Is there good stuffed pizza?

A friend who moved away decades ago was talking about craving stuffed pizza sometimes. I was never a huge fan, and haven't eaten any in ages. What little I've encountered at parties or out with friends over the last 20 years seems to get worse and worse. All the old Chicago standbys that expanded seem to have drifted towards producing piles of bland glop. I refer to Giordano's, Edwardo's, Uno, Carmen's.
Leaving aside the question of whether stuffed pizza is a good idea to begin with, I'm wondering if there is currently a decent example being made. By this I mean, a crust(s) with some flavor, sauce with zip (and not characterized by sugar and stale dried oregano), cheese that doesn't taste as if it came from Home Depot, decently handled fillings.
Looking to be able to recommend something to those who like or wish to try the concept without having to apologize in advance. (And I don't mean pan, I mean stuffed.)
Anything?

Stuffed is not my preferred style of pizza and with most of the places making it being mediocre-at-best corporate chains, I rarely eat it.

But my first thought after reading your post of Art of Pizza in Lakeview. They are local, family owned, and I'd say they make the best stuffed pizza I've ever had . Good quality ingredients, flavorful crust, and while the sauce is sweet (hard to escape in Chicago) but it isn't saccharine. Again, I don't like it as much as Malnati's or Pizano's, when it comes to deep dish pies. But for a stuffed pizza, that'd be my pick.

Art of Pizza
3033 N Ashland
Chicago, IL 60657
773-327-5600

DClose wrote:Stuffed is not my preferred style of pizza and with most of the places making it being mediocre-at-best corporate chains, I rarely eat it.

But my first thought after reading your post of Art of Pizza in Lakeview. They are local, family owned, and I'd say they make the best stuffed pizza I've ever had . Good quality ingredients, flavorful crust, and while the sauce is sweet (hard to escape in Chicago) but it isn't saccharine. Again, I don't like it as much as Malnati's or Pizano's, when it comes to deep dish pies. But for a stuffed pizza, that'd be my pick.

Art of Pizza
3033 N Ashland
Chicago, IL 60657
773-327-5600

I agree that this isn't my favorite style (the top layer of soggy dough is never appetizing to me) and I think AoP is an ok place. That said, I'd definitely go with a whole pie, made to order, if I got pizza here. The slices of stuffed pizza are just not good.

=R=

mrbarolo wrote:What little I've encountered at parties or out with friends over the last 20 years seems to get worse and worse. All the old Chicago standbys that expanded seem to have drifted towards producing piles of bland glop. I refer to Giordano's, Edwardo's, Uno, Carmen's.

Agreed.

DClose wrote:But my first thought after reading your post of Art of Pizza in Lakeview.

And agreed.

I've been meaning to try stuffed pizza from Gulliver's, Tedino's and Bojono's, places in my regular delivery rotation. Gulliver's does a good, if somewhat inconsistent deep dish. The others do good thin crust pizzas. Anyone have reports on their stuffed pizzas?

BoJono's Pizzeria
4185 North Clarendon Avenue
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 404-9700
http://www.bojonospizza.com

Gulliver's Pizza and Pub
2727 West Howard
Chicago, IL 60645
(773) 338-2166
http://www.gulliverspizza.com/

Tedino's
5335 N Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 275-8100
http://www.tedinos.com/

I used to feel the same way about Edwardo's but my daughter recently started working there so of course we had to go eat there and I have to say there stuffed spinach was excellent!

I also enjoy Bacino's stuffed spinach -

If I had family from, say, Kearney Nebraska, and if they came to Chicago to visit me, and if they resisted my impeccable counsel and insisted on having stuffed pizza anyway, I'd follow weinstein5 and take them for a stuffed spinach at either Bacino's or Edwardo's. But I'd order a salad and sit in mute protest while they masticated, all the while pushing the scraps of wilted lettuce dejectedly and forlornly about the plate. When I packed them into their minivan for the return to Paducah (or Kearny, or Hot Coffee, MS, or wherever), I'd disinherit the lot of them.

