Best Pizza in Chicagoland area

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (Logan2)

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:55:43 GMT

KingCrab, you are right on, at least as far as I and my pizza dining companions feel, about Giordano's thick, thick, thick crust stuffed pizza is concerned. It's fair but not that great, but they get a lot favorable press and I do know a few (but not too many) people who really like their stuffed pizzas. When we have out of town or other guests who, like you, heard so much of the favorable press about their pizzas and they just want to try it out, we remain silent and let them decide for themselves. There aren't many in our experience who rave about their stuffed pizzas after trying it and they rarely ever want to go back. Malnati's, Gino's, Due's, Louisa's and some others, yes, many want to go back there, but not to Giordano's. This is just my experience and it's like you said, different people have different tastes.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (KingCrab)

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:32:50 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by danimal15

quote:
Originally posted by KingCrab

Best Thick - Burts - Morton Grove

Best Coal Fired thin crust - Coalfire

As a Chicagoan I do not like pan/deep dish/stuffed pizza, and suffer through Giordano's with out of town guests on occasion, terrible, chain pizza.

Disagree on Giordano's. It's the best stuffed pizza in Chicago, IMO.

thats cool, different people have different tastes.

When I have out of town guests, they all want to go to Giordano's, since that what they have seen on t.v., so I take them, and keep my mouth shut. Most come away disappointed. On there next trips in they let me take them somewhere else, someplace that isnt a chain.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (danimal15)

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:24:33 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by KingCrab

Best Thick - Burts - Morton Grove

Best Coal Fired thin crust - Coalfire

As a Chicagoan I do not like pan/deep dish/stuffed pizza, and suffer through Giordano's with out of town guests on occasion, terrible, chain pizza.

Disagree on Giordano's. It's the best stuffed pizza in Chicago, IMO.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (chainsaw)

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:22:47 GMT

It's a little far from Chicago (about 75 miles), but has anybody ever been to Bianchi's in Ottawa, IL?
I've grown up on the pizza from Bianchi's, and it would probably be my last meal if I had to choose one! The pizza is somewhat-thin crusted, garlicky, and just greasy enough! Definitely beyond delicious!

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (KingCrab)

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:51:25 GMT

Best Thick - Burts - Morton Grove

Best Coal Fired thin crust - Coalfire

As a Chicagoan I do not like pan/deep dish/stuffed pizza, and suffer through Giordano's with out of town guests on occasion, terrible, chain pizza.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (VentageRock)

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:19:35 GMT

For thin crust -- Chi Town Pizza is awesome!
For deep dish I loooovvvveeee Pizzeria Due.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (kensandyeggo)

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:13:35 GMT

"Best Pizza, Hands down HOME RUN INN on 31st"

You got it, sir (or maam). When I lived in San Diego and now Charlotte, I have to get it frozen, and it still is better than any pizza joint I can find. I remember going to their original joint on 31st when I was a kid.

If you like Uno's pizza, you might want to stock up the freezer. They have a 5 million dollar payment due shortly on a huge debt, and if they can't come up with it or whine for a delay, may have to go BK.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (Nightshift)

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:06:41 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by lilbuddypizza

quote:
Originally posted by Polish guy

Who makes the best Pizza in the Chicagoland area? And northwest Indiana?

Well, to try to keep it relatively close to you:
Thin:Bob and Jack's 104th and South Ewing (right by the skyway).
Stuffed: Nancy's--various locations
Deep Dish/Pan:Uno's or Due's
Thin: Nick and Vito's
Any Style: Palermo's on 63rd (only)(right by Midway )
Any Style: Beggar's with locations thru-out the southern 'burbs.
Stuffed: Durbin's Pizza (on 79th Street)
Thin: Fox's ( on Western Ave.)

I like Pete's on Western deep or thin.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (Celery Salt)

Mon, 05 May 2008 17:37:05 GMT

My favorite thin crust hot spots......

Tony & Lill's on Irving Park, now it's called something else but apparently kept the same recipe.

Dino's on Higgins

Father & Son on Milwaukee

John's on Western

Pat's on Lincoln

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (chicagostyledog)

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:32:23 GMT

The original Home Run Inn was our favorite pizza when I was a kid living on the west side. Oddo's was our favorite pizza when we moved to Lincolnwood in the mid-fifties. Other favorites included Alberti's in Skokie, Niles Pizza on Milwaukee and Harlem, the Inferno in Evanston, and the original Lou Malnati's in Lincolnwood.

