OT: Best slice

[BadgersandBlues]

Grew up in STL, now in Chicago.

Fortels is legit. Deep Dish (The Uno/Gio's kind) is total crap. Most people here would probably agree. Lou's is the best, everyone loves Lou's. We have customers from out of town frequently and they all talk about how if we ever get anything but Lou's for our meeting food they'd riot lol.

Italian Beef is also legit. I think Portillos is kinda over rated for a lot of things, but the Italian Beef is fire. Gotta make sure to ask for it dipped though....and you best enjoy getting greasy hands/mouth!

 

[shpongle falls]

Having lived in Chicago for most of my life, I can attest to "Chicago style" pizza, which has come to mean deep-dish.
But Chicago has three distinct styles of pizza.

Deep-dish is what most people think of in relation to "Chicago style". The thing about deep-dish, however, is that it is not a pizza; it is a casserole. Giordano's and Uno's do the classic Chicago deep-dish.

Chicago-style thin crust is a rigid cracker crust cut into squares, so that you can pile on the toppings. Rosati's comes to mind.

Then there is my favorite Chicago-style pizza; the butter crust. Pequod's, Pasiano's and Illuminatis...errr....Lou Malnati's do amazing caramelized butter crusts.

Chicagoans, for the most part, are over deep-dish and have turned to other styles like Misty's and Apart Pizza, the latter of which is very close to the pies I've had in Italy.

So there you have it! Chicago has THREE distinct styles and luckily I can get all three in the Phoenix area.

Woah that's cool had no idea there's different Chicago styles, they sound amazing! Have only been to Chicago once and didn't try any pizza there but will if I ever go again.

 

[AVictoryDive]

Man I need to get pizza tonight now.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

There is a youtube show called pizza wars. Its on the same channel as Hot Ones, which has really good celebrity interviews done while eating ridiculously spicy wings. IIRC the channel is First we Feast or something like that. Anyway, in pizza wars the host, a New Yorker, challenges another famous pizza maker to battle it over with themed pizza. The latest episode was another NYer and they were going head to head in Chicago style deep dish pies. The other lady kept accidentally on purpose calling it a casserole with the most NY accent ever lol. They were like "The Chicago people they are gonna like riot in the comments, you know". I guess not, if you agree with her.

The host always puts a weird spin on her pizzas. She put friggin chicken parm cutlets in her first layer and a some garlic breadcrumbs on top. Pizza looked super good.

A few years ago, there was a pizza discussion in The Lounge and someone from Ontario described deep-dish as a casserole, which I thought was funny.

That chix parm pie sounds bad ass!

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I agree with Chicago that there isn’t as much fanfare for deep dish here as the outside world would suggest. I think it is more of a once in a while treat for people who like it. Many of us don’t. Personally, if I wanted a Lasagna, I would order one.

HaHaHaHaHaHa!!!

I was going to put that in my post, but forgot. Chicago deep-dish reminds me of lasagna with the noodles traded out for crust.

 

[The Note]

Obligatory

 

[ChicagoBlues]

The hatred of St. Louis style pizza is very strange. Some people like some things and other's don't....but the over-the-top hatred for it has always amused me. Having had every style of pizza, I can say that Imo's is fantastic. And some others I love are Stefanina's, Faraci's, Leo's, and Fortel's. There are a lot of bars in the St. Louis area that make really good pizza like Tucker's. They might be might favorite.

Yes! Fortel's rocks. Two of my brothers worked there way back when they first opened. We lived in Affton for a while and knew Bob and Jan very well, along with their daughters. It was a great hang spot for us with a laundromat next door that had two or three arcade video games.

To me, Fortel's is a variant of cracker crust cuz you can really pile on the toppings. That's how their pizza was way back in the early 80s when they opened, but not sure if it's the same.

Also, I'm not sure if they still do it this way, but they actually toasted their raviolis in the oven.

 

[Itsnotatrap]

I used to live right down the road from Serra’s in Maryland Heights and loved it. A good STL style pizza, and you felt like you were transported in time back to the 80’s when you walked in there. It was kinda like watching Stranger Things that way.

 

[Blueston]

HaHaHaHaHaHa!!!

I was going to put that in my post, but forgot. Chicago deep-dish reminds me of lasagna with the noodles traded out for crust.

People get super emotional on this topic, but to me pretty much any pizza better than Pappa John's I typically love. Chicago style, St Louis, NY, all of them. It's tomato sauce, bread, and cheese. You really can't go wrong.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Grew up in STL, now in Chicago.

Fortels is legit. Deep Dish (The Uno/Gio's kind) is total crap. Most people here would probably agree. Lou's is the best, everyone loves Lou's. We have customers from out of town frequently and they all talk about how if we ever get anything but Lou's for our meeting food they'd riot lol.

Italian Beef is also legit. I think Portillos is kinda over rated for a lot of things, but the Italian Beef is fire. Gotta make sure to ask for it dipped though....and you best enjoy getting greasy hands/mouth!

I take it you're not a fan of deep-dish. It certainly is a rarity and, for me, came only in the occasional slice from my local pizzeria in Rogers Park. Giordano's is somewhat overrated, but they still produce good food. Gino's is good.

Try Pequod's. I think you might like it.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Obligatory

OMG!!!! That was so funny. Yes, I got very emotional. I laughed my ass off!!!

exposed marinara like "whooaa"....classic

Was he doing his Don Rickles impersonation?

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

The hatred of St. Louis style pizza is very strange. Some people like some things and other's don't....but the over-the-top hatred for it has always amused me. Having had every style of pizza, I can say that Imo's is fantastic. And some others I love are Stefanina's, Faraci's, Leo's, and Fortel's. There are a lot of bars in the St. Louis area that make really good pizza like Tucker's. They might be might favorite.

I hate provel more than the pizza style. I find the pizza style to be nondescript, just kind of neutral. I have a vivid memory of going to my first fancy dinner at The Hill and having an otherwise fantastic meal ruined by a pile of melted provel on top of my entree. I’d rather they used Velveeta…it’s a similar choice. It was so bizarre and so disappointing. I have a hard time separating the pizza from the “cheese”.

 

[Blues0307]

Yes! Fortel's rocks. Two of my brothers worked there way back when they first opened. We lived in Affton for a while and knew Bob and Jan very well, along with their daughters. It was a great hang spot for us with a laundromat next door that had two or three arcade video games.

To me, Fortel's is a variant of cracker crust cuz you can really pile on the toppings. That's how their pizza was way back in the early 80s when they opened, but not sure if it's the same.

Also, I'm not sure if they still do it this way, but they actually toasted their raviolis in the oven.

The Affton location was fantastic. Unfortunately, haven't had a chance to get back there since I moved out of South City.

 

[Blues0307]

I hate provel more than the pizza style. I find the pizza style to be nondescript, just kind of neutral. I have a vivid memory of going to my first fancy dinner at The Hill and having an otherwise fantastic meal ruined by a pile of melted provel on top of my entree. I’d rather they used Velveeta…it’s a similar choice. It was so bizarre and so disappointing. I have a hard time separating the pizza from the “cheese”.

I love provel, so it's right up my alley. Mozzarella is also good, but provel is one of my favorite cheeses. Really, I'll eat any pizza and enjoy it. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever said I didn't like a pizza.