Best Chicago Pizza Places
4 Lou Malnati’s Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizzas (2 Sausage & 2 Pepperoni)
Mention food in Chicago and many people automatically think pizza. The discussion and debate on what is the best Chicago pizza places in the city.
I grew up in Connecticut and we had some pretty mean pizza there. You know the kind, deep dish pizza from a family owned pizza restaurant, rich in tradition and so big it had to be cut in squares?
The difference between Chicago and New York pizza is the crust and how thick the pizza pie. The Chicago deep dish pizza restaurants basically compete for bragging rights.
Start a conversation on the Chicago metro on where the best Chicago pizza place in the city is located and you can start an all out war. People are passionate about pizza in Chicago. With good reason.
Chicago: Best Pizza Places
People love to talk about food and when you mention you are from out of town the conversation normally goes like this
“Are you going to get some pizza”,
“Of course, but I haven’t decided yet from where”,
“Well you can’t go wrong with Giordano’s or Pizano’s“
Those two places are mentioned the most, which makes sense, both are ranked highest on Chicago’s 10 Best Pizzas list by Thrillist.com. So on my weekend trip to see my son the deciding factor was who would deliver to his apartment. Giordano’s won.
My Review of Giordano’s Famous Stuffed Pizza
We decided to get Giordano pizza delivery.
This is a massively thick double crust pizza, you can tell it has some meat just by the weight. I judge the cheese quality by how an individual piece pulls apart from main pizza.
It should leave a string of cheese trailing back to the pizza and you should have to grab it to claim that mozzarella for yourself.
This is a massively thick double crust pizza, you can tell it has some meat just by the weight. I judge the cheese quality by how an individual piece pulls apart from main pizza. It should leave a string of cheese trailing back to the pizza and you should have to grab it to claim that mozzarella for yourself.
The crust should be soft and moist, not dry and hard. You should want to eat the last bit of crust as if it were a stand-alone Italian bread. Last but not least, the toppings should stay on the crust, not slide off (that’s a sign of a cheap pizza). On all these accounts Giordano’s passed with flying colors.
It is expensive, our large Meat & More Meat stuffed pizza pie (with tip) came to $30, but it did feed four of us with leftovers for the next day.
This pizza is so popular they will even ship Giardano pizza nationwide to anyone missing that “back home” pizza they remembered living in Chicago.
Yes, you can get Giordano mail order pizza!
Now that’s some serious pizza dedication. The price actually isn’t bad. A four pizza pack is $89 (not including shipping), packed in dry ice and delivered in two days.
Lou Malnati Pizza
Since I published this article I’ve gotten several other additions to this list and Lou Malnati’s keeps coming up as another favorite.
2 Lou Malnati’s Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizzas (1 Sausage & 1 Pepperoni)4 Lou Malnati’s Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizzas (4 Cheese)
You can also order and ship Lou Malnati’s pizza anywhere in the country. Ok, you may have to plan a little bit, but if you order on Tuesday you can have Chicago pizza for your weekend party. I
I’m actually surprised it’s not as expensive as I thought. We ate a Pizano’s in Lincoln Nebraska and paid the same for one Primo pizza as having two Chicago pizzas delivered. So if you are native Chicagoan, have moved, and crave your favorite pizza, you can still get your fix.
Favorite Chicago Pizza From People Who ACTUALLY LIVE in Chicago
What Chicago Pizza is Your Favorite? Add a comment below and I’ll add it to the list.
- Giordano’s
- Bacinos
- Lou Malnati’s
- Rosati’s
- Leona’s
- Suparossa
- Connie’s
- Pizano
Make the Best Homemade Pizza
If you can’t get to Chicago or New York then check out my best homemade pizza recipe. It’s not hard and it’s a lot of fun.
The Great Chicago-Style Pizza CookbookGebardi Deep Dish Chicago Pizza KitIronwood Gourmet 28214 Pizza Peel, Acacia WoodBeginner’s Pizza Making KitChicago Metallic Non Stick 14-Inch Deep Dish Pizza PanPan Gripper Deep Dish Model
