Pizza Partners
BONCI
Roman
Gabriele Bonci started making and selling his pizza al taglio in Rome, in 2003. The Roman style of pizza is something Chicagoans have only seen elsewhere. In 2017, Bonci opened his first location outside of Rome, in Chicago. Al taglio refers to pizza by the slice (literally “by the cut”) as they are baked in sturdy rectangular trays and then cut to-order and weighed.
161 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60607 | 312.243.4016
CRAFT PIZZA
Artisan
Everything at Craft Pizza screams “farm-to-table,” and they attempt to highlight ingredients, like the fact their sausage is made locally by Anichini Brothers. No need for a wood-burning oven here, because the dough gets a two to three-day cold rise fermentation, allowing it to bake in just eight or nine minutes. Inspired by classic New York-style pizzas at Lombardi’s, John’s and Patsy’s (who have Neapolitan roots) they call their pies “Neapolitan American East Coast,” which implies there is a wide lip, some puffy blistering, and a thin interior.
1252 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60622 | 773.442.7238
D’AMATO’S BAKERY
Sicilian
You can’t miss the “cash only” sign directly behind the cashier at this legendary West Town bakery. Generations have come here for the fantastic, crusty loaves baked in their coal-fired oven (grandfathered in after city regulations changed). Look further down the case for the blackened rectangular sheet pans and you’ll find a treasure trove of Sicilian gold: large rectangular slices of colorful pizzas, topped with all manner of onions, tomatoes or pepperoni. The sausage slices are clearly the most popular, as they consume most of the real estate.
1124 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60642 | 312.733.5456
DANTE’S PIZZERIA
Slice
Dante’s offers both enormous 20-inch specialty pies and gigantic, Fred Flintstone-sized NYC-style slices. These mammoth pieces dwarf most Midwestern slices, and in many ways are superior to them. Let’s begin with the heel, which is at least an inch wide and brushed with garlic butter, parmesan, and herbs, packing a lot more flavor than you’ll find at ninety-nine percent of the by-the-slice joints in Chicago. A well-charred undercarriage and an excellent dough-to-topping ratio make this chewy, blistered mega-slice great any time of the day.
3028 W Armitage Ave | 773.342.0002
2759 W Augusta Blvd | 773.661.2661
DIMO’S PIZZA
Slice
With both locations in bar-dense areas (Wicker Park and Wrigleyville) and signs out front advertising their PBR Tall Boy nights along with delivery until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. on weekends, Dimo’s typical demographic tends to skew young. Buffalo chicken? Macaroni and cheese? Sriracha-marinated tofu tucked into a creamy peanut sauce anyone? This isn’t exactly an NYC-style slice, but it’s a Midwestern slice rooted in that East Coast tradition.
1615 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60647 | 773.525.4580
Also at 3463 N Clark St. | 773.525.4580
FORNO ROSSO
Neapolitan
Nick Nitti has been a student of Neapolitan pizza for some time. He’s visited the Neapolitan gurus around the country for inspiration, like Chris Bianco, in Phoenix, before deciding to open his own place in the Dunning neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest Side. (His newer location, on West Randolph, is much more convenient for Neapolitan-loving pizza fans near downtown, and thus, is on our tour). The cornicione here is majestic: slightly charred from the heat of his wood-burning, beehive brick oven, it arrives amply blistered, covered in generous blobs of fresh mozzarella and a half dozen fresh basil leaves. Take a look inside that crust and you’ll see air pockets, revealing a decent amount of fermentation. This is a crust you want to finish off.
1048 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607 | 312.243.6000
Also at 3719 N Harlem Ave | 773.716.3000
LABRIOLA
Deep-dish
Rich Labriola’s downtown location, just off Michigan Avenue is well within the tourist sweet spot, which means deep-dish is a must. His family recipe (the Russo Sausage, laced with fennel and Calabrian chiles, is a modern Chicago classic) emphasizes a dough that remains impossibly crispy beneath, while offering up some of the best tomato sauce on a deep-dish anywhere in town.
535 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611 | 312.955.3100
LOU MALNATI’S
Deep-dish
Lou Malnati worked at Pizzeria Uno in the ’60s and left to open his namesake along a stretch of Lincoln Avenue in Lincolnwood in 1971. In the decades since, his offspring have stretched the brand into nearly every Chicagoland nook and cranny. They’ve also set up a nationwide shipping apparatus, so your homesick cousins in California can get their deep-dish fix anytime, thanks to FedEx. They offer both the standard deep-dish plus a pizza featuring Malnati’s trademarked Buttercrust™ for an extra charge. Both versions arrive with a crispy-edged crust about two inches high on the outside and a tad shorter on the interior. That crust is sturdy, holding up a layer of Wisconsin mozzarella, lean sausage, and chunky sauce harvested from California tomatoes—but it’s not overkill.
