Pizza at Whole foods South Loop.

I don't know if this will be surprising to many people, but the pizza from Whole foods is the best pizza I've had in chicago. (non-chicago style) I've given up on finding a true authentic nyc slice in this city since many of the places I've been to (Luigi's,) has the slices laying out ready to re-heated, and others (gigios) are simply too greasy, most of these places have too much cheese. At whole foods they have a 3 dollars off on wed for an entire pie and if you get one fresh out the oven it's hard to beat. Also you can tell them to custom make it for you (lay off the cheese, please etc) and they will obey. The tomato sauce here is tasty, the dough is light, fluffy, and fresh and again, a great deal on wed. It may not be nyc style but for a non chicago style pizza I have yet to find a better alternative sadly. Also, the pizza here reheats very well in the oven for later consumption which is another plus.

Have you been to Coalfire? In my opinion, clearly the best East Coast-style pie in Chicago. I was there again last week, after not visiting for about four months, and it just seems to always be getting better. They've got their oven and dough down, and produce the most delicious, delicately charred crust I've ever had. It's truly a work of art and artisanry. Search around for threads here. Also, check out Spacca Napoli and Piece. I'm not completely sold on Piece, but a lot of people really like them, and they brew their own, very delicious, beer.

Is Coalfire NY style or New Haven style? Or generic East Coast style (like you'd get in Philly, let's say)?

Definitely not NY style, more like New Haven-cum-Naples. Piece is trying to do New Haven with varying success. Coalfire will make New Haven peeps happy, and also should please most Italian DOC purists, but it can't be said to fall squarely within the NY or NH categories.

leek wrote:Is Coalfire NY style or New Haven style? Or generic East Coast style (like you'd get in Philly, let's say)?

I usually refer to Coalfire as some New York/East Coast-Neapolitan hybrid style, but I'm not exactly sure why. The pizzas I've had at Grimaldi's in New York (or Hoboken) seem quite similar to me to what they serve at Coalfire. Of course, Grimaldi's pizza is different than the typical street-corner pizza you'll get in Manhattan (which I think, frankly, is nothing to be excited about). I've never quite been able to figure out what the exact difference is between NY pizza and Neapolitan pizza. I think the latter tends to use 00 flour, while the former uses higher-gluten flour, but that's about the extent of my knowledge. The reason I tend to think of Naples with Coalfire is because a close Neapolitan friend of mine, who moved here when he was 18, finds Coalfire pizzas most reminiscent of the pizzas he remembers from back home (even preferring them to places like Spacca Napoli.) Having not ever been to Naples, I have no point of comparison, so I tend to lop it in with the East Coast, as I've had that style of pizza (or what seems like that type of pizza to me) out there.

For comparison, here's a Grimaldi's pie, and here's one from Coalfire. They look very similar to me, minus the cheese.

. . . and here's the Da Michele version from Napoli:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanoa/273477376/

...and don't forget the "None Pizza, Left Beef" from Domino's:



Story: http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000707.php

Had the red bell pepper pizza from WF-South Loop last night (Wednesdays are $8.99 for a whole pie, ridiculous deal), dynamite. Agree that it's closer to NYC than most other options around here, but it just tastes so damn wholesome.

Binko wrote: ... I've never quite been able to figure out what the exact difference is between NY pizza and Neapolitan pizza. I think the latter tends to use 00 flour, while the former uses higher-gluten flour, but that's about the extent of my knowledge...

For what it's worth, while at Coalfire last weekend, our server overheard me lamenting a friend's recent need to switch to a gluten-free diet and said to never take her to Coalfire -- they use a particularly high-gluten flour for their pizza. So... there you go.

I agree, Whole Foods has a great pizza, I need to get it more often. I saw a sign that said they have a deep dish pizza too, but I never had it, nor have I seen what it looks like.

I love Whole Foods pizza too. They always have different, interesting flavors. Some examples from what I've seen: spinach and gorgonzola, cherry butter and cherry, wild mushroom.

I go there for lunch a lot and usually wind up with a slice of cheese (so I'm plain, I know) and a roll of sushi. Best lunch ever!

This is the Whole Foods in Glenview I'm talking about.

For New York style pizza you should check out Cafe Luigi. The best I have had in Chicago.

Cafe Luigi
2548 N. Clark St
Chicago, IL 60614
773-404-0200

As I've commented before, I've been consistantly dissapointed in cafe Luigi. I've never had the privilege of arriving for some fresh pizza and instead always have to settle for a slice that has been sitting out ready to be re heated in the oven. Also, there is too much cheese on the slices, it's decent but simply cannot compare to an authentic nyc slice (which is seeks to emulate) imho.

I also thought the the pizza at the Whole Foods up on Peterson off the Edens (Sauganash?) was pretty authentic New York style. I thought the crust had more of the authentic thickness/chewiness than a place like Santullo's. As I've mentioned before, I'm also a fan of their barbecue brisket. Seems like the people at the corporate offices in Austin really went all out to get authentic recipes/techniques on the regional specialties of the US.

chewonthat wrote:This is the Whole Foods in Glenview I'm talking about.

You got me all excited thinking there was a store in Glenview. The website says no. Are you thinking Deerfield? or Palatine?

chewonthat wrote:
This is the Whole Foods in Glenview I'm talking about.


You got me all excited thinking there was a store in Glenview. The website says no. Are you thinking Deerfield? or Palatine?

I would assume the poster is referring to the new-ish (and gargantuan) WF at the confluence of Northfield, Glenview, and Northbrook, just east of Waukegan Road and south of Willow, just across from Kraft Foods International at Three Lakes Drive. Check it out.

figjustin wrote:For New York style pizza you should check out Cafe Luigi. The best I have had in Chicago.

Cafe Luigi
2548 N. Clark St
Chicago, IL 60614
773-404-0200

Cafe Luigi is very good, I used to go the bank across the street and would often stop in for a slice or two.