Daily Archives: 17 October 2012

Bucket List: “America’s Best Pizzas”

So while browsing various Yahoo! articles… I came across one that dealt specifically about some of the best pizzerias all over the country. Originally what I would have done was click on the link and send it to my twitter feed with the hash tag “bucketlist” because I wanted to keep it in mind for when I travel to various places all over the Continental U.S. and I would make sure to make a stop in some capacity.

But after reworking my personal website and keeping up to date with the blog I decided putting ideas up as a post might be a better option… So here it is the first of the series of posts dedicated to places that I would love to travel to before I die…

So what to expect? Instead of essentially reposting what would already be in the article I would probably focus on particular places that are either in Chicago (since that is where I am from) and other areas that pique my interest where I may actually be able to go to. And if I have already gone to a certain restaurant / location I would provide a link to that particular post and provide my own thoughts of the food, service and restaurant in general.

AMERICA’S BEST PIZZAS

Chicago
Chicago is well known as being the inventor of the “deep dish pizza” but according to Yahoo! Its pizzarias only managed to make it to fourth at highest out of twenty… so which locations does Yahoo! recommend?

4. Pizano’s
With four locations and another one on the way, you know that Pizano’s has a loyal fan following among Chicago’s intense deep-dish market. But Pizano’s offers both deep-dish pizza and a thin-crust version that many would claim to even make most New Yorkers happy.



For the deep-dish crowd, the restaurant offers the Rudy’s Special, a pie that the restaurant requests guests’ patience for in advance. This monstrous concoction, topped with cheese, sausage, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers, takes up to 30 minutes to cook all the way through.

5. Vito & Nick’s
In a city dedicated to deep-dish pies, this family-owned restaurant has been serving up thin crust pizzas to Chicago residents for decades, and as the note on their website demonstrates (“If you don’t know about us, you will”), the owners are fairly confident in their popularity. The thin crust and generous cheese and sauce covering will likely leave you in agreement.

8. Gino’s East
Gino’s may be the ultimate in Chicago deep-dish, with a history dating back nearly 50 years. The story starts with two taxi drivers and their friend, who became frustrated with rush hour traffic and decided to open up their own pizza place. Just off the famed Michigan Avenue strip in the heart of downtown, the restaurant has been considered a city mainstay since its conception. The walls of the restaurant are covered with graffiti, as it’s a tradition of Gino’s to carve your name on the wall if you’re a dedicated patron.



Pies begin with a buttery crust that crumbles as soon as you take a bite, and it’s then stuffed with a layer of fillings (ranging from sweet Italian sausage to pineapple), then topped with a more-than-healthy serving of mozzarella cheese, and finished with crushed vine-ripened tomatoes. Their success has led them to open 11 locations, even expanding into neighboring Wisconsin for all those cheese lovers.

If Chicago only made it to fourth at best… who has Chicago beat? It is not a surprise when the top three places recommended by Yahoo are all from
New York City
Who knew that New York City would have so many pizzarias? Or strong ones for that matter? In any case, for someone like who goes to NYC frequently enough, the below is probably something to keep in mind, but not 100% necessary to stop by…
Continue reading