Chicago style pizza is legendary in that they're big honkin', pan-style, size of a manhole cover things that are pretty good to eat. Many places claim to be the ones to make the first deep-dish pizzas in Chicago, but the history is so blurred by propaganda from a number of different directions I don't know what is right or what is wrong. All I care about is if they're good.
But there are some pretty damn good thin crust pizzas in Chicago, too. Let's take a look at some of the pizza places I've tried over the years.
The first Chicago style deep dish pizza I was exposed to was the original Gino's East on Superior just east of Michigan Avenue. My first visit was in 1978 with my cousin who was living in Chicago at the time. The lines to get into the place were long, the interior of the place was funky, and the pizza - to a novice deep dish pizza eater at the time - was outstanding. Gino's East has kind of a corn meal crust that I wasn't too thrilled about at first, but instead of sausage chunks, they'd literall roll out a 1/2" slab patty of sausage they'd put on the top of the pizza dough before covering with sauce and cheese.
Years ago, it was kind of a ritual with the company that I used to work for that our first night in Chicago for the Consumer Electronics Show (when it was held in the summertime in Chicago back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's) to go to Gino's East and split a large pizza. I could only eat a couple pieces, it was so filling.
Unfortunately, Gino's East has succumbed to the corporate mentality and they have branched out to a number of restaurants in the Chicago area. The original location on Superior is gone, replaced by a new flagship location at Wells and Ontario. I took Cindy into Chicago for a long weekend for her birthday a couple three years ago and we decided to go to Gino's East for a pizza one night. The decor has been painstakingly re-produced, down to the carved in graffiti on the walls, booths and beams. But I can't say that I was impressed with the pizza. In fact, I was pretty damn disappointed in it.
I tried the Gino's East out in Libertyville about a year after that. Same story - it just didn't taste that good. It was OK, but not like remember from the original Gino's East on Superior.
As I began to travel into Chicago for both business and pleasure, I was exposed to other places that did deep dish pizza. The next one I tried was Giordano's which touts itself as a "stuffed" deep dish pizza. 
Stuffed pizza is different from deep pan in that they used layers of dough at the top and the bottom of the pizza and stuff the ingredients in between. It's similar, yet somewhat different, in taste to a deep pan pizza. The one difference between deep pan and stuffed is that you usually have a lot of the chunk pieces of sausage in a stuffed, while deep pan pizza, like Gino's East, will have a slab of Italian sausage on top of the dough and the sauce at the bottom.
My next place that I tried was Edwardo's Natural Pizza up in Wheeling, IL. Edwardo's bills themselves as having "natural" ingredients. It just didn't have the flavor pizazz that I was looking for and I haven't been back since.
After that, I tried Pizzeria Uno at the original location at Ohio and Wabash in downtown Chicago. It was good, but I tried it again at an Uno in the suburbs and it just wasn't the same. Then I found out that Uno's had literally become a national chain. Next...
One place that I haven't tried for a few years, but remember that it was good is Suparossa's on the NW side of Chicago. I've since found that Suparossa's has three locations in the Chicago area, and they are now part of a chain of 
other restaurants. But they had a very good stuffed pizza with a tangy sauce and great big chunks of sausage. I need to go back to that place and give it a shot again.
Since I've been traveling to Chicago regularly for the past three years, I've gone to a number of other Chicago pizza meccas - some pretty good, some downright great.
I was told about Aurelio's Pizza by a dealer who said the one in Homewood was very good. And it is. The sausage is great, very good sauce. But it's not unlike a lot of the others around Chicago. Then I found out about later that Aurelio's was a chain and the franchise places weren't as good as the original on Harwood in Homewood. I went to the one in Addison and it was no where as good as the original.
Another one I'd heard about was Connie's Pizza. Connie's is found mainly on the south side of Chicago and their deep dish pizza is pretty good. However, I like their thin crust pizza better. The crust is firm, yet not crisp. The chunks of sausage are big and plentiful. I think it's pretty good for a thin crust pizza.
Another chain that features stuffed crust pizza in the Chicago area is Nancy's Pizza (see my review in Quad City Pizzas). Nancy's claims to be the first to develop the stuffed pizza in Chicago. I don't really care, but it is pretty good pizza. Is it better than Giordano's? I don't know. I'd have to have them side by side and make a determination. 