I will repeat the calls for Bacino's or Edwardo's.

lodasi wrote:I will repeat the calls for Bacino's or Edwardo's.

I've never been impressed with Bacino's - everything I've had is decent, but never particularly good.

However, it is important to point out that unlike many stuffed pizza places, Art of Pizza does not have a special spinach filling. Yes, they have spinach on the menu, but it is just leafy spinach, not the cheesy, gooey spinach filling people associate with stuffed pizza.

If that specific, spinach filling is what you're after, then I would also endorse Edwardo's as a 2nd option, and my favorite stuffed spinach pizza.

Choey wrote:If I had family from, say, Kearney Nebraska, and if they came to Chicago to visit me, and if they resisted my impeccable counsel and insisted on having stuffed pizza anyway, I'd follow weinstein5 and take them for a stuffed spinach at either Bacino's or Edwardo's. But I'd order a salad and sit in mute protest while they masticated, all the while pushing the scraps of wilted lettuce dejectedly and forlornly about the plate. When I packed them into their minivan for the return to Paducah (or Kearny, or Hot Coffee, MS, or wherever), I'd disinherit the lot of them.

I have to endure this fate once in a while with relatives. I just skip the drama, and make sure there's a thin crust snausage, spinach, and giard on the table too.

No, there is no good stuffed pizza at all. It's all poorly made by people who do not care about the end product, your enjoyment. or their continued employment. In fact, all stuffed pizza is an elaborate hoax, designed to create an inferior product that no one likes and then convince them to pay for it. Repeatedly if possible.

I'm not the biggest fan of stuffed pizza, either. I very much prefer deepdish pizza (i.e. Louisa's in Crestwood, Lou Malnati's, Pizano's) over stuffed pizza. That said, when I do eat stuffed pizza, I go to Art of Pizza.

I had completely forgot about Bacino's and can no longer even remember where they are. But I think somewhere back in the mists of time, I liked them well enough and better than some.

Darren72: We used to live close to Tedino's and found it quite good enough to be a local go-to option. That said, we tended to opt for thin, but we did do stuffed on occasion and it was as OK as stuffed can be. But this is going back a while now.

Had heard good things about BoJono's from several quarters over the years, but never made it in (or took it out).

Art of Pizza puts out an acceptable version, but my favorites are Nancy's and Suparossa. Both use a good quality cheese, throw in abundant ingredients, and top it off with enough tomato sauce to keep the pie moist and flavorful.

Haven't had an Edwardo's pie in a long time, but suffered through Giordano's version recently enough to remember a dried out, flavorless pizza that required a lot of liquid to get it down.

Buddy


Nancy's (multiple locations, but this is our local outpost)
8706 W. Golf Rd.
Niles, IL
(847) 824-8183

Suparossa
4256 N. Central Ave.
Chicago, IL 60634
(773) 736-5828

Would a calzone count as stuffed pizza? If so, I'd go that route. At least the crust will be fully cooked and not slimy, raw tasting dough.

Although out of the geographic target range for many on this board, I would like to recommend Vince's Italian Restaurant on the outskirts of Palatine.

The original Vince's was located on Harlem at Lawrence, and we frequented it in the early '90s when we lived down the street. Eventually, we moved to the NW suburbs and we heard Vince retired, selling his namesake restaurant. From what I hear from friends in the old neighborhood, the new owners didn't put the same old-school care into the place. Instead, they focused on expansion and there are now a number of Vince's.

A few years ago, we noticed a Vince's location on Hicks Road at Lake-Cook, but never went in, thinking it would reflect the new ownership. But one day a year or two ago, we were in the area and hungry, so we stopped. Lo and behold, there was the original Vince himself, out of retirement and running his restaurant again, old-school style.

To make a long story short, his is still the original-style stuffed pizza we liked back in our Harwood Heights days, and while this style of pizza is not our regular choice, once in a while, it really satisfies and is the only stuffed pizza I will eat.

