Chicago Magazine's List of the 25 Best Pizzas
Chicago Magazine's List of the 25 Best Pizzas
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Post #61 - June 22nd, 2010, 10:43 amMike G wrote:posting about some great new place >> writing style
I assure you, if you call attention to something worthy, nobody's gonna call you on technicalities.
Well, most people won't...
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Post #62 - June 22nd, 2010, 11:02 ammtgl wrote:Point taken, naturally. I just meant that because there seem to be more north siders around, north side places are much more likely statistically to be covered/stumbled across/written up nicely than south side places. I fully admit to contributing to the problem, as I am confident in neither my picture-taking/food-porn skills or writing abilities--but this thread's given me inspiration to try again with some pics. The four I mentioned might make a nice pizza crawl for anyone interested. I personally rank them in this order:
Palermo's>Roseangela's>>Fox's>Barraco's. And yes, that's a "much greater than" sign in the middle. This ranking is thoroughly biased by having grown up eating these, though, so factor in some nostalgia. In terms of defining characteristics, Palermo's has a sweet, somewhat spicy sauce; Roseangela's has a really light, charred crust; and Fox's/Barraco's fall into the V&N vein, though generally greasier, which is occasionally good and occasionally annoying.
SS Pizza Crawl Map
My Bride and I would sign up for this. Of course we would hope that V&N's would be included along the way.
I think you did a great job of describing the pizza's in your post and they sound great!
All you have to do is set a date and they (we) will come.
"Very good... but not my favorite." ~ Johnny Depp as Roux the Gypsy in Chocolat
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Post #63 - June 22nd, 2010, 12:28 pmPanther in the Den wrote:SS Pizza Crawl Map
Thanks for this, Panther. Thanks to this link, I've got all these places on Google Maps on my Droid for last minute South-Side-pizza-eating. I'd also be up for a crawl (or an athon, if you will).Steve Z.
“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
― Ludwig van Beethoven
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Post #64 - June 22nd, 2010, 1:53 pmstevez wrote:Panther in the Den wrote:SS Pizza Crawl Map
Thanks for this, Panther. Thanks to this link, I've got all these places on Google Maps on my Droid for last minute South-Side-pizza-eating. I'd also be up for a crawl (or an athon, if you will).
I'd be in for this too; I have not had Fox's or Rosangela's, and have only had Barraco's in Lisle, which I imagine might be diluted a la the far-flung Aurelio's.
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Post #65 - June 22nd, 2010, 2:33 pmmtgl wrote: The four I mentioned might make a nice pizza crawl for anyone interested. I personally rank them in this order:
Palermo's>Roseangela's>>Fox's>Barraco's.
Have you ever had Durbins? I see their ads all the time. How would they stack up against these?
http://www.durbinspub.com/index.html
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Post #66 - June 22nd, 2010, 2:55 pmPanther in the Den wrote:V&N = Chicago Bar Style thin crust
Home Run Inn - Chicago thin crust
Both unique and not to be confused
My personal favorite for "Chicago Bar Style Thin Crust" is Q's in Hillside.. The thin crust has a lot of flavor and they have a slightly tangy sauce that matches the crust.
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Post #67 - June 23rd, 2010, 3:30 amPanther in the Den wrote:V&N = Chicago Bar Style thin crust
Home Run Inn - Chicago thin crust
Both unique and not to be confused
I don't think Home Run Inn is typical of Chicago thin crust. The whole corn meal thing is not what I grew up on, or most of the rest of us Northsiders
Unfortunately I think of typical Chicago thin crust as something like D'Agostinos on Southport. Not that they are awful, but I wish my parents would have been taking me to Marie's, or Candlelight.
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Post #68 - June 23rd, 2010, 8:33 amFor me, the most common chicago thin crust is the thin crust served by places like Salerno's, Giordano's, Home Run Inn, Chicago's, Pete's on Western, etc. I prefer what V&N, Marie's, Zaffiro's, etc serve up, but it's not what I think of as Chicago-style thin crust.
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Post #69 - June 27th, 2010, 10:45 amI had two slices of Gigio's sausage pizza yesterday. The place is not at all appealing - no air conditioning and an uninviting interior. However, the pizza was decent, New York slice-shop quality. Not near the quality of Coalfire or Piece, to be sure, but tasty nonetheless.
