I had gifted B a Chicago Pizza Tour ages ago and we finally made it out one brisk October weekend. After a couple of wrong turns from the El stop, we made our way to the group at Pizano’s Pizza and Pasta. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about the deep-dish pizza (as Neapolitan style is my favorite) but that has to be the best deep-dish pizza I have ever eaten. The crust was not greasy at all, it highlighted the robust tomato flavor, which I’m told they get from adding nothing but salt while pounding the tomatoes to make the sauce. The mozzarella was perfectly laid over the top. We will be back.
We also made stops in CoalFire, where the 1000 degree coal-fired oven bakes your pizza in just over 2 minutes. It was wonderful getting a tour of their kitchen and watching them in action. The crust had a lovely char and the simple flavors of the Margherita pizza stood out.
We rounded out the tour with stops at RedFlame Pizza and, of course, Gino’s East. We got to watch this extremely-small, one man kitchen operation in action too. RedFlame grills the underside of the pizza on an indoor grill first, before finishing it under the salamander, where the top is broiled to melting perfection. We have actually been to this one before and I highly recommend Wednesdays for the 2 for 1 pizza special.
Gino’s East is known for their famous deep-dish pizza with a golden, cornmeal crust. By this point, we were quite full from all of the other places, but that crust did not disappoint. The crust of the Cheese and Spinach deep dish had a wonderful crunch and the slight sweet flavor of delicious cornbread. Sitting there, you could feel the history, with names scribbled on walls from customers all over the world. An excellent way to end a Chicago tour.
