The girls post-strawberry pick. Love that there's a playground on site. #latergram

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10 lbs of @KrauseBerryFarm strawberries picked on Father's Day. @tinierbites popsicles some.

Fascinated for all of 3s by the jellies. The she ran off to jump on frog stickers.

Waiting for table at Medina = orange almond cake pre-dessert pit stop.

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Battle of Chicago deep dish pizzerias

3 Comments July 25, 2009

Although – or perhaps because – my youth was spent working at a pizza chain, I never truly developed a great fondness for pizza. Except under certain stringent conditions, that is.

  1. The pizza must be cold.
  2. So must the beer.
  3. Underwear, but nothing else, must be worn.

Under these conditions, pizza was a god-send. Otherwise? It was either fun event in the kitchen or a quick fix for a lazy night.

It was with these underlying beliefs that I had a transcendant experience in Chicago during last year’s Lollapallooza festival, and no I’m not talking about seeing Radiohead live in concert.

Lolla!

Being my first time in Chicago, there were two things I was told to experience: Deep dish pizza, and delays at O’hare airport.

I ‘succeeded’ on both counts.

Edwardo's Natural Pizza Restaurant

The hotel concierge claimed there are three main restaurants that compete for whose deep dish cuisine reigns supreme. We made it to two of the candidates, Edwardo’s Natural Pizza and Pizano’s Pizza & Pasta.

Edwardo’s was up first and the shear weight and girth of the pizza pie was enough to make my jaw drop. Never before had the term pizza pie been so apt.

It's a literal pizza PIE

At Pizano’s, the dish was served in a cast iron skillet.

Pizano's Deep Dish Comes in a Cast Iron Pan

In both cases the pizza turned out to have surprisingly little grease, and the crust, oh the crust! It’s a year later and I’m still holding on to the flavours lingering in my memories.

To be honest, my expectations coming in were that the stories told would fall victim of overhype and that I would still hold the opinion that pizza, ultimately, is just pizza.

I was wrong. Pizza will never be the same again.

Edwardo’s Natural Pizza
521 S Dearborn St | Loop, Chicago
(312) 939-3366
Edwardo's Natural Pizza on Urbanspoon

 

 

Pizano’s Pizza & Pasta
61 E Madison St | Loop, Chicago
(312) 236-1777

Pizano's Pizza & Pasta on Urbanspoon

Edwardo's Natural Pizza Restaurant Award winning stuffed pizza? We'll see about that... Edwardo's Natural Pizza Restaurant Interior Edwardo's Natural Pizza Restaurant Interior Dizzamn that's deep! Edwardo's Stuffed Crust Pizza It's a literal pizza PIE Pizano's Pizza & Pasta Exterior Pizano's Pizza & Pasta Interior Pizano's Pizza & Pasta Pizano's Deep Dish Pizza Pizano's Deep Dish Comes in a Cast Iron Pan

Categories: Beyond Vancouver, Blogging for Social Change, Food, Restaurants, Travel, USA

Comments

3 Responses to “Battle of Chicago deep dish pizzerias”

  1. Blogathon 2009 for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society begins : Tiny Bites on July 25th, 2009 12:31 pm

    [...] 11am: Battle of Chicago deep dish pizzerias [...]

  2. Tiny Bites 2009: a year in review : Tiny Bites on December 31st, 2009 5:06 pm

    [...] Battle of Chicago deep dish pizzerias (Chicago, IL) [...]

  3. hhjjjj on October 9th, 2011 4:49 am

    I really enjoy the way your page looks. I think it is awesome. If you dont mind me asking, what template is this site? Thank you.

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