Chicago Deep Dish Pizza & Golf Weekend
by Fat Guy
First, a little history lesson on Chicago deep dish pizza. Back in 1943, former University of Texas football star Ike Sewell and his war buddy Rick Ricardo decided to open a Mexican restaurant, since Chicago didn't have any good Mexican places back then. Legend has it that their chef, Rudy Malnati, invented the recipe for deep dish pizza while at the restaurant. Soon the pizza was more popular than the Mexican food, and Pizzeria Uno (www.unos.com, corner of Wabash & Ohio) was born. Their pizza took off as a Chicago staple, and within 10 years there was more demand than there was restaurant. Unable to expand the original location further, Sewell opened a second store, Pizzeria Due, across the street in 1955. Both shops are still open for those who want the full Chicago deep dish experience, although the lines at the original Uno often run in the hour-plus range. In the 1980's, Uno went corporate and now has over 200 restaurants nationwide and a full line of frozen pizzas.
Much like Lombardi's in New York, the success of Pizzeria Uno spawned a hoard of disciples and imitators who opened their own deep dish pizzerias. In 1955, two cab drivers Sam Levine and Fred Bartoli, along with their friend George Laverde, decided they were tired of sucking down exhaust fumes and opened Gino's East Pizza (Superior St, www.ginoseast.com). In case you're curious about the name, Gino was a fictional Italian-sounding name they came up with, and the location was east of Rush Street. Sam and Fred didn't know anything about making pizza when they opened, so they stole one of the pizza chefs from Uno's, who added a signature twist on deep dish by lining the crust with ground sausage, and Gino's became it's own Chicago staple. They now have multiple Chicagoland locations. It's tradition at Gino's to carve your name or graffitti into the tables and walls. The current owners also own Edwardo's Natural Pizza.
Original chef Rudy Malnati labored for Sewell at Uno for 20 years under the assumption he'd one day get a piece of the restaurant, which never materialized. So Rudy's son opened Lou Malnati's in the Lincolnwood suburb in 1971 (www.loumalnatis.com, 32 Chicagoland locations), and using his Dad's original recipe, quickly became one of Chicago's best deep dish pies. Lou was a grand host and showman until his death in 1978, when his oldest son Marc took over the business.
In 1974, immigrants Efren and Joseph Boglio were discouraged at the lack of authentic pizza in Chicago and opened Giordano's Pizzeria (www.giordanos.com, 43 Chicagoland locations and 6 franchises in FL), based on their mother's recipes growing up in Totino, Italy. The emphasis in Giordano's pizza pies lies on the "pie". Each of their 4-1/2 lb. pizzas have both a lower and upper crust, with the cheese and toppings baked in between, then the sauce goes on top of the upper crust. It remains one of the "Chicago Deep Dish Triumvirate" and a Travel Channel favorite.
These days the deep dish tradition has spread throughout much of the Midwest, including Loui's in Detroit.
If you're not the world's biggest deep dish fan... After the novelty of a couple Uno's slices wears off, hit Chicago's best thin-crust New York-style pizza at Vito & Nick's Pizza (www.vitoandnick.com, original store at 8433 S. Pulaski in Chicago, or at Lemont Lanes in Lemont). It's a favorite of Guy Fieri and was featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
Metrowalkz (http://metrowalkz.com/Findit/pizza.html) offers this map for a walking tour of Chicago deep dish pizza (assuming you can still walk after a few slices of deep dish):
#1- Bacino's Pizza
75 E. Wacker
312-263-2350
#2- Exchequer Restaurant & Pub
226 S. Wabash
312-939-5633
#3- Gino's East Pizza
162 E. Superior
312-266-3337
#4- Gino's East Pizza
633 N. Wells
312-943-1124
#5- Giordano's Pizzeria
223 W. Jackson
312-583-9400
#6- Giordano's Pizzeria
310 W. Randolph
312-201-1441
#7- Giordano's Pizzeria
703 N. Rush
312-951-0747
#8- Lou Malnati's
439 N. Wells
312-828-9800
#9- Pizano's Pizza & Pasta
61 E. Madison
312-236-1777
#10- Pizano's Pizza & Pasta
846 N. State
312-751-1766
#11- Pizzeria Due
619 N. Wabash
312-943-2400
#12- Pizzeria Uno
29 E. Ohio
312-280-5120
Not Numbered-
Edwardo's Natural Pizza
521 S. Dearborn
312-939-3366
Aurelio's Pizza
506 W. Harrison
312-994-2000
Connie's Pizza
700 E. Grand (Navy Pier)
312-832-3010
Where To Play: See Chicago IL Golf Weekend