What kind of Chicagoan would I be if I didn’t write about pizza? After all, we gave the world the gift of “deep dish” and I’m pretty sure we invented cornmeal crust,too.
There is more good pizza to be found here than anywhere outside of Napoli.
A Brief History Of Ellen Ross’s Pie-Eating Time.
As a youngster I did not like cheese. Or food in general. I only ate hot dogs, hamburgers and Niblets canned corn. This food phobia made eating pizza impossibile.
Until a fateful sixth grade sleepover at my girlfriend Barbara’s house.
Around ten p.m. the girls raided the kitchen and somebody pulled out a box of Kraft Do-It-Yourself Pizza Mix.
Remember that? A nifty kit that contained an envelope of pizza flour dough (just add water) a can of tomato sauce, a package of parmesan-like cheese and a packet of herbs and spices.
The more culinary-minded little girls squealed with delight and thirty minutes later- Ecco! A pizza had emerged.
Peer pressure was on. I had to eat their masterpiece. So throwing my lifetime anti-cheese bias to the winds, I took a very tentative bite.
Hmmm. I kind of liked it. And by immersion therapy, I gradually graduated to Jeno’s pizza rolls and John’s frozen pizza.
My little brother Kenny had a big pizza monkey on his back. At his urging, I was soon mainlining the hard stuff- delivery from pushers like Tonelli’s and The Spot.
Twelve Step Update Sidebar: Kenny is still hardcore. The other day he went to Treasure Island and bought a Tombstone frozen cheese and sausage pizza. “I like it once in awhile,” he unashamedly confessed when confronted by my head-shaking. Some junkies can NOT be cured.
By high school I had my pizza-eating down. (Cheese and sausage only. Mushroom wouldn’t make an appearance until college.)
And if a boy really wanted to impress me, he only had to drive me downtown to Uno’s, Due’s or Gino’s East.
Let’s dish about deep dish.
When me and my metabolism were both younger, I loved deep dish pizza. It was all about the cornmeal crust for me. In fact, I ate it inside out- that is to say I started at the back end.
The outer perimeter- with its blistery, charred edges- is what I’m talking about. In fact, now that I think about it, I still avoid the middle of the pie at all costs. I only chow down on the outer limits. To hell with the squares in the middle.
But these days, my ability to still fit into my high school cut-offs more than outweighs (sorry) my craving for acres of crust.
Enter Pizano’s.
Their thin, cornmeal crust number fills my pizza bill. It’s a hybrid between deep dish and paper-thin (more about that later) and it’s got pretty good sausage, too.
Lou Malnati’s serves up a good pie, as well. Lou worked for Ike Sewell at Deep Dish Pizza Ground Zero. I think he was around when Ric Riccardo invented it.
Pizza History Chronicles: The origins of Chicago deep dish pizza are getting misty but I’ve always given credence to the story that, after founding their pioneer Mexican joint Su Casa, Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo were looking for another cheap, innovative food group to bring to the masses.
Enter Uno’s. And then its younger-but-bigger sister, Due’s.
(But if you have any evidence or folklore to the contrary, please comment away below.)
But I always had a soft place in my cuore for really great thin crust.
Paging Frank Mariani. Successful North Shore landscape contracting baron- and major fork.
One day I took advantage of our happy business affiliation to presume if he knew of a good thin crust place up his way. (Lake Bluff.)
He did.
The Quonset Hut, Waukegan.
Bravo! Really good call, Frank.
We went. We ate. It conquered.
One not-quite-as-tasty divorce later, and I was banished to a pizza desert.
Aspen.
Aspen may have many things- like God-given great weather and gorgeous scenery- both natural and manmade ( read: very cute guys) but good pizza it hath NOT.
For years I had to put my ‘za cravings on hold until I could come back here to attend to them.
And now that I’m back in Chicago, I have made two very important discoveries.
1. Pat’s Pizza on Lincoln and their terrific, wafter-thin, see-through pizza
2. Pizza is not meant to be ordered in for one.
Pizza is for lovers.
So, single pizza fans now hear this:
If the middle of the pie suits your fancy (no anchovies, per favore) let me know, okay? I’ve got the outer edges covered.
Wanna share?
Email me, amore.
