If you’ve ever been to Chicago then you know that they take pizza very seriously there. Heck, Pizza is practically a religion in Chi-town.
The politics of Chicago pizza will likely be fiercely debated until the end of time. The city has historically had a love-hate relationship with the deep dish, simultaneously attempting to embrace the hometown dish while refusing to allow non-locals to underscore the city’s various other culinary contributions. While the deep-dish is certainly a local staple and one of Chicago’s many claims to fame, the windy city’s thin-crust style pie, which they call tavern-style, has its devoted enthusiasts as well.
As the world continues to argue about what style reigns supreme, pizzaiolos all across the city are going beyond that admittedly limited binary by establishing exciting new pizzerias offering foodies with a wide range of new flavors and textures to try.
In this video, we’ll be sampling an assortment of some of the finest pies and best pizza in Chicago that has to offer. But keep in mind, we have limited time. So don’t et too bent out of shape when your favorite spot doesn’t get a mention. There will be omissions and there will more than likely be some hurt feelings – so consider yourself warned. But without further ado, let’s get down to it.
Burt’s Place
This Morton Grove Pizza Parlor is nothing short of legendary. It reopened in 2017 after taking a year and a half hiatus. Burt Katz’s pizzas with their signature caramelized crusts are nothing short of astounding. The pizzeria is not only under new ownership, but it has also been given a much-needed cosmetic makeover as well. The dining room has been remodeled and they now offer an expanded alcohol selection.
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And don’t you even think about going anywhere just yet. Keep watching to see which Chicago pizza parlor was the birthplace of the deep-dish-style pizza pie.
Lou Malnati’s
Not only is this pizzeria an iconic institution that has been pleasing taste buds for decades, but they are are also one of the original inventors of the Chicago deep dish. The original location in Lincolnwood that started it all is still dishing out their signature ‘Lou’ pies, filled with fresh spinach, mushrooms, and sliced tomatoes on a garlic butter-infused crust.
Dino’s Italian Pizza & Italian Restaurant
If you’re ever in the Northwest side and catch a craving for some za, then you should check out the thin-crust creations over at Dino’s Pizza near Halem and Higgins. They offer up some of the best pizza in the city with an old-school ambiance.
The sausage here is especially decadent. Much like many other Chicago-style encased meats, their’s features a heavy dose of fennel. It’s a delicious flavor that goes exceptionally well with the cheesy goodness that they’ve been serving up for more than half a century.
Jimmy’s Pizza Café
Is lighting going to strike us down for featuring a New York-style pizzeria in this video? Perhaps. But when they are as mouth-wateringly delicious as the East Coast pies coming out of Jimmy’s oven, there’s no denying their allure. Even Chicago natives can appreciate the crisp and chewy slices that are practically begging to be folded and promptly devoured.
Spacca Napoli
This pizza joint specializes in Neapolitan-style pies. Their blistered, thin-crust pizzas are crafted with your choice of traditional red sauce or olive oil and fresh, high-quality ingredients like Italian sausage, salami, arugula, and prosciutto. But if you’re craving something a bit simpler, their Margherita pizza is also something worth giving a try.
Suparossa Chicago
Stuffed pizza is another Chicago variety that doesn’t receive the attention that it deserves. And no, we’re not talking about the oozing, cheesy crust that chain pizza parlors have been offering customers everywhere for years. No, this is something very different.
To the uninitiated, Chicago stuffed pizzas are different from other varieties not only in their taste but also in their making. Typically, stuffed pizzas have a much deeper density. They are baked in a round steel pan and have a crust that rises up to the sides of the pan. They are also, if you can imagine, even deeper than traditional deep-dish pizzas and feature an extra layer of dough that is used for covering the top of the pizza. These pies are loaded with ounces of cheese, while deep dish pizzas rely more heavily on tomato sauce.
Suparossa upholds this time-honored tradition by baking up some of the tastiest, big, bold pies in the city.
Bartolli’s Pizzeria
With locations in West Town as well as in Roscoe Village, Bartolli’s serves some of the best deep-dish pizzas in all of Chicago. They trace their roots back to the owners of Gino’s East but over the years they’ve proven that their pies hold up well on their own.
Bartolli’s deep-dish pizzas are lighter than others and feature a buttery crust packed full of fresh toppings. A slice of Bartolli’s pizza provides a diner in search of an authentic experience with a good example of what a true Chicago deep dish should look and taste like.
Pat’s Pizza and Ristorante
Pat’s Pizza is proof that tavern-style pizza isn’t merely a South Side staple. Perhaps the best pizzeria in North Side – and that’s saying a lot – Pat’s is superior in that they offer reliably friendly service and crisp, piping hot pies that will without fail leave you coming back for more. Their sausage is made on-site and every bite is as satisfying as the last.
