"This is an above ground marinara swimming pool- FOR RATS!" Jon Stewart's pizza rant last week was nothing short of brilliant, except maybe the casserole line he stole from Anthony Bourdain. I'm still chuckling about Chicago being so cold we might have to crawl into our stuffed pizza to keep warm.
Since then a truce has been forged with khaki wearing rich guy Mr. Malnati and the Daily Show. Sorta like when Jon agrees to disagree with a Fox News pundit. Sure, we're both better and "more real" than California, but this isn't over. Chicago is too fun to provoke because Chicagoans have a terrible sense of humor about Chicago. As Phil Rosenthal wrote in the Trib last weekend of The Daily Show episode, "It would be nice to report that Chicago was able to separate legitimate criticism from piffle. Nice, but impossible." Chicago needs to chill out.
Back to pizza. The fact is, I am my father's daughter and, "he's never met a pizza he doesn't like." I like to think I'm a tad more discerning. When I'm in NY I will not go to Sbarro because it's the closest pizza joint to our hotel (God, DAD! What is wrong with you!!??).
Erik, Benet and I go to Pizano's almost every Friday for a deep dish spinach and garlic. When Jon Stewart describes Chicago Deep Dish is like, "tomato soup in a bread bowl," something went very wrong with that pizza. A good Chicago Deep Dish crust should not be soft and bread-y such as the soggy mess you get at Gino's East. It should be crispy, almost crouton-like. The well-oiled pan should lightly fry the dough. It can be buttery or not, dusted with cornmeal or not, but it should never be lifeless.
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| Photo from Serious Eats |
As far as comparing Chicago Deep Dish to Chicago Deep Dish, we could go on for PAGES, so I will keep it brief and in the context of what's available downtown at lunchtime: Pizano's is THE BEST. I have worked at Eduardo's, Lou Malnati's, and Rozzati's, and no one does deep dish as well as Pizano's. The crust is buttery, if you like that style, and the cheese isn't excessive. The spinach still looks and tastes like fresh spinach. The garlic brings out the best flavors in every ingredient. My favorite part is the sauce- it's just stewed tomatoes, beautiful, bright, partially intact tomatoes. It's so good, Jon Stewart, I want to drown in it. In fact, we request extra sauce every time, which the kitchen hates, and one time we figured out why. Extra sauce completely throws off the structural integrity of the pie. Do not doubt that Pizano's knows what its doing. Serious Eats agrees with me, "The pure tomato flavor is so good that I was left craving more." Full article here: Finding Religion at Pizano's Pizza and Pasta.
Best friend of the lunch blog Benet Haller would like to add,
"I
like many different types of pizza and have no predisposition to favor the deep
dish....but Pizano's is the best deep dish I've had for a few reasons: 1) it's not too
deep 2) the crust is
amazing 3) the cheese and
other ingredients are noticeably fresher than other deep dish joints."
"Pizano's is really great no matter what you call it." - Erik Glass
Rating, each category out of 5:
Taste * * * * *
Value * * * * *
Atmosphere * * *
Service * * * * * Tip: pre-order your pizza when dining in to save time.
Links: Yelp, Pizanos
An exaggerated story around the Gustafson household is that my grandmother Janis Selmarten used to board an outer-drive bus every day to shop the sales at Marshall Field's. For a short time she was a dress designer for Leslie Fey, and managed to be fashionable on a budget up until her late 70s when she finally stopped wearing nylons and high heels. My first CTA bus ride at about age 3 was with her, to Marshall Fields of course, and to this day I still think riding an articulated bus is a treat. Up until her death in 2002 the only Christmas gift she would accept (she hated gifts and cameras and being the center of attention) was a box of Frango mints.
I always feel her spirit in Field's building, even though it has become progressively less glamorous since Macy's took over. Back when it was still Marshall Fields, I was a regular at the Frango Mint Cafe. I liked to eat alone and imagine her looking out the same windows to a 1970s Chicago below.
Today though, Erik and Aaron joined me. And the question is: why don't we come here more often! Across the way from the Seven on State cafeteria (where 20 min lines are not atypical), the cool semi-circle Frango Mint Cafe booths sit nearly empty. My soup and half sandwich was everything you want from a cafe lunch: chicken chili in a vaguely Mexican style including a cilantro cream swirl, and a slightly sophisticated chicken salad sandwich with pesto and whole pistachios. There's even free refills on their strong black current iced tea.
Erik ordered the well-toasted grilled ham and cheese with a side of perfectly firm potato salad. Aaron ordered a 1990s Chi-Chi's-style taco salad in a shell.
I can't say enough good things about this place! Here's one more- this place is one of the rare, high-quality, affordable restaurants where lemming hour does not exist! So if you have to eat at noon, head to the Frango Mint Cafe and save room for dessert.
Since their menu is not online:
Rating, each category out of 5:
Taste * * * * *
Value * * *
Atmosphere * * * *
Service * * *
Links: Yelp
Ah Harry's. It hasn't changed since I worked in Monadnock building in the late 90s: same adorable Korean couple taking your order, same 80s font on the posters, same generous helping of iceberg lettuce on every sandwich.
Erik and I both got the hot pastrami with 'everything'- mystery white cheese, mealy tomatoes, green peppers, julienne sliced onions, and crispy iceberg lettuce. The bread is well-toasted and soft, but the pastrami was barely a step up from Jewel's. I like my pastrami on rye with yellow mustard so after the first two bites I couldn't stop thinking of all the other, better, pastrami sandwiches I could be eating. At the very least, I wished the weird half-melted processed cheese was mayonnaise.
"It's like Mr. Sub but more expensive." - Erik Glass
That said, we love the space, the service, and just plain hanging out in the Monadnock building. It was a delight to stare at the Fisher building through the Chicago-windows on a drizzly day. We'll probably be back.
Rating, each category out of 5:
Taste * *
Value *
Atmosphere * * * *
Service * * * *
Links: Yelp
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