that Chicago has great non-stuffed pizzas.

My favorite is thin crust at Chicago Pizza. Besides that it's right around the corner from my place, the sauce has a sweet and spicy edge that I find appealing. For me good pizza is all about the sauce. Plus, if you go and pick it up and emphasize you're not in a hurry, they'll cook it until the crust has the crispy bottom texture I prefer.

Certainly, there are numerous other high quality non-stuffed options in Chicago. A few I like: Ranalli's does a pretty good thin. And Piece is pretty kitschy, but the pie is interesting and tasty, if sometimes inconsistent; and their homemade brew is good (another topic, I realize.)

Incendiary, indeed.

While I belive that there is nothing better than a Lou Mal's deep-dish sausage pizza, I think Chicago has excellent thin crust pizza with a style all its own.

I grew up with Candlelite's, Father and Sons', and Lou's thin crust pizzas. Crispy, flavorful, and square cut, Chicago thin crust is aything but floppy, greasy, and flavorless.

I couldn't help myself, sorry.

My memory being the hazy mess that it is, I'm not completely sure I have this right, but I think that Pequod's started out in Morton Grove before it move to yuppieland on Clyborne. It was on a side street near a rail line, a little south of Dempster [also a little east of the North Branch bike trail]. The pizza had crusty edges and looked like the one Mike posted...except I had only 1/2 pitcher of beer and it was in focus.

I've been telling anyone who'll listen over the past few years that Pequod's burnt cheese crust seperates it from all other chicago-style joints in the city. Leaps and bounds better than the rest in my book, definitely my "go-to" pizza joint.

Sox fan owners taboot...

Giovanna wrote:My memory being the hazy mess that it is, I'm not completely sure I have this right, but I think that Pequod's started out in Morton Grove before it move to yuppieland on Clyborne. It was on a side street near a rail line, a little south of Dempster [also a little east of the North Branch bike trail]. The pizza had crusty edges and looked like the one Mike posted...except I had only 1/2 pitcher of beer and it was in focus.

They're still in Morton Grove AFAIK; the place is decorated with tons of antique radios. I think the branch on Clybourn has been there since the late 70s.

I have to agree that Chicago is a great pizza town. For one, Chicago has passionate pizza vendors and many, many homegrown pizza chains - many options other than Pizza Hut and Dominos here - Giordonios, Edwardos etc - while certainly not great are not too bad either.

That said, some of the best pizza I've ever had, anywhere, is here in Chicago. Mostly in places that do not just serve pizza but instead serve it as one of the dishes that they sell.

A pure pizza place that is really good - Bricks on Lincoln Ave, lots of options, great crust, great space. All around great place.

For the best thin crust I've had in Chicago go to Moonshine on Division. A thin crust there with pepperoni and green chilis is a hand-made bit of nirvana - very tasty, spicy with a thin perfect crust.

Shannon

a 'za lover (sniff . . . mainly of the chicago variety, thank you very much), i sadly have never been to pequod's. always meant to go, never went. lame excuse, but true. a pequod's-loving friend of mine told me today that he thinks that the morton grove location is far superior to the city one, and he reallllly likes the city one. can anyone confirm or deny?

The slices at Gigios on Broadway are the best NY style I've had in town--the sausage and green olive is particularly good. I was happy that for once the usually-false "scuzziest place serves the best food" principle was in effect when I stumbled on this storefront.

Their whole pies are not recommended though. Something about the way the oven crisps the edges of the already-sliced pizza just doesn't happen with they cook a whole one.

sti3 wrote:The slices at Gigios on Broadway are the best NY style I've had in town--the sausage and green olive is particularly good. I was happy that for once the usually-false "scuzziest place serves the best food" principle was in effect when I stumbled on this storefront.

Their whole pies are not recommended though. Something about the way the oven crisps the edges of the already-sliced pizza just doesn't happen with they cook a whole one.

I have talked about this before, but it bares repeating: I have found that Gigio's turns out a highly variable product in the wintertime. The shop's owner is a bit of a miser, and he doesn't properly heat the shop at this time of year. Consequently, the pizza makers take to leaving the oven door ajar to heat the shop. It is my sincere belief that this adversely affects the quality and consistency of their pies.

Erik M.