Pizano's Best in the US?

On the news, this past friday, USA Today says Pizano's Pizza & Pasta makes one of the 10 best pizzas in the nation -- and an upcoming "Oprah" show will pick their thin crust as the best in the city.
What do you think?

I know this board has many deep-dish detractors, but personally I love a good deep dish pizza and my two favorites are Malnati's and Pizano's. I particularly love their butter crust doughs, but I definitely believe that Malnati's and Pizano's are the best of the deep dish varieties (and of course, I know many deep dish fans would disagree here too). But since Malnati's and Pizano's are both owned by members of the Malnati family, I think you'll find very little difference between the two, when well executed.

As for the USA Today article, it actually references the rankings by Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby from their book Everybody Loves Pizza.

On a side note, I was very disappointed when Pizano's closed their location near Wrigley Field earlier this year. Unfortunately, it seems that unless you have a bunch beer guzzlers hanging out in your establishment for several hours 81 days a year, you cannot make a go of it with the rents in Wrigleyville these days.

Pizano's Web site notes a Glenview location will be opening in late summer. I called their State Street location and no one knew nothin'.

Anyone know what the deal is?

BR: thanks for noting that USA Today actually used the rankings from "Everybody Loves Pizza" for the article. Penny Pollack and I were interviewed by the reporter, obviously, and she gave our book a small plug, but all anyone remembers is that USA Today named the top 10.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised when a massive paper like USA Today carries so much more currency than two little Chicago writers. I mean, the article was mentioned on Monday Night Football last night, when they showed Chris Bianco making pies in the kitchen of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix. I kept thinking, "Just mention the book...just mention the book." They didn't. (Not that I'm complaining. I was thrilled.)

As for Pizano's, that place deserves all the credit it gets - can't wait for the Oprah show. And last I heard, the outpost of Pizano's is scheduled to open in Glenview in November.

Jeff Ruby

I am coming into the discussion very late in the game, but I'm really curious out what's so special about Pizano's pizza. I was excited when their Clark St. location opened nar me, after having heard many good things about their pizza. When I ate there shortly after it opened, and didn't find anything special about their thin crust. I'm not posting here just to be contrary, but to find out what is special about their pie. Did the location on State St. bake up a better pizza?

dropkickjeffy wrote:BR: thanks for noting that USA Today actually used the rankings from "Everybody Loves Pizza" for the article. Penny Pollack and I were interviewed by the reporter, obviously, and she gave our book a small plug, but all anyone remembers is that USA Today named the top 10.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised when a massive paper like USA Today carries so much more currency than two little Chicago writers. I mean, the article was mentioned on Monday Night Football last night, when they showed Chris Bianco making pies in the kitchen of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix. I kept thinking, "Just mention the book...just mention the book." They didn't. (Not that I'm complaining. I was thrilled.)

As for Pizano's, that place deserves all the credit it gets - can't wait for the Oprah show. And last I heard, the outpost of Pizano's is scheduled to open in Glenview in November.

Jeff Ruby

Since I am of the belief that Pizano's and Malnati's deep dish pizzas are nearly identical, I'm curious if your tastings revealed any differences between the two?

On a side note, when I saw that Pizzeria Bianco pizza on MNF, I was only wishing that I could get one immediately . . . it looked fantastic.

Brad

BR wrote:On a side note, when I saw that Pizzeria Bianco pizza on MNF, I was only wishing that I could get one immediately . . . it looked fantastic.

Looks can be deceiving! In all fairness, Pizzeria Bianco gets so much praise that it is possible I just hit it on a bad night. The Caprese salad was quite memorable.

als2554 wrote:On the news, this past friday, USA Today says Pizano's Pizza & Pasta makes one of the 10 best pizzas in the nation -- and an upcoming "Oprah" show will pick their thin crust as the best in the city.
What do you think?

That cinches it. If Orca says it's the best, then it is.

Brad:

The difference between Pizano's and Malnati's deep-dish? Beats me. We picked the thin-crust pizza at Pizano's as our favorite, mostly because it tastes like deep-dish without the back-breaking heft. That buttery, cornmealy crust has a satisfying snap. There is something so addictive about it.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I'm really surprised at the Pizano's pick for thin crust.

I took a group of 12 to the Pizano's near Wrigley Field last year and we had 3 thin crust pizzas. The crust was way too tough, almost bordering on difficult to bit through, the "sauce" was thin and watery and there wan't enough of it, and I was really disappointed in the miniscule amount of sausage they put on the pizza. Maybe we caught htem on a bad day, but if iy weren't for the management comp-ing us a couple of those chocolate dessert cookie pie things, we would have gone home very disappointed.

