@Flot I decided after arguing with a restaunteur and noted food critic that I’d try or retry every acclaimed pizza place in the Chicago area. At that time, I was actually much more rigid in my beliefs. The journey has broadened up my horizons a lot.. here is what I have so far. I imagine trying them all will take years. If you don’t see a place it just means I haven’t been there
since starting this journey..
Freddy’s (Cicero)
Spacca Napoli (Ravenswood)
Giaocchino’s (Bellwood)
Panino’s (Wrigleyville)
Gigio’s (Uptown)
Bartolini’s (Midlothian)
Bije’s (Belmont Park)
Dino’s (Oriole Park)
Village Pizza and Pub (Carpentersville)
Cafe Luigi (Lincoln Park)
Paulie Gee’s (Logan Square)
Villa Napoli (Norridge)
Labriola (downtown)/La Barra (Oakbrook) Milly’s Pizza in a Pan
Side street saloon
The Stop Along
Villa Nova (Stickney)
Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream (Bridgeport)
Little pops (Naperville)
Marie’s Pizza and Liquors (Albany Park)
Pizza Boy (Edison Park)
Dante’s (Logan square)
Penguino’s (Buffalo Grove)
D’Agostino’s (wrigleyville)
Sicilia Bakery
Richie’s (Schiller Park)
Tortorice’s
Paterno’s
River Cafe and bar (river grove)
Phil’s (Oak Lawn)
Roots (Lincoln Park)
Bob’s (Pilsen)
To me, the top 6 are outstanding. They are worth driving more than 30 minutes. The next level.. call them a solid B+ to B- would start with Bije and end with Milly’s Pizza in a Pan.
the pizzas I had that I thought were massively overrated and just not good are from Paterno’s on down to Bob’s.
I’ve had Burt’s before, and I imagine once I have it again with a critical eye, I’ll slot it right in that Dante’s Logan Square range.
I don’t think Pequod, Burt’s, Barnaby’s, Vito and Nick’s, Pat’s, Jimmy’s or Coalfire are bad pizzas. My objection (and maybe I let you get caught up in this unfairly) is with young bloggers who come into Chicago from out of town, who... unlike Portnoy.. don’t make an effort to really get out and try the old guard and get to know the whole city (usually giving too much weight to gentrified neighborhoods and the north suburbs), and who then place Burt’s number one in Chicago.
my objection is,.. that the Chicago pizza press should tell the whole story. I think dolinsky does this, but after him, I think bloggers and writers are trying to cater too much to a certain demo.
the example I always give is this.. when the pizza show on vice came to Chicago they did four pizza places.. Vito and nicks, Lou malnati’s, Burt’s and Freddy’s .. only one of those places, Freddy’s, was started by someone who came from Italy.
So Freddy’s was good enough for Frank Pinello and good enough for Steve Dolinsky (who recommended them to Pinello).. but
You won’t find them on any top 25 or even 50 list of pizzas in Chicago ...
It’s comical. So if I seem angry, that’s why..
They say when Portnoy rates a place high, they have lines out the door. Well, joe Quercia, the owner of Freddy’s, has those same lines anyway, but he deserves the even longer lines that would come from receiving his rightful place on that list.
you would love his story and the place.. he came here from Italy at 13, didn’t speak any English, worked at Freddy’s from 13-18, bought Freddy’s as an 18 year old in 1973.. still owns it with his wife (who was a customer) today.
Freddy’s Sicilian looking margarita to me is the best pizza in Chicago, but I recommend you all go because this place is serving the #2 ranked Italian sub in Chicago, bringing out trays of fresh Italian food such as pasta to the serving line, Italian beef, meatballs, and they have the best gelato I’ve ever had. Pinello commented that the Italian store experience of Freddy’s was something you don’t even find in Brooklyn anymore.
The other gem on that list is bartolini’s. Two years ago they were rated number one in America for spaghetti and meatballs .. they make their own dough and sauce from scratch.. and again, you won’t find them on any list of the best pizzas in Chicago. And yes, I’m not shy about being ticked off about it because Dom and Chris are great owners who have worked their ass off for decades to build it from nothing.. and they deserve the longer lines that would come from a spot on those lists.
it’s not uncommon to see Chris making six sauces at once in the back and then run out with a drill to fix something at the bar really quickly. And he talks to me about the same way 85 does, so you guys would probably like him.
the finest pizza in the Midwest though is actually in Wisconsin. The guido family (renamed wells at Ellis island) opened up wells brothers in Racine Wisconsin in 1921. In the 1940s, they allegedly (according to regulars at their bar; owners did not dispute) got their pizza recipe from a bar on the south side of Chicago (long since closed).
When I was heading up that way a few years ago, I had people who lived two hours south telling me “you gotta go to that wells brothers up there.”
they weren’t lying. The place was ranked like #6 pizza in America 15 or so years ago and I heartily concur. It’s so good that even the people who disrespect most of my top 6 tend to tip their cap to wells. One chef who is a friend of the restaurant critic I was arguing with has called wells brothers the best pizza in the world. I don’t know about that, but I do know it was outstanding.
I apologize for jumping on your opinion.. you got caught up in people that share your opinion for different reasons.