As a native East Coaster, I have to agree with the "pizza cognition" idea - I would probably prefer Gigio's (average East Coast mom-and-pop pizza) over the vaunted Chicago thin crust mentioned upthread - note, however, the I adore Burt's and Pequod's deep dish, so I am not against Chicago's "native" pizza by any means.
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Post #70 - June 27th, 2010, 1:47 pmmrefjl wrote:Panther in the Den wrote:V&N = Chicago Bar Style thin crust
Home Run Inn - Chicago thin crust
Both unique and not to be confused
I don't think Home Run Inn is typical of Chicago thin crust.
Yeah, to me Home Run Inn has its own category of Chicago thin crust. Vito & Nick's, Palermo's, Marie's, D'Agostino's, etc., are more of what I think of when I think of our indigenous thin crust style.
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Post #71 - June 27th, 2010, 8:37 pmBinko wrote:mrefjl wrote:Panther in the Den wrote:V&N = Chicago Bar Style thin crust
Home Run Inn - Chicago thin crust
Both unique and not to be confused
I don't think Home Run Inn is typical of Chicago thin crust.
Yeah, to me Home Run Inn has its own category of Chicago thin crust. Vito & Nick's, Palermo's, Marie's, D'Agostino's, etc., are more of what I think of when I think of our indigenous thin crust style.
Thank you. And while we're at it, can we wrest away another piece of this, that square cut, thin-thin pizza is "southside" pizza. I know there are popular versions of this type of pizza as cited in that litany, but growing up in Niles and Northbrook, this was the pizza we always had (too). I really do not think there is anything exclusive to this pizza and White Sox country.Think Yiddish, Dress British - Advice of Evil Ronnie to me.
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Post #72 - June 28th, 2010, 8:07 amA lot of St. Louis style pizza is also cut into squares.
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Post #73 - June 28th, 2010, 10:06 amDarren72 wrote:A lot of St. Louis style pizza is also cut into squares.
From what I can tell, the party cut extends into other parts of the Midwest, too. I can't speak to exactly how geographically extensive it is, but it seems to be common enough in Milwaukee.
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Post #74 - June 28th, 2010, 10:18 amSquare-cut pizzas, square shaped states...perhaps this is the accepted pizza convention for the Midwest.
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Post #75 - June 28th, 2010, 10:41 am
Which is why pizza in Michigan always has an oddly-shaped breadstick served off to the side, pizza in Minnesota features 10,000 little pools of grease, and Hawaii prides itself on serving multiple, small bagel bites.jesteinf wrote:Square-cut pizzas, square shaped states...perhaps this is the accepted pizza convention for the Midwest.
-Dan
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Post #76 - June 28th, 2010, 10:43 amdansch wrote:
Which is why pizza in Michigan always has an oddly-shaped breadstick served off to the side, pizza in Minnesota features 10,000 little pools of grease, and Hawaii prides itself on serving multiple, small bagel bites.jesteinf wrote:Square-cut pizzas, square shaped states...perhaps this is the accepted pizza convention for the Midwest.
-Dan
I think you may be onto something here.
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Post #77 - June 28th, 2010, 11:02 amjesteinf wrote:Square-cut pizzas, square shaped states...perhaps this is the accepted pizza convention for the Midwest.
Just checked with Iowa and they also have square cut pizza.
"Very good... but not my favorite." ~ Johnny Depp as Roux the Gypsy in Chocolat
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Post #78 - June 28th, 2010, 11:05 amPanther in the Den wrote:jesteinf wrote:Square-cut pizzas, square shaped states...perhaps this is the accepted pizza convention for the Midwest.
Just checked with Iowa and they also have square cut pizza.
Do they say pop?Think Yiddish, Dress British - Advice of Evil Ronnie to me.
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Post #79 - June 28th, 2010, 11:23 amVital Information wrote:Panther in the Den wrote:jesteinf wrote:Square-cut pizzas, square shaped states...perhaps this is the accepted pizza convention for the Midwest.
Just checked with Iowa and they also have square cut pizza.
Do they say pop?
Nope! It is all "soda" there.
"Very good... but not my favorite." ~ Johnny Depp as Roux the Gypsy in Chocolat
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Post #80 - June 28th, 2010, 12:09 pmjesteinf wrote:Square-cut pizzas, square shaped states...perhaps this is the accepted pizza convention for the Midwest.