1235 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607 | 312.243.4000
More than 50 locations in Illinois, Wisconsin & Arizona
MY PI PIZZA
Deep-dish
Since 1971, My Pi has been serving deep-dish pizzas. Now sharing a space with Lil’ Guys Sandwiches in a Bucktown strip mall featuring an L.A. Tan salon, My Pi serves thin or deep slices as well as whole pies. The construction of the deep is a bit different than normal: the dough is an even thickness across the bottom and then rises up on the sides a good one to one-and-a-half inches. Cheese covers the bottom layer, insulating the crust from becoming soggy as a result of rendered sausage fat or tomato juices. Then comes the sausage or pepperoni, and finally, the tomatoes. But unlike the thin tomato sauces elsewhere, this topping is a forest of tomato chunks, roasted and slightly blistered, that release their sweetness as they combine with oregano and a hint of garlic.
2010 N Damen Avenue, Unit E, Chicago, IL 60647 | 773.394.6900
NONNA’S PIZZA & SANDWICHES
Sicilian & NYC Slice
This quaint sandwich shop on the side of the Formento’s restaurant, has a surprisingly good spicy Sicilian slice on their sandwich-heavy menu. The recipe calls for adding a bit of the previous day’s dough to the mix, then letting it rest overnight. Unlike other Sicilians, they don’t add any cheese or toppings before the proofing of the dough is finished. They prefer to let it rise, then add whole milk mozzarella slices and the Margherita brand pepperoni discs. Their sauce is quite a bit spicier than most, as they just add some chili flakes, but they’re potent. The bottom has the crispy, lacy undercarriage you’d expect, from frying in the olive oil while baking in the sturdy pans.
925 W Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60607 | 312.690.7323
PAT’S PIZZA & RISTORANTE
Tavern-style
The legend that is Pat’s has always been about its thin crust. When the pie arrives at your table on a stainless-steel, dimpled disc, you can tell immediately how thin it is. Almost caramelized on the edge, the pizza is nicely browned and blackened all over its undercarriage. The sauce goes all the way to the edge, but the crust is where Pat’s excels: so perfectly crispy, almost like eating a salty cracker dipped in cheesy tomato sauce. You can actually hear when you bite into the crust, which is rare among thin crust competitors.
2679 N Lincoln Avenue, Unit E, Chicago, IL 60614 | 773.248.0168
PAULIE GEE’S LOGAN SQUARE
Detroit-style
Ok, so Paulie Gee’s is actually a Greenpoint, Brooklyn-based pizzeria, but local boy Derrick Tung has truly made it his own. In fact, the reason we’ve added PG’s to our rotation isn’t because of the excellent wood-fired artisan pies they’re known for, but rather, Tung’s Detroit-style creation that exists only in Chicago (other branches are located in Columbus, OH and Baltimore). Over the last few years, he’s perfected his recipe, creating the U.S. Pizza Cup, named for the award he won with it. Expect to find bacon jam, cup-and-char pepperoni, Mike’s Hot Honey and fresh ricotta cheese, among other delicious surprises (including a lovely crumb and those trademark caramelized cheese crusts).
2451 N Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647 | 773.360.1072
PIZZA METRO
Roman
This casual Wicker Park joint was the city’s first to offer a Roman al taglio-style pizza (although it is not cut to-order like Bonci). Rome native Marco Schiavoni runs his counter-style pizza shop just like a store back in Italy. His pies are stretched into well-oiled, 32-inch rectangular sheet pans. Toppings range from thinly-sliced potato and rosemary to grilled chicken with vegetables.
1707 W. Division St., Chicago, IL 60622 | 773.278.1753
ROBERT’S PIZZA & DOUGH CO.
Artisan
Robert Garvey is a former New Yorker who had a slice-a-day habit. When he moved to Chicago, he couldn’t find the memorable slices he had as a kid, and spent more than a decade working on his long fermented, high-hydration dough. The result is a truly unique pie with a high cornicione exhibiting great crumb and structure. Toppings usually include something seasonal; everything except the cheese is made in-house.
465 N McClurg Ct., Chicago, IL 60611 | 312.265.1328
SALERNO’S PIZZA OF CHICAGO
Tavern-style
This family-friendly restaurant in West Town has been around since 1966—they have a few other locations in the suburbs, too, including Oak Park and Lyons. The crust here differs from many of the usual tavern-style pizzas in that it has dimension and some cracker-like qualities. The pizza is prepared in a rotating 500-degree gas oven. The dough ferments for 24 hours and is made fresh each day. They also prepare and season their sausage and sauce and shred whole milk mozzarella cheese daily.
1201 W Grand Ave Chicago, IL 60622 | 312.666.3444
