Pizano's Pizza

"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. 

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