pizza - Chicago - deep dish - stuffed wars

LTH I come to you for guidance in an area that many people come to guidance for but hopefully you will entertain my vanity in thinking I have a unique situation.

I have family in town -
MY fave Chicago style pizza is Giordano's which is actually stuffed and not traditional deep dish.
I am okay with Lou's and I am not a fan of Gino's - cornmeal is not my thing.

Do I just take the family to Giordano's or do I try Art of Pizza, or that crazy place with the pizza pot pies? Never been to Due or Uno's either - wasn't a fan of Pequod's deep dish delivery.

My family is Korean from NY and not that judgmental, however, I'd like to take them on an ultimate pizza experience. Went to Smoque tonight and they seemed to quite like it.

We are going to be seeing Blue Man tomorrow night - so if you have suggestions of pizza places or anywhere else we can hit up - please - please.

Hopefully, in addition to directing me to threads - you could put your .02 in.

Big Star and Portillo's is on the list, potentially Ba ba Reeba - as much info or suggestions you can give would be GREAT!

Thank you in advance.

ll982 wrote:MY fave Chicago style pizza is Giordano's which is actually stuffed and not traditional deep dish.
I am okay with Lou's and I am not a fan of Gino's - cornmeal is not my thing.

Do I just take the family to Giordano's or do I try Art of Pizza, or that crazy place with the pizza pot pies? Never been to Due or Uno's either - wasn't a fan of Pequod's deep dish delivery.

Though I have yet to go I would say Burt's in Morton Grove.


Burt's Place

8541 Ferris Ave
(between Lincoln Ave & Capulina Ave)
Morton Grove, IL 60053
(847) 965-7997

Hours:

Wed-Fri 11 am - 1:30 pm
Wed-Thu, Sun 4:30 pm - 9 pm
Fri-Sat 4:30 pm - 10 pm
Attire:
Casual
Accepts Credit Cards: No
Parking: Street

My thoughts...I don't think traditional deep dish and stuffed crust are THAT different that you need to separate them. My #1 thought is that if Giordano's is your favorite, go with it!

That being said, the Chicago Tribune did an extensive taste test of 100 or so deep/stuffed places and The Art of Pizza's stuffed crust wound up #1. If I recall correctly, Pizza Capri was #2 (I know they have closed a bunch of places from their heyday), and Old World Pizza (North Ave, just E of Johnnies Italian Beef) was #3.

If I'm downtown and want to go somewhere other than Giordano's, I think I'd head to Uno or Due because that's the birthplace of deep dish, NOT that it's superior to the other contenders.

I vote Art of Pizza. I did all the different styles within my delivery zone (Lou Malnati's, Giordanos, Edwardo's, Nancy's Stuffed, Chicago Pizza etc.) and none ever came close to Art of Pizza in my opinion. In fact, I ordered the Special Vegetarian Stuffed Pizza over the weekend.

gjdad wrote:

ll982 wrote:MY fave Chicago style pizza is Giordano's which is actually stuffed and not traditional deep dish.
I am okay with Lou's and I am not a fan of Gino's - cornmeal is not my thing.

Do I just take the family to Giordano's or do I try Art of Pizza, or that crazy place with the pizza pot pies? Never been to Due or Uno's either - wasn't a fan of Pequod's deep dish delivery.

Though I have yet to go I would say Burt's in Morton Grove.

Burt's is deep dish, not stuffed. It isn't clear from the original post whether this matters.

Art of Pizza is good, but the atmosphere in the restaurant is pretty bland. Does that matter to you?

The original Uno's and Due's are good, but I haven't gone in years because the waits are horrendous. If that matters, go at an off hour or skip it. The plus side of these places is that they are downtown, which may be fun for out of town visitors.

But if Giordano's is your favorite, go there. I think it would be more important to your family to try the pizza you like best, rather than what some other people might rate as best.

I have to disagree with RSMBob that there isn't much difference between deep dish and stuffed.

A stuffed pizza, the exemplars being Giordano's, Nancy's and Edwardo's, is a delicious gut-bomb of cheese, with a generally flaky crust, topped with a layer of smooth tomato sauce. There are some interesting variations, such as Edwardo's stuffed spinach version, that don't really lighten it up much, but make you think you might have something healthy in there.

A Chicago deep dish, created by Uno's (but I wouldn't go there anymore, and definitely skip the Uno's Grilles), and carried on by Gino's East, Lou Malnati's, Gulliver's and Burt's is a very different animal: a crunchy crust (often including cornmeal), chopped tomatoes on top, and it's all about the toppings, especially sausage. If you're not a big fan of sausage, this might not be your favorite pizza. Sure, other toppings are great on there, but if you're a sasuage fan, this form shines.

For your Blue Man trip, I'd recommend either Gino's East at 2801 North Lincoln Avenue, or Lou Malnati's at 958 W Wrightwood Ave. Burt's is indeed a better pie, but a little bit of a trip to get there (make a reservation if do you plan to go). If the stuffed pizza sounds more up your alley, there's a Giordano's practically around the corner from the theater at 1040 W Belmont Ave, and the Edwardo's at 2662 N Halsted is pretty close too.

Just made a reservation for 11 am today my son and I will be having Burt's Pizza today.

JoelF wrote:...Gino's East...If you're not a big fan of sausage, this might not be your favorite pizza. Sure, other toppings are great on there, but if you're a sasuage fan, this form shines.

