Guest Speaker: Attending the NRA Show? Where to Go for the Best Deep-Dish Pizza
01 May 2014
For those visiting Chicago for this year’s National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, mouths water and palates yearn for one of the City of Big Shoulders’ culinary claims to fame. And among pies, four take the cake.
By Marriott International, Inc.
While our restaurants at Chicago hotels offer excellent options, visitors who have the time to venture out should indulge in the original Chicago deep-dish pizza.
Like the foundation of a fine building, the crust is essential to creating a pizza that is usually 2 to 3 inches in depth. The dough contains cornmeal, an ingredient unique to Chicago-style pizza. When the crust is baked, it’s as flaky and buttery as pie crust, yet thick enough to support mounds of cheese and toppings.
With the crust firmly in place, next comes the cheese, and lots of it. Over 1 pound of mozzarella is common. Unlike other pizzas, Chicago calls for sliced cheese, not grated. Amazingly, the crust is so deep there is still room for heaps of toppings.
Perhaps puzzling to the uninitiated, the sauce is on the top of Chicago-style pizza, not on the bottom. Covering the top with a simple, chunky Italian tomato sauce prevents the cheese and toppings from burning while the pizza bakes for about 45 minutes. Rest assured it’s worth every minute of the wait!
Many guests of our Chicago hotels want to sample the Windy City’s best deep-dish pizza, but don’t know where to go. Individual restaurants have their own variations. While opinions certainly vary about who serves the best pie, four eateries are frequently acknowledged as being among the best: Pizzeria Uno, Gino’s East, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria and Giordano’s.
When in doubt, start with the one where it all began. Founded in 1943, Pizzeria Uno made the first Chicago-style deep dish with a whole sausage patty as the single topping. Nowadays, veggie lovers consider the restaurant’s Farmer’s Market pizza to be the best in town. Loads of caramelized onions, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and eggplant are blended with pesto and feta cheese to cover the nine-grain crust.
At Gino’s East, founded in 1966, the Chicago Fire gets particular attention. The pizza contains traditional sausage, but features the added bang of roasted jalapeño and red peppers, along with red onions.
The most famous deep dish at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria is simply called The Lou. Spinach, mushrooms and Roma tomatoes sit atop a three-cheese blend in a traditional pie-like crust.
It’s amazing how just two toppings can create such a great-tasting dish, but that’s the case with the Tropic Delight at Giordano’s. The sweetness of Canadian bacon and pineapple blend perfectly with the salty cheese and tangy sauce to create a memorable pizza.
In most cases, our Chicago hotels’ locations were not chosen for their proximity to famous deep-dish eateries. But no matter which one you’ve booked, once you’ve set down your bags, it’s time to go scope out the Windy City’s finest pies.
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