Funny, you did not mention the Freeman family favorites. Although, as a New Yorker, I am tried and true to thin crust pizza which you fold and try to manage the oil drizzling down your hand. When I was pregnant with Jill, we used to drive the 30 minutes to Howard Street(every Sunday)from Glencoe to Eduardos on Howard Street before the Himmels expanded their creation to across Chicagolandland. I just love it to this day..My son James, who resides in NYC, gets off the plane at O’Hare and goes directly to a Giordanos right at the airport vicinity. Likewise, my daughter Jill loves Barnaby’s in Northbrook. My grandson, also from NYC, asks as he is getting off the camp bus at the Sheraton Hotel in Northbrook, to please take him across the street to Barnaby’s. Matt and Lou like it all and I have become enamored of Lou Malnati’s which is a stone’s throw from our apartment..However the very, very best is “Pepi’s Pizza” in Naples, Florida which is where I dine every lunch hour when I am there..$2.50 a slice and I am in heaven..”Pepis” is the real deal and so is his pizza.:) .
Molto molto grazie, Diane! I’m so glad you name-checked these places. I’ve eaten the pies at most of them and they are fantastico. But I am going to have to give Pepi’s a pass. Bill and I divided the country up when we got divorced. I got Aspen, Santa Barbara, New York City and Santa Fe. He got Naples.
Pizano’s! I agree completely Ellen. I discovered this place when we moved downtown and describe their crust exactly as you have. I also like it with ground beef which requires less Nexium, but reflux be damned when I’m at Due!
Grazie a te, mio amico. We must have been separated at birth. Watches, pizza… two hearts that beat as one. And Go Hawks!!!
The family honor – and pizza – is on the line! Gino’s East is still worth its place as one of Chicago’s great deep dish pizzas. We have opened a new location, housed in Michael Jordan’s old restaurant on LaSalle. Great new look and wonderful pizzas. With the next generation of Himmels taking over, they’ve added their sophisticated palates to pizzas.You can still enjoy your favs, but adventure out and try some of the new offerings. Edwardo’s too. Updated and delish. For a great meal and a terrific, sophisticated atmosphere, try Eduardo’s Enotecta on Dearborn. My nephews true sophistication shines here! Foodies will enjoy it too!
As for you, there is always a single serving ( for you – two meals) fresh or frozen at most grocery stores! Enjoy!!!!
Here is very important pizza info, readers. I’ve been away so long that I need schooling. I love -and will try- all your suggestions. Except the last. Frozen pizza for one is too freakin’ sad and I will not be caught with it in my shopping cart. Thanks, Joan, for this critical pie update.
I stil have a burn on the roof of my mouth from a late night Spangs run St. Germain, WI 1972. Nothing beat a late night pizza run in the Northwoods. The Spruce was also great but Art would shut it down early.
Very nice, bro. Eagle River pizza. We know this will make the Camp Ojibwa crew happy. And did you check out Joan’s comment re the fresh/frozen pizza section of your neighborhood grocery store? Good tip. Thanks. Love, your pizza partner in crime
Coming from someone(me) who grew up in the city,lived in Northbrook shortly and now in the south suburbs I can only say one word about good pizza. BARNABYS ! Hands down the best pizza ever….if you could see what we do and how far we travel to get a Barnabys pizza! That would be the family fave!
This is the second time Barnaby’s has been name-checked! And it doesn’t even have an Italian name. Certamente, I will have to give it a try on my next North Shore run. Grazie, cugina mia. Love to the rest of the clan.
Not too long ago I had the misfortune of sitting with a New Yorker (from the city) and a few people from Chicago when the subject of Chicago deep-dish pizza came up. How can such a subject generate such strong feelings as to whether or not this is really pizza?
It took “road rage” to a new level? As I think most of your followers are from Chicago – this discussion seems trite but I am sure if any of your readers are from NYC they know what I am talking about.
I’ll have you know, my dear sir, that I have readers from every state in the union now. (Remind me to thank that one guy in Butte, Montana.) But yes, Chicago is a very big https://www.letterfromelba.com market and my readers care about the things that truly matter. We here are more than qualified to take a stand. Would you like me to cast aspersions on Detroit’s ability to judge a good Four Tops song?
Degustibus non disputatum est (?sp). About taste there is no argument. Same for the Four Tops and the temptin Temptations.
De gustibus non est disputandum- which is Latin for why my cast-off ex husband makes someone else a perfectly acceptable spouse. Or to out it another way, “Go figure!” Thanks, Hippocrates.
Pizza is God’s gift to man kind! It has all the four food groups and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. A nice cold frosty beverage brings the perfect marriage of the two. Palermo’s pizza has been a personal favorite for some but every pizza joint has its unique taste including store bought frozen. So like all the lovely ladies, I too like like a nice variety.
Very nicely put, Eric. And bring one of those Palermo’s pies with you sometime. I’m in!