Chicago Auto Show, it's all about Pizza in this town

Well it is official, the Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place has kicked off and is now open to the public, the opening ceremonies for the winter olympics will take place tonight, and guys everywhere will be scrambling to get their last minute gift ideas finalized (Valentines Day).  In the midst of all this, I can't help but think of some awesome Chicago pizza.

With all the guests in town, be they from the suburbs to enjoy the show or out of town auto industry workers setting up and promoting their cars there will be a surge for Chicago pizza and here is why.  HELLO it's 2010 and everyone is feeling the affects of the recession.  No longer are the $1000+ dinners for a party of 4 at Joe's Stone Crab House, Keefers or The Chop House.  I'm sorry I love these places, but that is a terrific waste of money and can be spent better elsewhere.  Now while those types of places can provide an outstanding meal and experience, this is Chicago and you don't have to spend a lot to get the same enjoyable restaurant experience (listen up auto execs, spend smarter).

Gino's East... if you need to spend $1000+ on a meal for your corporate account (I get the whole use it or lose it concept) then take more than 3 clients out.  Get the group together and make it an experience, get down to talking business the Chicago way over a couple of pizzas and some vino.  While you are at it go ahead and leave your mark on the wall at Gino's East (I recommend using a sharpie).  Your money will go a lot further and because the atmosphere is relaxed, I find you get more real business done.

If deep dish isn't your thing and you are looking for a smaller more intimate gathering, well then I would recommend either Coalfire (neapolitan coal burning pizza) in the west town neighborhood or Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar (neapolitan wood burning pizza) in Roscoe Village.  Yes get out of the downtown area and visit a neighborhood!  These places do a fantastic job with the pizza and create an upscale but still casual atmosphere.

Families coming down for the show, please don't read above and think this is directed solely for the business men and women of the show, when I was a kid I loved that after a trip downtown, before we headed back, we stopped off for true Chicago pizza whether it was deep dish or thin crust.  It really is an experience and for a family to get out of the city spending under $75 on dinner these days is priceless.  Remember, bring a sharpie and leave your mark at Gino's... look for it the next time you go back, I can't stress this enough.

Bottom line, you don't have to spend a fortune to get that great Chicago experience, get out there and devour the best food that Chicago has to offer.  Pizza Pizza Pizza and enjoy your time here this weekend!

Blizzards & Earthquakes & Pizza... OH MY!

The snow ended earlier this morning totaling in the ballpark of 14" over a span of 24 hours, in Chicago that is normal... what isn't normal is that there was an earthquake that capped off the storm last night about 3:00 AM!  Originally thought to be a 4.3, it was later downgraded to 3.8 and originated about 40 Miles NW of Chicago.  No it wasn't just a slice of Stuffed Spinach from Edwardo's (which can be massive) falling to the ground, it was a real earthquake in the midwest!

To the left we have previously talked about snowy day in Chicago while to the right we are looking at one of my top 5 thin crust tavern style pizzas.  JC's Pub & Ristorante in Mc Cook featuring just a straight up thin sausage pie.  Their wood paneled decor with dim lighting and Christmas lights on the bar set the scene nicely.

Where to begin with this one, well lets start with what we are looking at, first off this is the finished product seconds after it is set down on my table.  Notice how perfect this cheese is cooked.  In my preferences I go for a slightly burnt cheese on my thin crust pizzas.  JC's knocks that one out of the park! That slightly burnt cheese paired with their amazing sauce gives it the beautiful hues of orange and red all mixed together.  Did I just mention amazing sauce, I sure did... my all time favorite sauce in Chicago land pizza is Aurelio's.

There is no denying it, when ordering from Aurelio's, extra sauce and well done are as automatic as my email signature popping up on new emails.  JC's has a scaled down version of the Aurelio's sauce with just a slight hint of sweetness in their tomatoes.  For this reason I feel JC's appeals to die hard Aurelio's sauce lovers but also doesn't go over board for those who are expecting zero sweetness from their tomato sauce.

That brings us to the crust.  I love how when this pizza is taken out of the oven and sliced, it is put on a "cooling rack" on top of the pan (see pic below).

This helps to give the pizza a nice crispy cracker crunch on the outside pieces but those tiny squares in the middle as the pie is disapearing fall into the category of what I like to call "Fold & Pop".  It's almost as if we enjoy the pieces on the outside as our warm up and then as we start to get full we decide to kill this pizza with an all out attack making each slice just 1 bite.  So there you have it, a pizza with amazing cheese & sauce, and a crust that is both crispy on the outer rim and foldable on the inner rim.

The group I brought to this establishment enjoyed the pizza and all gave it their thumbs up on the spot, but what is so special about this pizza is that as we were heading back to Chicago more comments started to fly, I kept hearing "You know what, that was really a good pie" or "Man I can still sort of taste that sauce" and I truly believe that when a pizza makes you think and talk about it after you have left and are already full, then that is the sign of a top 5 thin crust pizza joint of the Chicago Pizza King.