Paulie Gee’s Logan Square
When this Brooklyn-based pizzeria showed up in town, there was a ton of hype surrounding their Neapolitan pies – and over the years, they’ve managed to live up to all of these high expectations. Try one of their signature wood-fired creations like the Ricky Ricotta which is topped with Roma tomatoes, sausage, Pecorino Romano cheese, baby arugula, olive oil, and ricotta, or the Hellboy which combines fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, Berkshire soppressata Picante, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Mike’s Hot Honey.
Paulie Gee also offers an impressive selection of vegan pizzas as well as a Detroit-style pizza that they call ‘Logan Squares’.
Pequod’s
You haven’t truly lived until you’ve tried a deep-dish pizza with a caramelized crust. With pizzas topped with delectable ingredients like sausage, spinach, mushrooms, and giardiniera, Pequod’s pumps out piping hot pies that feature a slightly charred yet chewy crust that is out of this world.
My Pi Pizza
Tucked away in a humble little shop at a Bricktown strip mall, My Pi considers deep dish pizza their specialty. You’ll love their well-seasoned crust topped with just the perfect amount of warm, gooey cheese. My Pi’s standout dish is their spinach souffle, which is more like a deep dish stuffed with spinach and accented with garlic and herbs.
Piece Brewery and Pizzeria
While this establishment pretty much always has a line out the door, it’s pretty easy to see why people love their pies. Trust us, it’s well worth the wait.
Their New Haven-style thin-crust pizzas can be topped with your choice of red or white sauce and covered with a generous assortment of ingredients like mashed potatoes, broccoli, artichoke hearts. Meatballs and clams. Be sure to try their specialty pie featuring Doug Sohn of Hot Doug’s encased meats. Your belly will thank you later.
Pizza Friendly Pizza
This pizza parlor is next door to the famous club Empty Bottle. Owner Bruce Finkelman partnered with Noach Sandoval, the chef over at Michelin-starred Oriole, to craft a Sicilian-inspired pizza that’s both light and crispy. Sandoval’s pizzas are as fun as they are refined. Make sure you try their special ‘R&D’ pies featuring things like duck confit and other exotic ingredients.
Gino’s East
The original Gino’s which opened in 1966 is adorned with Blues Brothers memorabilia, red-checkered tablecloths, scenes of Chicago, and thousands of customer’s signatures.
It’s a dimly lit yet invitingly cozy spot within walking distance of the Magnificent Mile which makes it a perfect spot for tourists to come and visit when they want to get their hands on one of Chicago’s world-renowned pizza pies.
Gino’s claim to fame is their crust which is thin and crispy, flavored with corn oil, and features a disc of sausage layered right under the sauce. This fennel-flavored meat ensures that the crust doesn’t get too soggy, but it also has the added benefit of injecting savory, delicious sausage into every last bite.
Five Squared
Husband and wife team, Steve and Jenn Kaplan started Five Squared as a food truck that specialized in Detroit-style pizzas. Since the pandemic, they’ve adopted a cloud kitchen model allowing them to stay in one spot for pick-up and delivery orders. Five Squared offers its customers with pies featuring a super-crispy and buttery crust cut into square slices. But if you’ve got your heart set on trying out what they have to offer, just keep in mind that they are only open on Fridays only.
Bungalow By Middle Brow
After brewing their own wild beer for years, Polly Nevins, Pete Ternes, and Bryan Grohnke established this brewpub-bakery in Logan Square. While Bungalow might be best known for their brewskis, they take their extensive fermentation knowledge and expertise back to the kitchen as well when making their pastries and pizzas which they infuse with lacto-fermented fruits vegetables. Since fermentation is their forte, the big draw here for their pizzas is the crusts which can take up to a full week to prepare.
Vito & Nick’s
Pizza-philes are obsessed with this Ester 38 institution on the far South Side. Diners are adamant that they offer some of the best extra thin-crust pizzas in the city. The crispy crust can be loaded up with a wide variety of ingredients such as shrimp, anchovies, sliced beef, and Italian sausage. And, of course, you can wash it all down with a pint of Old Style.
Pizzeria Uno
Last but certainly not least we have the birthplace of the deep-dish pizza which is simply known as Uno’s. They opened their doors back in 1943 but they’ve since opened franchised locations across the country thus introducing the world to Chicago’s signature style pizza. Today there are Uno’s in 21 states and five countries including Kuwait and Honduras. You can visit the original River North location, however, established by Ric Ricardo and his business partner Ike Sewell to try one of their world-famous pies.
Well, unfortunately, we’ve pretty much run of time for this video. So if we missed one of your favorite spots, be sure to let us know in the comments section.
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