CSD PhD-Professor of Hot Dogs

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (PIZZAKING)

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:12:56 GMT

Anyone remember these places

1. Oddo's Pagliacci pizza, Skokie, Dempster and Bronx, first pizza I ever had, thin crust, with burnt edges, loved it.

2. Little Caesars, Dempster and Keeler. This was a predecessor to the chain, actually had the first pan pizza I can remember, it was so good, i actually worked there as a kid for free passing out coupons on cars, just to get a free pizza.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (PIZZAKING)

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:38:43 GMT

Re Nancy's, I will only go to the one in Niles, which is excellent for stuffed pizza. The rest are franchises and have a conveyer belt oven, which dramatically effects the taste and quality of the pizza. Frank, who runs the Nancy's with his wife, are the son in law and daughter of Nancy and Rocco, the founders of Nancy's. I have had the stuffed pizza at probably every place in the North suburbs of Chicago, Nancy's in Niles is hands down the best. As an aside, there is a really good place for both stuffed and thin crust pizza called Primo in Barrington. I am really picky on pizza, this place is a little dump which happens to serve great pies. The owner allegedly worked for Nancys in the 70s.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (Logan2)

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:35:34 GMT

Based on the reports above, my friends and I tried the pizza pot pie at the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company restaurant the other day. Yeow! If you like something different, then good for you. This was a glob of something, comes in very limited varieties, and is a "freak" of sorts substituting for a pizza-like dish. Words are hard to describe it, but "awful" comes the closest. An interesting restaurant with good service, but we wouldn't return for that meal. The four of us all gave the pizza pot pies we had a big, big "thumbs down." But its good that some others like it as variety is the spice of life.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (lisakaren)

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:58:51 GMT

CPOG! You're right, not traditional Chicago pizza, but it should be on the list of top to try! The pizza pot pies are baked upside down in porcelain bowls - they layer cheese, sauce, mushrooms then top with the crust. You have choices - meat sauce or marinara, mushrooms yes or no, crust wheat or white. All the combos are delicious! This pot pie is cooked with the crust up then flipped at your table by your server. I have tried the Oven grinder sandwiches but I'm not a fan - I just kicked myself for not getting the pizza pie! The Mediterranean bread is phenomenal dipped in the poppy seed and sour cream dressings - perfect blend of sweet & sour. Don't miss out on this dining experience!
Plus its claim to fame of being across the street from where the St. Valentine's Day massacre happened.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (Jeep2000)

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:50:18 GMT

Not really a traditional pizza, but every time we go to Chicago for pizza, we can't skip the pizza pot pie at the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company.
We talk of trying someplace else, but the thought of missing the pot pie always makes the decision for us.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (mraps)

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:40:13 GMT

I am new to this board as I am planning a baseball park roadtrip and was looking for restaurant advice throughout that trip, but being a Chicagoan all my life (40 yrs), I stumbled onto this board and thought I would through in my two cents.

Deep Dish - I saw Lou Malnati's, hands down! It doesnt get any better than a sausage patty.

Thin Crust - Pete's Pizza near Western/Addison. I use to live directly behind this place and I have had EVERYTHING on their menu. It is all Top Notch. I am a Cubs season ticket holder and now everytime I take one of my kids to a game, guess where they want to go afterwards - Pete's!

Honorable Mention - I think Pequod's which was mentioned earlier has tremendous pizza. The restaurant itself leaves a little to be desired, but the quality of the ZA far outweighs that!

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (cali74)

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:24:43 GMT

Gino's East now has a great coupon out. They are offering, from their downtown location on Wells Street, a free order of Breadsticks with any Delivery order. Which is a $9 item.

When you place your order just tell them the offer and say code #694. Any they will hook up the deal. It's a reusable code so you can use it over and over again.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (Logan2)

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:35:27 GMT

My friends and I recently tried the deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's restaurant in Lincolnwood. I was told that was the best place for deep dish pizza in the area. Service was very good, but the pizza was strangely dry and wasn't that great. After telling some friends about our disappointing experience there, they recommended that we try the Malnati's location in Buffalo Grove off of Lake-Cook Road. We did last week and it was like day and night. The deep dish pizza at the Buffalo Grove location was so good that we are so very anxious to go back for more. And the service at Buffalo Grove was superb also with the waitress always paying attention and checking back with us if we needed anything.