Chicago has SO much good thin crust pizza, and fair amount of great ones that I just felt like Pizano's doesn't belong. I'd offer up places like Home Run Inn, Aurelio's, Vito & Nick's and a slew of others before I even considered Pizano's. And don't forget Zaffiro's 90 miles north!

I do appreciate your pizza knowledge and envy your attempts to find the best out there. I'm hoping next time I get to the Chicago area that I finally get a chance to make a trek up to Wells Brothers in Racine.

RSM-

I can safely say that you had an aberrant experience at Pizano's. The Wrigley location closed, by the way. Maybe they were on cruise control when you tried it. The thin crust with caramelized edges and thick, chunky tomatoes bears little resemblance to your remarks.

I never went to the Pizano's in Wrigleyville, so I can't judge one way or another. Rudy has said that his mother handles all the dough (the poor lady), so I'm not sure how this was possible at all three locations. I just know the Pizano's at 864 N. State (where poor ma is presumably in the basement, slaving away) is always good.

As someone involved in the organization (I'm not some publicist, I've been a long time lurker and occasional poster on the old board)--

1. Glevnview will probably be opening sometime soon after the first of the year. Compared to the other two locations, it's going to be huge, close to 400 seats with the patio that will most likely be covered and heated, open all year long. It's a huge process, it's an old liquor store that we probably should of just knocked down and started from scratch.

2. Rudy's mother Donna still makes all the dough for both locations, State St. and Madison. She will also be making the dough for Glenview when we open. She's pushing 80 and one of those people that makes you enjoy being in the business.

Last weekend was craziness beyond what we ever could of comprehended.

pizano345 wrote:As someone involved in the organization (I'm not some publicist, I've been a long time lurker and occasional poster on the old board)--

Thanks for the info -- note that you don't even need to be too apologetic. If you were a publicist posting clear, useful information about a restaurant and being honest about your association, no one would object.

There's a lot of positive participation in this board from pros in the business.

I've always loved the pizza there - even when people told me it wasn't good ( although I find it better than Malnati's) which those people even loved. It just didn't hit the radar for them.

Pizano's has the old-school charm...the smokey bar with guys at the bar that look like they have been there a while, with waiters that have waited here for decades, the small of garlic, onion, butter and rosemary in the air...

It's a good place - a secret place for many until now.

I love Pizano's - better than Malnati's - you get the tourists at Lou's and the locals that know at Pizano's.

pizano345 wrote:Last weekend was craziness beyond what we ever could of comprehended.

So that's why you guys weren't taking carryout until at least 7:30pm on Saturday!

I'm sorry I ended up at Malnati's in Lawndale instead

Pizano345, welcome to the forum here.

As I noted, our group visit to your now former location near Wrigley Field was a pleasant experience, but the pizza admittedly underwhelmed me, and I can't repeat what my brother-in-law said about it.

Ok, we may have caught it on a bad night and it deserves another shot, especially given the generally VERY positive reviews and comments.

That being said...a couple of questions...

What is the Lou Malnatti's/Pizano's relationship and how do the 2 places compare menu-wise and specifically pizza-wise?

Why did the Wrigley area location close?

Thanks, and congrats to Pizano's for the great publicity generated (and likely justly earned) by the esteemed mentions in the book and in USA Today.

I certainly am not answering for the Pizano's or even the Malnati's folks but the brothers had a "split" and went into 2 different dirrections a long time ago and although the pizzas are similar and both are great - I like dining at Pizano's better...

It would be fantastic to hear from the owners if possible...especially how the spinach recall has affected business..

To answer a few questions from above-

1. Carry-out last weekend - I'm at the Madison street location but I would guess the same was at State St. With our ovens the kitchen maxes out on oven space. It's not a manpower issue, it's an equipment issue. We're looking at a few things at Madison to fix for the future and Glenview will have an additional stack of ovens to combat from the beginning.

2. Malnati affiliation - Pretty accurate above. Both come from the days of Uno/Due. I sometimes get confused of the relationship and I've been there for close to four years.

3. Wrigleyville - Clark St. just didn't perform. It wasn't a management issue or staff issue as 90% of those employees are still with us. The neighborhood just wouldn't support a pizza place at that price point. Opening Day and big series were good but if the Cubs were out of town and during the winter it was hard to survive. The managers up there even tried a few things with discounting and drink specials one winter and it didn't do anything. Too bad because it was my favorite (and cheapest) place for food and drinks after a Cubs game.

