Whoa, That's Deep. Deep Dish, That Is.

Before I visited to Chicago, I heard that the three best deep dish pizzerias in all of Chicago were (1) Gino's East, (2) Giordano's, and (3) Lou Malnati's. Knowing me, you can rest assured that I set out to test those assertions, and try the places out myself.

First, I stopped by Gino's East for a solo lunch, and eagerly ordered a small personal pan pizza. After a lengthy wait, my fresh pizza arrived steaming hot inside the cardboard box. I immediately noticed several things. The warm and buttery deep dish crust was chockful of yeasty air pockets and the thick pizza filling was evenly layered with (1) supple and explosively juicy chunks of fresh tomatoes, (2) an oozing and melted blanket of mozzarella cheese, (3) chopped pieces of crisp green bell peppers, (4) sliced mushrooms, and (5) moist crumbles of Italian sausage. Every bite was packed with flavor and an even distribution of savory Italian toppings. My substantial deep dish experience at Gino's East was a solid "A-," indeed, and left me wanting more.

Next, I visited Lou Malnati's and again ordered a personal pan pizza. When the pizza arrived a while later, I again was greeted by a beautiful sight of a tomatoey red deep dish pie. Unlike Gino's East, I found the deep dish crust at Lou Malnati's to be lighter and more crackery. The thin crust surrounding deep dish filling was surprisingly crisp with crunchy charred areas packed with a smoky and bready flavor. I ordered the same toppings that I ordered at Gino's East, including onions, green bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, Italian sausage, and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Again, I was satisfied with the uniform distribution and consistency of the toppings, and the warm, savory, hearty, and fulfilling nature of the deep dish pizza.


It was a perfect pie, and deserving of a high "A-/B+" grade.


Finally, buoyed by the deep dish successes at Gino's East and Lou Malnati's and falsely thinking that my large stomach had conquered the deep dish pan pizza, I decided to go all out and order a small pizza (and not just a personal pizza). The menu indicated that the small pizza fed one to two individuals, so I was confident that I could consume a whole pie by myself.


However, I was entirely unprepared for the excess that lay ahead before me.


Unlike the smaller personal deep dish pizzas, the tremendous slices of Giordano's pan pizza expanded significantly in my stomach, quadrupling in volume after just a few minutes. The pizza literally crippled my entire body, overwhelming and overloading my senses. Furthermore, the center of the dough was slightly uncooked with a gluey and gooey consistency. While I loved the quality of the bell pepper strips, button mushrooms, and substantial pieces of sausage, the sheer quantity of the deep dish pizza was a little too much for me.


Because of my gluttony, I only would rank Giordano's with a "B," but only for the sheer fact that I simply do not remember much about the pizza because of my overeating and inability to take it like a real woman.

However, overall, my deep dish experience in Chicago was a fantastic one, where I really got to enjoy Chicago hospitality and amazing pizza pies in these famous pizzerias. If you go to Chicago, definitely check out out these places.