Pizzeria Via Stato - Pizza Superbly Stated

By Staff in Food on Oct 27, 2010 3:00PM

Chicago knows pizza. Home of its own eponymous pie, pizza here is as hot a commodity as any traded on the CBOT. One can’t throw a stone, or make that a meatball, without hitting a mediocre pizza joint. In a city up to its ears in mozzarella and marinara, a pizza place has to do more than serve a tasty pie to stand apart from the crowd. Luckily, Pizzeria Via Stato is not your average pie-tossing joint. Its delicious, hand-crafted pizzas stand head and cheese above the rest.

A quaint corner of the Lettuce Entertain You empire, Pizzeria Via Stato is cozily nestled within the confines of Chef DiGregorio’s Osteria Via Stato. Unlike its larger sibling, the Pizzeria is more like a tavern, with a comparatively limited menu. The dish of choice is the pizza - thin, crispy, and topped with a tantalizing selection of fresh ingredients. Sure, there is an excellent list of “small plate” appetizers and salads, but the pizza is really the main attraction.

We stopped in on a brisk afternoon to sample Pizzeria Via Stato’s lunch menu. The sandwiches and pasta dishes were tempting, but we had our hearts and our taste buds set on pizza. For us, how a pizza place handles a standard tomato, cheese, and basil pie is the gold standard. Thus, the pizza margherita was our first choice. With its generous toppings and authentic flavor, it did not disappoint. My dining companion also tried a potato pizza - a sauceless “white” pizza with organic fingerling potatoes, pancetta, and smoked mozzarella. Perfectly portioned for an individual diner, each pie was beautifully served and bursting with flavor. Having ordered two, we were happy to share.

The pies we enjoyed at Pizzeria Via Stato met our high standards and provided a great, relaxing lunch. Paired with one of the wines from an astonishingly long list, this is a meal worth sitting, savoring, and sharing with a good friend. We look forward to making pizza pilgrimages monthly, as the featured pies change regularly. Why settle for the standard pie when you can nibble a little pizza nirvana?

Pizzeria Via Stato is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and seven days a week for dinner. Reservations are recommended for dinner, as the place is popular. Pizzeria Via Stato is located at 620 N. State Street.

By John DiGilio