I like sausage quite a bit, but the huge
manhole cover-sized disk of meat they
usually put on their pies is bordering on
disgusting. For years I thought I hated
Chicago-style pizza because a sausage pie
was my first experience with it, now I know
better. So just make sure you know what
kind of sausage style to expect (big patty/
sliced/chunks/crumbled) before you commit
to a sausage fest.

Here's a perspective from someone (me) whose favorite, like yours, is Giordano's, but who also likes Malnati's almost as much. I do consider them different styles, not interchangeable. When someone hasn't been to Chicago before, I generally prefer to expose them first to deep-dish from Malnati's (or the similar Pizano's or the original Uno or Due - all are related to the Malnati family, of course), just because that is more of the "classic" Chicago pizza to me. On a second visit, I'll take them to Giordano's.

However, you shouldn't take them to a place you don't like yourself. Period. It sounds like you have not been to Lou Malnati's, Pizano's, or Uno/Due. If that's correct, maybe it's time for you to try one of them, and this is a perfect opportunity.

Pequod's and Burt's are both single-crust "deep dish" style pizzas; I do not care for either of them much, because the "char" crust doesn't do it for me. Since you've already had Pequod's, you should be aware that Burt's is similar (again, not a surprise, since Burt started Pequod's many years ago). The biggest difference I noticed between Pequod's and Burt's is that Pequod's has a more concentrated tomato flavor in the sauce; the difference between the sauce on Pequod's and Burt's is like the difference between tomato sauce and canned tomatoes, if that makes sense.

I would NOT take them to Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder (with their "pizza pot pie"), which to me is a gimmick of one place and not a fair representation of either style of Chicago pizza, deep dish or stuffed.

Gino's East... isn't bad, but I like Malnati's better. Oh, and I'm still not convinced they use any corn meal in their pizza. They sell their pizza frozen, and it has the characteristic yellow color, but the ingredients listed on the package do not include corn meal, only food coloring.

I haven't been to Art of Pizza, so I have no opinion about it either way.

So, if I were you, I would take them to the Malnati's near Blue Man, especially if you've never been to Malnati's. But if you don't like Malnati's, then take them to Giordano's. And if you want to take them on the "ultimate Chicago pizza experience", take them to both during their visit!

Remember, wherever you go, you can phone ahead with your pizza order. This avoids having to wait 30-45 minutes while seated for your pizza to bake. Incidentally, it also enables you to avoid any long lines waiting to be seated at Uno/Due in River North since they'll seat you in time for your pizza to come out of the oven.

Art of Pizza is fantastic -- they have a nicely seasoned sauce, rich but not too sweet, and a crust that's crunchy and flaky like Giordano's without the cardboard sensation, while buttery like Lou Malnati's (though not nearly as buttery as that).

I have also really enjoyed the two deep dishes I've picked up from Gulliver's. Their ingredients are really good quality -- sautéed onions that retain their rich, buttery sweetness, meaty portobello mushrooms and salty sun-dried tomatoes, among 20 or so other options!

Finally, I have been finding that if I don't emphatically order my deep dish 'well-done,' what comes out is a pile of gooey, rubbery cheese on top of a crust with a soggy Saltine consistency (as has happened at Bella Bacino's and Uno dining in, and Art of Pizza on delivery). Even when we sent our pizza back to be cooked more, it didn't come out the doneness I was hoping for. Maybe I just like a slightly caramelized cheeze taste and blackened crust texture, and I understand that this may not be to everyone's liking, but I find way underdone deep dish just gross, like eating a piece of meat that wasn't meant to be served raw. (Sorry to potentially de-rail the thread topic.)


Gulliver's Pizza & Pub
2727 West Howard
Chicago, IL 60645
(773) 338-2166

You guys are great - thanks! I think I am going to try Art...any other suggestions for Chicago must haves welcome!

Just saw the last two post prior to mine - I will try Malnati's have had it countless times as delivery - but it's good to go for the iconic - perhaps we can squeeze in Giordano's.

Darren72 wrote:But if Giordano's is your favorite, go there. I think it would be more important to your family to try the pizza you like best, rather than what some other people might rate as best.

I'm not a huge fan of Giordano's but I think this is solid advice.

=R=

+1 on Gulliver's. It's my current favorite for deep dish. I like the atmosphere as well, because it's "kitchy".

If you're looking for stuffed, definitely Art of Pizza. Hands down the best stuffed in the city.

I love me some Burt's, but if you really didn't like Pequod's, I'm suspect that you might not like Burt's that much either. Similar, just Burts is less greasy.

Gulliver's used to be my favorite pizza in the city (It was Burt Katz's first pizza place before he opened Pequods & Burts), but they've really gone downhill in the past five years.

What were they like before, such that they've now gone downhill? I'm only just discovering them and I love their pizza, so wondering if it used to be different?

The dough tastes just like Burt's -- chewy, airy and almost focaccia-like, raw-tasting if not well-cooked.

selanator wrote:Gulliver's used to be my favorite pizza in the city (It was Burt Katz's first pizza place before he opened Pequods & Burts), but they've really gone downhill in the past five years.

My wife used to go to Gulliver's during her college days. I won't say what years those were, but let's just say that Nixon was President.

Anyway, she thinks it's every bit as good now as they were then, and they were the place then.