Chicago Style Pizza

 So Justin has graciously allowed me to write this here third post. Now, this would be quite an honor if it weren’t for three reasons: 1. The entire idea of starting a blog was mine. 2. I had been begging Justin to get interested in writing this blog with me for at least two months before he suddenly realized how much fun it would be to do together, and 3. Our second day in Chicago is what we had dubbed the “culinary throw away day.” 

Now the thing you have to know about us is that we travel to see new places, we travel to go to museums and to meet new people, but in all honestly, we travel to eat. Meaning in the weeks prior to our departure, before we even decided what we would want to see  in Chicago, we had planned and reserved every single meal we were going to consume. 5 night, 6 days means 11 meals; and each one had to be perfect. What wound up happening was Wednesday turned to be our inexpensive meal day. We had initially planned Rick Bayless’ Xoco for lunch and Chicago deep dish pizza for dinner. 

Unfortunately, Wednesday was the 4th of July and so all three of Rick Bayless’ restaurants were closed. In the words of a good friend and ex Chicagoian (Chigaoite?) “Bayless would be kind enough to give his staff the day off. Fucker.” Our sentiments exactly. Completely blown off course, in typical Justin and Anisha style, we found the nearest pub (in this case Rockbottom Brewery) to mull our choices over a pint. It was here that we met a couple not unlike ourselves, who had traveled from Cleveland and had also planned every meal beforehand. They mentioned that they had just been to Grahamwich around the corner and were raving about their rood. Sandwiches made by Graham Elliott? Sold. (website : http://www.grahamwich.com ) So after another pint each and a lot of chit-chat we went on over, spirits high and bellies craving something other than liquid nourishment. 

Knowing we had a deep dish pizza not too far in our future, we decided to split one. Justin allowed me to pick the sandwich (and to his dismay) I chose the Grilled Shrimp wrap with mango salsa, guacamole puree, blistered corn in a chipotle tortilla. Now Justin would have gone for something like their Pastrami Reuben with homemade sourkraut, toasted caraway, gruyere fondue, 1000 island on a marbled rye or their roast beef with grainy mustard, baby arugula, shoestring potatoes + red onions on a pretzel roll. However, he left the choice up to me and after the massive amounts of heavy food we had already consumed thus far in the trip, the grilled shrimp was perfect. Anyways, I was a huge fan of this wrap, as the marinated shrimp, corn and mango together is just a perfect combination of sweet and spicy. However, the meal did leave Justin staring longingly at the marbled rye sitting behind the glass countertop. Oh well, he shouldn’t have given up the choice to me!

Fast forward through viewing Chicago on foot to laying on the warm cozy hotel room bed with the air conditioning on full blast. Did I mention we managed to go to Chicago during the heat wave and so it was 100+ degrees outside? The AC was simultaneously revitalizing and yet, with all the beer wearing off and still being pleasantly satisfied from lunch, rendered me in a state of drowsy, happy delirium.  Which is why when the clock struck six and it was time to move in order to make it to the Skydeck at 9 in time for the fireworks, all I could muster was whining like a teenager who was forced to wake up on Monday morning for school. Justin, sensing getting me up would be futile, decided to be the man and hunt for our food and bring it back to his woman. 

Enter Chicago Style Pizza – which, lets me honest here, is a meat and cheese pie. Opting for sausage, pepperoni, garlic and onions, this pie was delivered to me by the cutest pizza delivery man I know, and a bouquet of roses. Sometimes, Justin just does things right. Verdict for the pizza? He chose to go to the original Pizzeria Uno, which was conveniently located right down the street. The crust was this crumbly cornmeal biscuit type deal which, although perfect for containing the massive amounts of meat, cheese and sauce, was otherwise a disappointment. All in all, I will accept what I ate as a “meat pie” but in no way does it dare deserve the same name as the delicious slice of fresh dough topped with a thin layer of sauce, cheese and toppings that in perfect ratio create that symphony of greasy deliciousness that the NY pizza slice does. Nice try Chicago, but NY gets this one.