I flew into Chicago for a wedding and had an afternoon to do some sight seeing. I had searched for the best Chicago pizza before going and there was quite a list and I ended up settling on Pequods in Lincoln Park. Its not the original location but everything I read was that it was just as good as the original.
If you didn't know, Chicago style is a deep dish but I've never been a fan of deep dish pizza because it always seems to be too "saucy" and messy from what I've had around here. Going in I wasn't sure what to expect but I chose Pequods because it is one of the only Chicago pizzas to have a "caramelized" crust and that was what people raved about.
There were 3 of us eating so we ordered one large pepperoni and Italian sausage because that's the combo everyone suggested. I'm here to tell you that was possibly the best pizza I have ever had. The only pizza I've had that would compete is a NYC pizza from John's on Bleeker St. They are opposite ends of the universe as pizza is concerned, but they are both crazy good.
What made it so good?
The caramelized crust: it looked burnt when it was delivered, but it wasn't, it was truly caramelized. Crunchy, tasty and not too thick even though it is much thicker than what we're used to here. Its needed to support the rest of the ingredients.
The mix of meat, sauce and cheese: Perfect! It wasn't "saucy" at all with a ton of cheese and meat to balance it perfectly. When I bit through the crunchy crust there was a great cheesy, meaty saucy bite. Chefs kiss!
The Italian sausage: it was fantastic! The large chunks seemed a bit tough, but it worked perfectly with the crunchy crust though. I think they make their sausage in house with their own recipe.
It was so hearty we each could only eat one piece each and had to take more than half the pizza back to the hotel. They only thing I didn't like was the covid holdover of ordering from a qr code link on the table. Otherwise the service was solid keeping drinks filled, checking on us, etc.
I seriously underestimated Chicago Pizza but came away with a high level of respect.
Funny side story, its named after Pequod which was the ship in Moby Dick. Their mascot is a whale with a thong over its head. When I asked the server about that she said they think the owner was stoned when he came up with it because its a whales tail on a whale tale.
What do y'all think about Chicago Pizza?
On the other hand we had a Chicago Italian Beef sandwich at Al's #1 which is supposed to be the best and I thought it sucked. Seemed like it was a poor man's version of a Philly cheese steak sandwich.
If you didn't know, Chicago style is a deep dish but I've never been a fan of deep dish pizza because it always seems to be too "saucy" and messy from what I've had around here. Going in I wasn't sure what to expect but I chose Pequods because it is one of the only Chicago pizzas to have a "caramelized" crust and that was what people raved about.
There were 3 of us eating so we ordered one large pepperoni and Italian sausage because that's the combo everyone suggested. I'm here to tell you that was possibly the best pizza I have ever had. The only pizza I've had that would compete is a NYC pizza from John's on Bleeker St. They are opposite ends of the universe as pizza is concerned, but they are both crazy good.
What made it so good?
The caramelized crust: it looked burnt when it was delivered, but it wasn't, it was truly caramelized. Crunchy, tasty and not too thick even though it is much thicker than what we're used to here. Its needed to support the rest of the ingredients.
The mix of meat, sauce and cheese: Perfect! It wasn't "saucy" at all with a ton of cheese and meat to balance it perfectly. When I bit through the crunchy crust there was a great cheesy, meaty saucy bite. Chefs kiss!
The Italian sausage: it was fantastic! The large chunks seemed a bit tough, but it worked perfectly with the crunchy crust though. I think they make their sausage in house with their own recipe.
It was so hearty we each could only eat one piece each and had to take more than half the pizza back to the hotel. They only thing I didn't like was the covid holdover of ordering from a qr code link on the table. Otherwise the service was solid keeping drinks filled, checking on us, etc.
I seriously underestimated Chicago Pizza but came away with a high level of respect.
Funny side story, its named after Pequod which was the ship in Moby Dick. Their mascot is a whale with a thong over its head. When I asked the server about that she said they think the owner was stoned when he came up with it because its a whales tail on a whale tale.
What do y'all think about Chicago Pizza?
On the other hand we had a Chicago Italian Beef sandwich at Al's #1 which is supposed to be the best and I thought it sucked. Seemed like it was a poor man's version of a Philly cheese steak sandwich.
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