4. Spinach recall - Didn't really effect us. It was hard to not have it on the menu for a few weeks because we always hate to tell customers we're out of something. I think Giordano's would of been hardest hit because they're known for their stuffed spinach pie.

to me, pizano's tastes like weak tomato sauce and the usual cheese on a Salerno butter cookie. I much prefer vito n nick's, ofame' and many others

Panzone, you said almost exactly the same thing, a long time ago. You are comparing apples and oranges, since those pizzas have little in common with each other, crust wise.

I think Pizano's represents the top of this style. Champs in the game they are playing.

Oh, I can't help it, Pizano's used to be relatively unknown, back in the mists of time....

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/111418

A big thank you to both dropkickjeffy and pizano345 for their comments on this topic -- very interesting. When I lived in Wrigleyville, I regularly ordered in from, and ate at, both Malnati's and Pizano's. I can hardly recall a day when I did not have leftover slices in my refrigerator.

To me, the Malnati's and Pizano's crusts are essentially identical (except on rare occasions where one of their pizzas was slightly off its game). I have always ordered the deep dish with butter crust, and loved them both -- in my opinion, the best crusts in town. And while some pizza purists may contend that only the Neapolitan pizza crusts could be considered "the best," I'll take the deep dish butter crust any day.

My only remaining hope is that one of them would deliver to Lincoln Square! I've been in withdrawal now for nearly two years.

Just a heads up:

Oprah's pizza show, in which she reportedly crowns Pizano's the king, is airing this Wednesday morning. I think it's on at 9 am.

Jeff

I grew up on Lou Malnati's and always thought it was the best deep dish in the city. However, I was introduced to the Gold Coast Pizano location rt around when it opened and was told that the owner was part of the Malnati family. They are similar to each other, but Pizanos is a less heavy version of Lou Mals. Much less cheese and a moderate level of tomato sauce is used. I have come to enjoy Pizanos more than Lou Mals b/c I don't feel like I have ented such an extreme food coma after eating Pizanos.

I think the Deep Dish with butter crust is actually better than the thin at Pizano's. It still isn't a gut bomb like the usual suspects, i.e. you can eat more than one piece. The sauce is usually great, nice thick chunks of San Marzano's if I'm not mistaken.

The only problem I find is that if you order onion for delivery, it tends to get a little soggy with moisture. Then again, I haven't been able to have Pizano's delivered lately because of all the demand from USA today and Oprah and Jeff and Penny's book...everytime I call, they say they aren't taking delivery orders for an hour because they're so backed up.

That being said, my alternative has been Pequod's quite a bit, and I'm starting to think that it's better than Pizano's...the pan with the carmelized cheese halo of course. I'm a sausage guy, and the taste and heft of the sausage is definitely better at Pequods. The airy bread style crust is also harkens back to the Detroit Buddy's Pizza of my youth.

Glevnview will probably be opening sometime soon after the first of the year. Compared to the other two locations, it's going to be huge, close to 400 seats with the patio that will most likely be covered and heated, open all year long. It's a huge process, it's an old liquor store that we probably should of just knocked down and started from scratch

anyone know where the Glenview location is going to be?

gls wrote:anyone know where the Glenview location is going to be?

Pizano's web site does.

jeffB, yep, the pizano's in wrigelyville was so good it closed. ate there once. that was one time too many. looks like the folks in that area agreed.

I finally had Pizano's. The first couple of times I went to the Glenview location. I ordered a deep dish and a thin crust on my first visit to compare both. I also recently hit the State St. location for another thin crust.

The whole thing should be called Bizarro Lou Malnati's. Eveything is so similar, especially at Glenview, with the sports memorabilia. I love the HD TVs everywhere.

As for the food, Lou Malnati's has the better deep dish. I'd probably pick Pizano's for the thin, but it's really close. They are very similar (as you'd expect).

Ram4 wrote:The whole thing should be called Bizarro Lou Malnati's. Eveything is so similar

Don't forget, there's a family connection (as implied in previous posts here). Here it is. In 1943, Ike Sewell and Rudy Malnati, Sr. started Uno's; depending on what source you use, Rudy was the founder or manager or the bartender or who knows what. Anyway, Rudy's son, Rudy Malnati, Jr., opened Pizano's in 1991, and Lou Malnati (brother of Rudy Jr. and son of Rudy Sr.) opened his first namesake restaurant in 1971. All three chains continue to feature similar deep-dish "pan" pizza.