This blog post was updated on September 4, 2018.
Outside of Italy, pizza could be considered a very American meal. We told you before how to find the best pizza in Italy, and now we turn our sights stateside.
Pizza in the USA comes in all sizes and types from personal to family and from sweet to savory. However, there are a few places that are especially known for the way they do pizza, such as New York and – my favorite – Chicago.
Whenever I happen to be in the Windy City, I always make sure to sink my teeth into a delicous and extravagant Chicago style deep dish pizza because, well, it’s the best! It’s pizza with the depth of a pie that is stuffed with cheese, meet and veggies; it’s often made with crust that is just as buttery as it is cheesy.
I personally cannot get enough of the deep dish style, and I highly recommend any of the following joints as stops for lunch or dinner during your next Chicago getaway.
Giordano’s: Giordano’s is a pizza joint I like to explain as “over the top”. Seriously, a deep dish pizza here is stuffed to the brim with cheese, cheese and more cheese! If you love cheese, you must try the Giordano’s pizza pie. There are 46 locations of Giordano’s in both Illinois and Florida, but around 30 of them are in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Lou Malnati’s: Lou Malnati’s would be the name I hear dropped the most when it comes to deep dish pizza in Chicago. There are now 33 locations in the Chicago region where visitors can get their fill of pizza, stuffed inside a flaky, buttery crust. Lou’s has been around for more than 40 years, and you can even get a pizza shipped anywhere in the US, frozen and ready to bake when needed.
Gino’s East: Gino’s East makes delicious deep dish pizza, soups and sandwiches. When you stop at Gino’s for a bite, you also leave your mark by writing on the walls, literally. Gino’s has locations all across Chicago, but the main one is at 633 North Wells Street.
There are a few things to note when getting a Chicago deep dish pizza:
1) They are best shared, both because of the size and because of the fun factor.
2) They are the type of pizza where one slice (maybe two) will fill you up.
3) They take a while to cook, so be aware if you are squeezing the stop in the middle of other Chicago activities.
4) They are best eaten on days where you plan to do a lot of walking to offset the cheesy goodness.
Ready to take a bite out of the Windy City? First, you’ll have to get there. Check out OneTravel’s cheap flights to Chicago and use Coupon Code SM17 to get up to $17 off your purchase just for reading our blog!
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Flickr: BrentOzar
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