I’m a pizza snob. But I still loved this city’s notorious deep-dish pizza

I’m a pizza snob, but I’ve got no right to be. Brought up on Pizza Hut’s thin n’ crispy ham and pineapples as a kid, it got no better as a teen in Adelaide, where Dino’s pan-style pizzas were delivered in sunshine-yellow hatchbacks with a giant novelty red phone handset on top.

Yet, I am guilty of hating deep-dish pizza. I turn my nose up at the very thought of it, picturing its gooey mass slathered on the top of a billowing, spongy dough like the atrocities committed by major pizza chains here in Australia. And I’d never even been to Chicago, let alone tried the dish the city is most famous for.

But here at this flagship, tavern-style Lou Malnati’s pizzeria in Chicago’s historic inner-city Gold Coast district is where the animosity ends.

In deep – Chicago deep-dish pizza.Credit: Alamy

The pizza is delivered with dramatic flair. It is carved into slices tableside as if you were in a fine-dining restaurant, plated up, and served to diners rather than helping yourself.

The base is nothing like I imagine: a thin pie-like, buttery crust which serves as a sturdy vehicle to carry its heavy load. Because unlike popular wood-fired pizzas, with their artisanal bread-like bases, this pie is all about what’s on top. And for anyone who finds their fashionable, traditional wood-fired pizzas to sometimes be a little on the dry side, read on.

Cheese has a new place, now as the first layer across the base, rather than the top – because these dense pies take more than an hour to cook, and the mozzarella cheese from the US cheese capital of Wisconsin needs to retain its moisture.

Next is your topping of choice. I opt for a vegetarian-friendly spinach mix, however a layer of Malnati’s famous sausage would have elevated its already intense flavour. The remainder of the pie is filled with a rich tomato sauce, from fruit grown in sunny California and balanced for acidity and sweetness. Condiments include old-school powdery Parmesan cheese and chilli flakes. A knife and fork is a must to conquer the crunchy base and avoid spillage. And it must be accompanied by a glass of local craft beer.

The crowd gathers for Pizano’s pizza.Credit: Alamy

The basic pie comes with cheese and tomato filling, and the idea is to add your favourite toppings – anything from olives to pepperoni and chicken sausage. Three is considered overkill (and costly). These days you can order a crustless pizza (for low-carb diets) and gluten-free. You could even request low-fat cheese.

Either way, the result is a palate-pleasing mesh of molten cheese and tomato that reminds me of my childhood visits to Italian restaurants when I would request extra puttanesca sauce with my pasta, as I always preferred the savoury tomato topping to its vehicle. It’s moreish enough to ask for a second serve, but any more than that would be sheer gluttony.

Pizzeria Uno.Credit: Alamy

Business partners Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo are credited with creating the pizza back in 1943. The Texan had a love for business and the Italian for pizza, and the conversation is said to have gone something like this: “Let me make pizza” and the Texan agreed “OK, but it has to be big”. While they are credited with the invention, neither of them were cooks, and their first attempt at opening a restaurant ended in an episode of food poisoning.

It has been said that the lineage of traditional deep-dish pizza is a “tangled spider web of alliances and trails,” but it was more likely that staffer Rudy Malnati played some part in creating the dish, as he worked at their first Pizzeria Uno until the 1970s. His sons opened two more pizza restaurants (Lou’s and Pizano’s), the latter of which is reportedly a shallower version of deep-dish but every bit as tasty.

There are a number of deep-dish pizza joints in Chicago, and if you ask a local, they will all have a different favourite. But there are probably none more authentic than Pizzeria Uno, still open today, and Lou’s, both of which have a multitude of restaurants you can visit around the state of Illinois.

THE DETAILS

FLY
Air New Zealand flies to Houston from Auckland, with connections through to Chicago. The airline plans to resume non-stop flights from Auckland to Chicago next year. See airnewzealand.co.nz

TOUR
You can visit Lou Malnati’s as part of the Bikes, Bites and Brews cycling tour run by Bobby’s Bike Tours that combines food, history and sightseeing during a four-hour ride. See bobbysbikehike.com

STAY
Thompson Chicago is a smart four-star hotel in the heart of Gold Coast with spacious rooms that cost from $270 a night.

The writer was a guest of Air New Zealand and Choose Chicago. See choosechicago.com