Vince's Italian Restaurant
2365 N. Hicks Road
Palatine

I can't stand when people lump deep dish and stuffed into the same category. There is no comparison, deep dish is amazing, while stuffed is meh. I once had Nancy's where the crust was amazing. The problem is I never had Nancy's again that was like that. It was a one off moment. Edwardo's, Giordano's, Bacino's, Suparossa, all fair at best. Art Of Pizza was pretty decent, but why waste my time with it. I will never order stuffed pizza again unless I'm with a group of people that happen to order it or be going there.

I have to agree with BuddyRoadHouse. I've been going to Nancy's on Golf Road for 30 years. This is the original before it got franchised out. Once every couple of years, I get a hankering for stuffed and this is where I go. I'm an aficionado of thin crust but their stuffed is the best ever IMHO.

Like everybody else (it seems), I am not a huge fan of stuffed pizzas. Tedino's, mentioned upthread does make an interesting stuffed pizza they call the Greek pizza. The pie is stuffed with feta cheese, fresh tomatoes and olives. The feta cheese adds a really nice flavor and has a much lighter texture than Mozzarella. The top layer of the stuffed pie is made with Mozzarella. I usually add anchovies.

The Lovely Donna wrote:I have to agree with BuddyRoadHouse. I've been going to Nancy's on Golf Road for 30 years. This is the original before it got franchised out. Once every couple of years, I get a hankering for stuffed and this is where I go. I'm an aficionado of thin crust but their stuffed is the best ever IMHO.

I'm also a fan of Nancy' stuffed pizza at their Chicago Heights location which is shared with Al's Beef.

Nancy's Pizza & Al's Beef
551 W Lincoln Highway
Chicago Heights, IL 60411
(708)748-2333

I'm one of the folks who agrees that there is no bad pizza (I don't hate Barnaby's Northbrook, just never thought it was anything special). I had a lot of Edwardo's, Giordano's and Carmen's when I was in school, and continued to frequent the two former of that list as I moved westward in the 'burbs... until they started closing the ones near me (Wheeling and Mount Prospect for Edwardo's, Niles and MP for Giordano's). I prefer the part of the spectrum that runs through Burt's and Malnati's, but hey, it's pizza, and more of it in one handful!

I hate to use the "it's not as good as it used to be" card, but neither Edwardo's nor Giordano's thrills me like it used to. Less-flavorful fats in the crust? Cheaper cheese? I can't say. Could just be old tastebuds.

I had Nancy's exactly once, and the sauce tasted too strongly of dried herbs, never went back.

If I was asked, "What's your favorite stuffed?" I'd still say Edwardo's spinach version, perhaps with sausage added.

I am in the same boat as well - no style if pizza, tthin crust, NY Style, New Haven style, St Louis Style, Thick crust, Deep Dish or Stuffed - just bad preparations of said pizza styles -

I have also thought the same of Giordano's and Edwardo's that over time they have morphed into so-so status but when my daughter started working at the Edwardo's in Skokie revamped the kitchen - we went and I was very surprised that the quality is back to what I remember 10+ years ago

I suppose this will carry the conversation even further from what some consider pizza, but, if you can convince whoever is making your stuffed spinach pizza to top it with alfredo sauce rather than pizza sauce, you'll be in for a treat. I've found it quite difficult to obtain this masterpiece lately. Chicago's pizza will still do it, though their pizza isn't anything to write home about.

I'll put another vote in for Art of Pizza, like most I'm not a big stuffed fan, but they do a great job. My only ding on them used to be they would use frozen sausage but in the last couple years moved on to a better product. I used to be a big fan of their pan, but the crust seems less buttery lately and I've never liked their thin. When I need a stuffed fix, Art's is my go-to.

I am admittedly biased, but I happen to think that the stuffed spinach pizza at My Pie is incredible.
Give it a try.

My Pie Pizza
2010 N. Damen, Chicago (Bucktown)
(773)394-6900