Saints win! But this is a pizza blog...

Congratulations to the Saints, their fans and everyone else who was pulling for them!  According to my twitter & facebook accounts it seemed as if most of the country was in their corner.  Was it the under dog syndrome???  If so, where were you all year as the Saints destroyed pretty much everyone they played?

As a fan of 1 NFL team and 1 team only (DA BEARS) I could have cared less and just watched for a good game and enjoyed the food that accompanies a Super Bowl Party.  Since I was hosting the party I was in charge of the food and you know where this is going... Pizano's thin crust and deep dish pizza.  Why did I choose this place?  Well besides being awesome with such a buttery crust I happened to have stumbled upon another blog last week www.chitownpizza.blogspot.com in which they reviewed this place.  I read it and was inspired to grab some pies from Pizano's which I hadn't had in a couple of years.

Pizano's was opened in 1991 by Rudy Malnati Jr.  Yes Rudy Malnati Jr. of the Malnati family which are MAJOR players in the Chicago Pizza World.  That being said there are little differences between Lou Malnati's and Pizano's.  One difference noticeable to the eye is their sauce that covers the deep dish.  Sure they have the nice delicious chunks of tomatoes, but they have a little more liquidity in their sauce.  They both have the amazing high rising buttery crust (the best part of a Malnati pizza) and for those 2 reasons I prefer Pizano's to Malnati's.

Now of course when you think Chicago you think Deep Dish ahhhh Stuffed ahhhh.  Well really if you are going to just eat those massive pies then you aren't going to get a whole lot of pieces down.  My favorite way to indulge in a pizzeria that serves both deep dish and thin crust is to use their thin crust as my appetizer and finish it off with the deep dish.  My ratio usually goes around 4-5 thin crust squares and 1-2 deep dish triangles.  On Super Bowl Sunday it was more like 6 thin crust squares and 2 deep dish triangles!

Pizano's thin crust is unique in Chicago, plenty of places have thin crust Tavern Style, but Pizano's is really the only one I know of that takes that buttery crust fro their deep dish and incorporates it into their thin.  If you notice the top left corner of my thin crust picture, that crust looks just like the deep dish crust.  This not only makes it unique but makes it an amazing compliment to the deep dish.

The main point I am trying to get across in this post is that you can experience 2 kinds of awesome Chicago Style Pizza in 1 restaurant that isn't necessarily packed.  Most people seeking this buttery type of pizza will flock to Lou Malnati's which can be packed at just about any time you are thinking of going where as Pizano's delivers similar, enjoyable, convenient pizza.

http://www.pizanoschicago.com/

Coalfire

Located in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago at 1321 W. Grand Ave is a nice little joint called Coalfire.  This is a pizzeria in Chicago that serves pizza far from what most would call "Chicago Style".  They serve a traditional neapolitan style pizza cooked in an 800 degree coal burning oven.  THE ONLY COAL BURNING OVEN IN CHICAGO... for now at least.

J Spillane (pizza chef & owner) is extremely passionate about the way Coalfire's pizzas are made.  When you are using a coal oven that is that hot, it is a quick process... but much care is needed as well.  They will only put in 3 pizzas at a time (don't worry they only take about 5 mins to cook) and they have to be tended to and carefully rotated to achieve the perfect result.  Not to worry, I consider Spillane a master when it comes to that!

Some of my favorites there include the White Pizza (mozzarella, ricotta & romano cheeses, fresh basil, garlic infused oil, oregano & fresh ground pepper), the Margherita Pizza (tomato sauce topped with fresh mozzarella, grated romano, olive oil and fresh basil), and the Meat Pizza (mozzarella topped with tomato sauce, layered with hot calabrese salami, Italian sausage & pepperoni).  Pizzas are inexpensive and are paired well with wine or beer.  Also, they get their salami from Molinari's in San Fran and if you are unfamiliar with them, may I suggest getting salami on your pizza!

Cheat sheet

• White - Hast the salty taste with fresh cheeses and EVOO
• Margherita - Their take on a cheese pizza with tomato sauce (when I test a pizzeria I go for the cheese pizza, if they can't do that right, then I don't care what else they have to offer)
• Meat - almost an overload of meat but in Chicago that is expected, the part that sticks out to me most is the salami which if I'm not mistaken comes from an extra special supplier in San Fran, sausage is local (as it should be!!!)

The best part of Coalfire is that their pizzas are inexpensive, cooked quickly and on your table seconds out of the oven, and they're not too filling so if you want to try more than 1 with your group feel free to have a couple of pies and dig on some slices from each.

Check them out at http://www.coalfirechicago.com/

  

2010

Welcome to The Chicago Pizza King's blog!  It's January 2010 and I can already tell that is going to be a stellar year.  This is a great time to start a pizza blog seeing as it is "NATIONAL PIZZA WEEK!"  As The Chicago Pizza King Blogger my 1st priority is to provide you with all the tools necessary to enjoy pizza in or from Chicago.