We're on a Mission from God

So I was in Chicago a few weeks ago. It was a great trip, I spent some time on the south side, some time on the north side, caught a Sox game, attended my sister's graduation, etc. The one thing I didn't do was eat good Chicago-style pizza.

I did eat at Pizzeria Due, which is run by the same people who run Pizzeria Uno. Sadly, the pizza was horrible. There were a bunch of Cubs fans there (there must have been a game that day). It occurs to me that a lot of people probably go to Chicago not knowing what good Chicago pizza tastes like, and if their only exposure is somewhere like Pizzeria Due they will get a very warped view of its merits. A lot of Cubs fans, apparently, have never had good Chicago pizza. Typical.

So, first of all, the pizza you're looking for is stuffed spinach pizza. I don't know if you would call this a subset of deep-dish pizza, or categorize it separately, but it is not merely thick-crusted pizza. In fact, the crust is fairly thin. The layers are: bottom crust, cheese and spinach (and garlic and whatnot), top crust, tomato sauce. The top layer of crust, perhaps because it is covered by tomato sauce, is often soft rather than crisp.

If you're a meat-eater I suppose you could go with sausage, but the true Chicago experience is a stuffed spinach pizza. Obviously avoid Pizzerio Uno and its spawn. Good options are (in alphabetical order): Edwardo's, Gino's East (which, judging by the website, has the same ownership as Edwardo's), or Giordano's. These are the most famous, but a bunch of restaurants have good Chicago pizza. Among the ones I've listed, I personally would go with Edwardo's, but that's mostly force of habit. Also, I think Giordano's might be more consistent than Edwardo's, so that's a tradeoff.

So, insanely boring post, but it could save you the misfortune of coming to believe that Chicago pizza isn't as good as New York pizza, or some similar bushwa.