Vote On The Sweet Sixteen Of Our 2016 Chicago Pizza Bracket

By Anthony Todd in Food on Sep 29, 2016 2:09PM

(Photo: JB Alberto's Facebook)

Last week, we began our 2016 Chicago Pizza Bracket, where you get to vote on your favorite pizza places in Chicago and crown an overall favorite. The votes from Round 1 are in, and there are some serious surprises.

The voting was heavy and one poll got more than 4000 votes. The biggest surprise of Round 1? The two Chicago pizza behemoths, Giordano's and Lou Malnati's, both got knocked out. Honestly, when we saw the randomized matchups, we felt badly for any pizzeria going up against these two. Their name recognition is so good that we assumed they would destroy the competition. We were wrong. Apart Pizza Company in Edgewater demolished Lou Malnati's 59 percent to 41 percent, while Pequod's destroyed Giordano's by an astonishing 69 percent to 31 percent.

The other big surprise was that Steve Dolinsky favorite My Pi took out cultish Coalfire (56 percent to 44 percent). Many smaller neighborhood places remain in the running, though some of the South and West side spots did get knocked out by their better known north side competitors.

Now it's time for the sweet sixteen. The complete bracket is below, as are the individual polls. This contest will remain open until Monday at 10 p.m. Go!