Pizzeria Uno Goes Schizophrenic

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Dec 9, 2005 3:34PM

Chicagoist calls it the "'Super Size Me' fallout"- fast food and restaurant chains scrambling to provide healthy alternatives to the greasy, fattening, in some cases tasty food they were offering. Or maybe this just strikes a chord with us because breakfast this morning consisted of two chili dogs and a hot toddy. Either way, the Eatery Formerly Known As Pizzeria Uno has taken steps to offering alternatives to the deep dish pizza that made the chain famous. It's part of a ten-year makeover that, when completed, will make the restaurants indistinguishable from Applebee's, TGI Friday's, Houston's, and Bennigan's aside from the name.

As the crown jewel of the Boston-based Uno Restaurant Holdings Group, Uno Chicago's (and you people bitch about "Macy Field's") menu has been expanded to include healthier, low calorie offerings as wraps, vegetarian soups, and salads in its 200 locations around the world. Additionally, computers located in the front of the restaurants allow customers to check the nutritional information of their menu choices, so they can be assured that what they're eating helps them lose the buddha (couldn't resist, Erin).

The only locations that won't be affected by the switch are Uno Chicago's flagship locations downtown, Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due. Erring on the side of maintaining tradition those restaurants will keep serving up deep dish the way Ike Sewell did when he opened Pizzeria Uno in 1943. Or maybe this is so that Sewell doesn't fly off in a zombie rage if he comes back from the dead looking for a slice of deep dish to complement the succulent brains of the living.