Top 5: How much does he love pizza? Let him count 5 ways…

Charlie Ferraye

Most Chicago born and raised people take great pride in the food and culture this great city has to offer. Personally, I seek out diversity in food as often as I can. With this love for food in my heart and soul, I found myself wondering why people have a strange misconception as to what the Chicago pizza scene is really like. We are not just deep dish. Our pizza is just as diverse and interesting as the residents of this city. Here is my list of 5 pizza styles (in no order) to try and specific places I enjoy.

1. Chicago Pub Style Pizza — For those of you who think the deep dish is Chicago’s go-to pizza style, you are surely mistaken. Thin crust, cooked golden brown and cut into squares is the true Chicago style and my favorite place is waaaaaaay off the beaten path. Vito and Nick’s on the south side is worth the detour. Had to stop myself from eating a whole pizza.
2. Neapolitan — classic Italian style pizza, cooked in minutes in a wood-burning oven. It’s hard for me to even type about it knowing I might not be eating one of these in the next five minutes… imported tomatoes, olive oils, and meats for the win. Spacca Napoli is a frontrunner in this category delivering very high quality over tons of toppings.
3. Pan — Very often people confuse pan with deep dish. They are not the same thing. Pan pizza tends to take a lot of notes from the deep dish but it’s slightly different and has a lighter crust and much less cheese. The burnt cheese crust at Pequod’s haunts my dreams. Pepperoni there is also an absolute must.
4. Coal Oven — a very close cousin of Neapolitan comes coal oven pizza cooked at a ridiculous 1500 degrees. Coalfire in Chicago serves up some great thin pies with a personal favorite of mine, whipped ricotta on several variations.
5. Novelty — is it even a pizza? I am not really sure…Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder serves a polarizing dish called a Pizza Pot Pie. Whether or not it’s pizza will be debatable but something about the sauce reminds me of my friend’s grandma’s Bolognese. If you don’t enjoy eating a pound of melty cheese, this is not for you. Love it or hate it, it’s worth trying because it is a pillar of old school Chicago.