Also, we recently tried thin crust pizza at Pat's on North Lincoln Ave. in the city. That's got to be one of the best thin crust pizzas that I've had in a long time. Highly recommend it.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (danimal15)

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:16:22 GMT

Is Carmen's in Evanston still around? I had a great pizza there about 10 years ago, but haven't been back since.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (Tommy2dogs)

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 20:28:18 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by paoconnell

In the late 70s, my sisters and I found Gino's East by accident while touristing Downtown Chicago (we had tickets for the King Tut exhibit and they weren't good until 5 PM). It smelled good, even though we had eaten elsewhere, so we came back after seeing the exhibit. It was wonderful. Later I got a job in Michigan City IN, and met the lady that is now my wife. I took her to Gino's several times and each pie was amazing. We kept visiting Gino's until we moved to the Southwest.

I'll be visiting Chicago after Christmas. Please don't tell me that Gino's has gone downhill unless it really has. If so, lemme know the best substitute (I'm not fond of Uno's, though Giordano's wasn't bad).

Gino's East ( 165 E Superior)was always my favorite Deep Dish destination, not only the Pizza but the entire experience, the alley wait, people watching etc. Several years ago, they moved to a much larger location at Wells and Ontario. They took the walls booths etc. to the new locations to try and maintain the "ambiance" and the ovens to maintain the pizza quality. While I felt the Pizza was still good the experience has never been the same. In a strange twist of events, the Superior St. location was purchased by one of the Buono family of Buono Beef, the place was gutted and totally rehabbed. They specialized in Deep Dish Pizza as well as other Italian food. Well a couple of years ago they closed and guess who is in the space now? Gino's East. So you can have the original address or the tourist place with the original booths. Have not been back to the Superior location so I can't comment. We are going to try it over the Holidays

PS I generally stay away from the Franchise locations.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (paoconnell)

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:04:26 GMT

In the late 70s, my sisters and I found Gino's East by accident while touristing Downtown Chicago (we had tickets for the King Tut exhibit and they weren't good until 5 PM). It smelled good, even though we had eaten elsewhere, so we came back after seeing the exhibit. It was wonderful. Later I got a job in Michigan City IN, and met the lady that is now my wife. I took her to Gino's several times and each pie was amazing. We kept visiting Gino's until we moved to the Southwest.

I'll be visiting Chicago after Christmas. Please don't tell me that Gino's has gone downhill unless it really has. If so, lemme know the best substitute (I'm not fond of Uno's, though Giordano's wasn't bad).

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (BuddyRoadhouse)

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 11:02:05 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by danimal15

I'm going to try Burt's tonight and I'll report back on my experience. It's my first time there. Excited to go!

I'm going to jump in here before you comment on your experience.

Burt's Place was featured in this month's issue of Saveur Magazine, which focuses on Chicago's restaurant and food scene in general, as Our Town's best pizza place. Needless to say, things have been a little crazy there lately. We've been regretfully turning people away on a regular basis, barely keeping up with the mad pace. We've been visited by folks from all over the country since the issue came out a few weeks ago.

danimal, I hope your experience at Burt's was pleasant. If not, wait a few weeks until the furor dies down and give us another chance. I'm generally there on Saturday nights and would love to meet you.

Buddy

P.S. I'm writing this on Sunday morning in Kansas City, the day after finishing up at the American Royal. The Barbecue Sauce Store, which I co-chair, was a big success. We had more than a hundred varieties of sauces, marinades, and rubs donated from all over the country and even overseas. We raised nearly $6,500 for a group of local charities. I'll be back at Burt's next Saturday night.

B.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (trainutlen)

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 17:48:34 GMT

Oh please, try Bacino's in Lincoln Park for deep dish. For any thin crust, try Edwardo's or Pizza DOC on West Lawrence Avenue in Lincoln Square.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (danimal15)

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 17:22:25 GMT

I'm going to try Burt's tonight and I'll report back on my experience. It's my first time there. Excited to go!

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (BTB)

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:56:14 GMT

I just noticed on CitySearch's Best of Chicago Pizza 2007 that Ed and Joe's in Tinley Park, IL got the well deserved recognition as the No. 1 pizza in the Chicago Metropolitan area (audience choice) for 2007. When I lived in the south suburbs, I always thought they were the best. Good, old-fashioned thin crust pizza that you can view being made from the window front (or at least you could years ago when I was last there). I definitely applaud the results.

