Pronto Za [NY-esque Pizza]

A week or so ago, I was discussing pizza with a pal and we fell upon the subject of Got Pizza, and how I was the only one in the office who thought it was terrible. But since it's about two blocks away from work and I've only tried it once, I thought I'd give it another shot today.

Much to my surprise, when I arrived at the Halsted and Division location, I discovered that the "GOT" portion of the signage had been removed, and the place was simply billed as "PIZZA". Closer inspection revealed an 8.5x11" sheet of paper in every window proclaiming that the place was under new ownership, under the name Pronto Za.

The greater Got Pizza chain hasn't gone anywhere. I inquired and found that so far, Pronto Za is just the one location, and they've been there for a little over a month. They're open until 11:00 almost every night (closed on Sundays "for now") and they deliver east to the lake, south to the loop, west to Ashland and north to Fullerton for $2.

It looks pretty much the same... sterile, industrial open kitchen with a closed box up front for holding slices (which are popped into the oven to refresh). The pizza, however, has undergone a total renovation. Count me among those who thought Got Pizza was substandard at best... uninteresting crust and tasteless cheese were always my main complaints. While Pronto Za is still NY-esque (I don't pretend to be an expert on this subject), it strikes me as a significant step in the right direction.

Sadly, I don't have the cable necessary to download pics with me (stupid Fuji and their USB breakout box... I'll update tonight), but they still serve a wide slice, cut in two to fit into their takeout boxes. The crust has left behind Got Pizza's thick crispiness and replaced it with a thin, somewhat floopy center that gives way to a crisp, perfectly manicured crust at the edges. It's kind of sterile and could stand to be crispier and charred in places (it's a perfectly uniform medium brown), but I prefer it to the old Got Pizza crust, which reminded me more of frozen pizza. The big change, however, is in the toppings. I tried two... a standard sausage, as well as one of the daily specials that involved goat cheese and red peppers... and both were quite tasty. A little greasy, tomato sauce light and sweet (certainly not the gnarly, potent garlic and herb concoction that Santullo's uses, for example), cheese that I believe was a blend of some type, but in any case tasted cheesy rather than simply looking and feeling cheesy. All in all, quality ingredients, served hot and gooey as they should be.

In short, it's lacking character and some finer points, but it's a tasty slice! I certainly wouldn't hesitate to stop in if I had a NY-style jones, and there's no question in my mind that it's more than a baby step up from the joint it's replacing. Though I'll be curious to hear what those more knowledgable on the subject think.


Pronto 'Za
1234 N Halsted
Chicago, IL 60622
312-302-9988

ugh. the baby step just wasn't big enough for me. this is a pretty disgusting slice... subpar compared to even santullo's and way off of luigi's:

Yyyyeah... on the first visit I think I was mostly happy that there was improvement over the previous place. I think I was, perhaps, too kind on the first pass.

Luv Pronto 'Za... the walnut gorgonzola choice is pretty cool.