According to my husband, who delivered pizzas back in the last millennium (mid-1970s) in Columbus, Ohio, the square-cut style was known there as "Chicago cut."
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Post #81 - June 28th, 2010, 12:25 pmYeah, it may extend a little through the Great Lakes area, but the midwest is basically from the east border of Colorado to Ohio, and most of that has never seen a square slice of pizza in their lives.Watch Sky Full of Bacon, the Chicago food HD podcast!
New episode: Soil, Corn, Cows and Cheese
Watch the Reader's James Beard Award-winning Key Ingredient here.
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Post #82 - June 28th, 2010, 12:32 pmI have a good friend who grew up in New Jersey and has lived in Chicago for about 15 years. His palate doesn't extend far beyond pizza and he constantly rants about the absurdity of the square cut.
After a few years of listening to his griping and complaining I finally asked him why he just didn't ask his pizzeria to cut his pizza in pie slices. It never occurred to him to ask for this. He thought square cuts were some sort of "Chicago rule" like "no ketchup on hot dogs".
He hasn't complained about the cut since then.
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Post #83 - June 28th, 2010, 12:40 pmeatchicago wrote:I have a good friend who grew up in New Jersey and has lived in Chicago for about 15 years. His palate doesn't extend far beyond pizza and he constantly rants about the absurdity of the square cut.
After a few years of listening to his griping and complaining I finally asked him why he just didn't ask his pizzeria to cut his pizza in pie slices. It never occurred to him to ask for this. He thought square cuts were some sort of "Chicago rule" like "no ketchup on hot dogs".
He hasn't complained about the cut since then.
Too funny. I grew up in NJ and have lived here for almost 9 years now (before that I spent 4 years dealing with "pizza" in St. Louis). Square cut doesn't turn me off completely, but I still maintain a healthy amount of scorn for the middle pieces that have no "edges" to hang on to.
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Post #84 - June 28th, 2010, 12:41 pmNo triangle, only square!Watch Sky Full of Bacon, the Chicago food HD podcast!
New episode: Soil, Corn, Cows and Cheese
Watch the Reader's James Beard Award-winning Key Ingredient here.
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Post #85 - June 28th, 2010, 12:46 pmNew Yorkers are as passionate about their pizza (and the pie cut) as Chicagoans are of our local conventions.
I prefer the square cut as it is easier to handle with one hand leaving the other available for a can of Old Style. A pie cut take two hands to handle the 6 to 9" slice. I also hear folding the slice is popular.
How wide spread is crushed red pepper as a sprinkled topping?"Very good... but not my favorite." ~ Johnny Depp as Roux the Gypsy in Chocolat
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Post #86 - June 28th, 2010, 12:49 pmI prefer pizza cut into circles. That way your slice (a disc, really) really is a microcosm of the whole pizza. If you know of places in Chicago that cut pizza into circles, please let me know. Also, if you know of places outside of Chicago, that would be good to know too. Finally, don't knock until you've tried it.
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Post #87 - June 28th, 2010, 12:55 pmMike G wrote:Yeah, it may extend a little through the Great Lakes area, but the midwest is basically from the east border of Colorado to Ohio, and most of that has never seen a square slice of pizza in their lives.
I'd go so far as to say that most of that area has never seen a pizza worth eating regardless of the way it's cut.Steve Z.
“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
― Ludwig van Beethoven
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Post #88 - June 28th, 2010, 1:21 pmHey, I had Sioux Falls' best pizza last year and it was... worth eating.Watch Sky Full of Bacon, the Chicago food HD podcast!
New episode: Soil, Corn, Cows and Cheese
Watch the Reader's James Beard Award-winning Key Ingredient here.
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Post #89 - June 28th, 2010, 2:11 pmJeff Ruby responds to those who disagreed with his list. Click here.
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Post #90 - June 28th, 2010, 2:23 pmnsxtasy wrote:Jeff Ruby responds to those who disagreed with his list. Click here.
LMAO! Those are some funny responses.
=R=By protecting others, you save yourself. If you only think of yourself, you'll only destroy yourself. --Kambei Shimada
Every human interaction is an opportunity for disappointment --RS
There's a horse loose in a hospital --JM
That don't impress me much --Shania Twain
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