Others on the list are: No. 2, Home Run Inn -- I use to go to when just a little tavern with pizzas made in back. It was much, much better in the old days. No. 3, Lou Malnati's -- which is generally great, but they have a consistency problem at some of their locations. No. 5. Gino's East -- which I had recently, but really didn't like. No. 8, Vito & Nick's -- great thin crust pizza and they deserve to be in the top 5. No. 9, Aurelio's -- another great pizza in the South suburbs that likewise has a consistency problem because of it's many Chicago/Indiana locations. No. 10, Pizzeria Uno -- not the stupid chain across the country, but the original on Ohio Street, has been coming back to greatness I hear, after some bad years in which it altered the basic recipe. No.s 4, 6, 7 (Pat's, Pete's, and Caponies Tattoria) I have not tried, but look forward to doing so in the future. See the results at http://chicago.citysearch.com/bestof/winners/pizza. These surveys, while not perfect, give you some idea of the excellent pizza products in the Chicagoland area. There are many others that unfortunately go unrecognized.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (cunnm2010)

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 23:52:55 GMT

I'm out in the burbs but my favorite deep dish pizza would have to be Pal Joey's in West Chicago, the crust is the best part. My second choice would be Lou Malnati's with the butter crust. My all time favorite and the pizza I crave more than any other would be Aurelio's thin crust ordered well done, it is perfection! What makes their pizza unique is the sauce, it does have a slight sweetness to it. I think I would miss Aurelio's the most if I ever leave IL.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (westsidetommy)

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:12:09 GMT

My favorite pizza was Sorrentos at Madison and Menard. Needless to say that was a long time ago.

I like Homerun Inn and Palermos and Beggars on the South Side. Armands in Elmwood Park is fine.

Chicago is loaded with good pizza, you guys have it made. I moved to Lexington Kentucky where honest to God, the best pizza is at the Cozi and Panera chain sandwich shops.

There are many delightful things about this town but good pizza ain't one.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (TamiRN95)

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:50:43 GMT

I have lived in the Chicagoland area all my life. Currently, I live in Northwest, Indiana. Also, I am Sicilian, and have the expertise to know good Italian food since I was raised on it. I cannot believe that not one of the Chicagoans listed here has mentioned Sanfratellos!!! Sanfratellos is a pizza place that origated in Glenwood, Illinois (which is a far south suburb of Chicago). There are several other locations, some in Northwest, Indiana. Sanfratellos has the absolute BEST deep dish pizza I have ever eaten. The sauce is spicy/sweetish (but not overpowering). The sausage is made into patties and added on top of the thick cheesy crust. Believe me, it is a sight to behold, and not soon to be forgotten. My quest has been to find a deep dish pizza that even comes near to Sanfratellos Deep Dish. Their thin crust is also worth mentioning, although my favorite thin crust pizza is served at the infamous Aurelios Pizza. My father knew Joe Aurelio personally, and the families were friends. We know that good quality ingredients go into this pizza, and the business is run with integrity and hard work. Aurelios is a classic for thin crust.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (Bonk)

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:33:50 GMT

I grew up in Glen Ellyn, and I've been eating Joseph's in Glendale Heights since I was a kid, and it's still my favorite when I get back to Chicago. Portillo's and Joseph's are the two places I have to hit on any trip there.

There used to be a place called Little Sicily in Glendale Heights that I was addicted to, but it closed about 15 years ago.

Don't laugh, but I've never actually done Lou Malnati's. I guess there just isn't one that close to where I stay, and I didn't know about it until after I moved away. Giordano's is my favorite deep dish, but I haven't had that many in Chicago to compare.

Hatteras - I ate non-deep dish almost exclusively when I lived in Chicago, and I was surprised when I moved to Cincinnati that "Chicago style pizza" meant deep dish in everyone's mind here. I always thought the sauce was what made it Chicago style. That's what pizza in Ohio lacks - sauces are too sweet and don't have enough garlic.

RE: Best Pizza in Chicagoland area (viennadog)

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:38:48 GMT

Palmermo's on 63rd Street near Pulaski (not far from the Midway Airport) is the best IMO. I've been eating their pizza since the 1960's and their recipe is still the same and it's all in the sauce!! Now that I live out of state whenever I visit Chicago they are a Must on my list. On a recent visit I printed one of their online coupons, purchased an X-large, froze it and brought it home. What a treat!!!

http://www.palermosof63rd.com/

Give it a try - you Won't be disappointed!!