And I kind of like how Nancy's is so militant when you order one of their pizzas and call it a deep dish pizza. The actually get kind of huffy and stop you and say, "It's a STUFFED pizza..." For laughs, I keep ordering 'em as deep dish pizzas just to see how pissy they can get with me about it.
One that is a sleeper is the southside chain called Beggar's Pizza. I was pretty impressed with Beggar's the first time I gave it a shot. I've been there a couple times and I can't find much to complain about their pizza. Beggar's runs the whole gamut of Chicago pizza - they do a thin crust, a stuffed pizza and a deep dish pizza. I've had the thin and the deep dish once each and they're both very good. I'd put them on a par with Connie's.
Another chain of restaurants that is "OK" in my book is Rosati's Pizza. They've been around a long time and their pizza isn't bad, but I just cringed when I found out that Rosati's was not only all over Chicago, but they were in nine other states, too. They are specializing in carry out and delivered pizza. I got one of their thin crust pizzas - they say that's their specialty - and took it back to my room one night . As I said it was OK, but nothing earth shaking.
One other pizza chain worth mentioning - although it's not a deep dish pizza - is Home Run Inn. 
I've eaten a Home Run Inn pizza on a couple of occasions (it's close to a hotel I stay at in Addison) and it's OK, as well. I wouldn't call it the best I've ever had, but I certainly wouldn't call it the worst, either. They have a "Fireball" pizza that is sausage, jalapenos and giardineira peppers. I asked them to throw on some pepperoni's and they did. It was actually pretty good.
But of all the deep-dish chains in the Chicago area, the winner, hands down, is Lou Malnati's. The pizza's at Lou's are consistent from location to location. The sauce is tangy, the sausage is great. It's a killer deep dish pizza. Easily my favorite of all the chains.
The Best of the Best -
However, there are three pizza places in the Chicago area that I highly recommend, Brick's on North Lincoln in Lincoln Park; Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company on N. Clark in Lincoln Park; and Burt's Pizza (see map) in Morton Grove.
The awning in front of Brick's says "The Best Pizza on Earth". And they aren't too far wrong from that. Brick's is actually a gourmet pizza and not deep dish. Their ingredients are all natural and you can choose from electic toppings such as sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and spinach; as well as cheeses such as Maytag bleu, gouda, feta and goat cheese. I had a small "Painful" pizza, which was spicy pepperoni, garlic, onion, and jalapenos. I had them put on some sausage just for fun. It was outstanding.
Brick's also has an great selection of eclectic beers to choose from. I would go again in a heartbeat.
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company is not far away from Brick's. In fact, Chicago Pizza is right across and down the street from the site of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, which is now a park with wrought iron fencing around it. Chicago Pizza is unique in that they make Pizza Pot Pies. They make the pizza's upside down and turn 'em right side up when they bring 'em to the table.
They make everything from scratch, their sausage is ground in the basement, their salad dressings are all home made. Their bread for their grinder sandwiches are made on site, too. I've had the Sausage grinder and it is to die for. I think I like it better than the pizza pot pies, and they're incredible, as well.
Word to wise about Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. - it isn't a big place so the wait may be a while. And they don't take credit cards, so take along some cash. It's not a cheap place, but it isn't outrageously expensive either. They're only open for lunch on the weekends.
And last, but certainly not least, is Burt's Pizza on Ferris Ave. in Morton Grove. He's located about two blocks south of Dempster - the main east/west road in Morton Grove. Burt Katz is the owner and he's a little guy with a full beard who looks a little like a leprechan. The place is small, but he has a bunch of memorabilia on the walls and on shelves - old radios and radio broadcasting equipment. It's actually pretty cool to look at.
The pizza at Burt's is, in my estimation, the best in Chicago. It's not exactly deep dish, but it's much more thick than some of the yeasty and doughy pizzas out there. He has the best sausage of any pizza I've ever tried - Chicago or elsewhere. I asked him where he got his sausage and he said if he told me, he'd have to kill me. His pizza is just abso-friggin'-lutely fabulous.
But just like Chicago Pizza, Burt does not take credit cards, so bring along ample amounts of cash.
There's my take on Chicago pizza. I know there's many places I've yet to try and I'll be filling you in on those after I get there.
Thank you so much for posting! My childhood friend that I am visiting said I need to try some pizza at Lincoln Park, specifically http://www.pequodspizza.com, but heading there I plan on eating at all the great pizza places!
Posted by: Tom Hardy | February 12, 2013 at 05:47 PM