Gridskipper checks in with a post about the many types of pizza on offer in Chicago. In fact, they found ten distinct species, including deep dish, neighborhood style, kosher, stuffed, artisanal and “topped with illegal fois gras” (this last one at Connie’s, of all places, and infrequently available for obvious reasons). We certainly appreciate blog posts that focus on breadth rather than depth, so rather than simply supply more options in the categories that G’skip enumerated, we will add our own categories. Keep in mind that our list isn’t complete, either:
Cook Your Own: At HomeMade Pizza Co (locations in Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Hyde Park, and two in Wrigleyville/Lakeview), they make the pizza, but you bake it. Everything is assembled at the store, and then you bring it home and pop it in the oven. It’s a nice compromise between the post-cooking lag of delivery, and the crapitude of frozen.
Californian: Tacky, but too extant to deny, California Pizza Kitchen is its own thing, and it’s here (in Streeterville, River North, and Lincoln Park). These are the people that brought us the Thai Chicken pizza - pieces of chicken breast marinated in a spicy peanut-ginger and sesame sauce, Mozzarella cheese, green onions, bean sprouts, julienne carrots, cilantro and roasted peanuts. Say what you will, but where else in Chicago can you get that? Oh, right, at CPK ASAP, their new fast service chainlet. Double your pleasure!
Argentinean On a sad note, The Penguin, which had some of the best gelato in the Midwest, as well as cheap and amazing little pizzas with ham and roasted red peppers, bursting empanadas, and more character than any storefront restaurant could possibly ever use, has closed. The owner, Julio, sold it to some guys who couldn’t make it happen, and Chicago is quite bereft as a result. The story is well-covered at LTH.
Pizza 10 Ways In Chicago [G’skip]
Penguin to Change Ownership [LTHForum]
[Photo: HomeMade Pizza Co]
