The Chicagoist-Steve Dahl Pizza Summit (Part 2)

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Dec 14, 2010 7:00PM

As mentioned yesterday, I had a chance to partake in a pizza summit with legendary radio personality Steve Dahl, where we exchanged lists of 4-5 pizzerias each wanted the other to visit, and then discussed our findings with each other. Dahl gave me his rundown of the pizza joints I selected yesterday. Today, I return the favor.

Chicagoist: I have to say, when I received your list I said to myself, “Jesus. Steve’s not even trying.”

Steve Dahl: Yeah, I knew I didn’t give you a good list, compared to yours.

C: I didn’t say it was a bad list. I think my reaction was due more to a familiarity with most of the places you selected. I mean, Lou Malnati’s and Aurelio’s aren’t necessarily what anyone would consider a mom-and-pop joint. But I did keep coming back to Home Run Inn and thinking, “Really?”

SD: My favorite part of a Home Run Inn pizza (4254 W. 31st St., 773-247-9696) is the outer edge of the crust. It’s nice and crispy. You can really grab a hold of it.

C: I noticed that. Have to also say that, of your selections, Home Run Inn was the meatiest. It was just loaded with that crumbly sausage that’s more like ground beef and a hot, savory sauce like the sauce you couldn’t get enough of at Marie’s.

SD: I like a good Home Run Inn pizza.

C: It makes for a good ballpark pizza.

SD: Yeah.

C: I’ll also say that Home Run inn probably tasted the best of your choices cold.

SD: Really? Why would you eat it cold?

C: I like to look at a pizza’s quality based on three factors: how it tastes fresh out of the oven; how it reheats; and how it tastes cold. Cold pizza and a Pepsi is a classic hangover remedy for me.

SD: … Okay.

C: I’m gonna tell you that I thought of comparing a Home Run Inn pizza from their restaurant with a frozen Home Run Inn pizza from Jewel. But I stopped myself.

SD: Heh. Actually, I have a frozen Home Run Inn pizzas shipped down to my condo in Florida. You know those “Pizza Pizazz” pizza cookers?

C: I’m familiar with how it works.

SD: I put a Home Run Inn pizza on the Pizzaz and it cooks completely. Then I’ll have it when I’m watching the Blackhawks games.

SD: So why didn’t you just visit a Lou Malnati’s or an Aurelio’s in the city?

C: I felt that, since I was having you run around the city and suburbs eating through my list, I should visit the exact locations that you suggested.

SD: Well, good.

C: Although the first time I visited the Lou Malnati’s you selected (4700 Gilbert Ave., Western Springs, 708-246-3400), I had to read twice that it was a carryout only.

SD: Well, it’s near the house and I can get in and out with no problem.

C: I just ate the pizza in front of the counter.

SD: (laughs)

C: Seriously. I just opened the box and started breaking off slices.

SD: What did you think?

C: I’m not a fan of deep dish - it’s a casserole in a bread bowl. But I will eat one. Malnati’s is on my short list behind Giordano’s and Edwardo’s. I added some green peppers to this deep dish to at least feign eating healthy.

SD: What about Aurelio’s?

C: Again, it’s a matter of familiarity. Where the Home Run Inn pizza had that crumbly sausage and a savory tomato sauce, Aurelio’s (11 W. Calendar Ave., LaGrange, 708-579-0900) had a sweeter pizza sauce and a spicier sausage. They also kept the pizza in the oven a while to give the cheese some nice browning and bubbling.

SD: Sure.

C: I had to visit Ledo’s twice because I was fairly certain the first time I hit it I thought you were on to something, but it was just a little bit off. I think it was the crust.

SD: You have to ask them to bake it extra crispy.

C: Which you recommended to me. The second time I went, I asked for an extra crispy bake and that’s what brought the whole pizza together. It also ate well cold.

SD: I think you found from my list that I’m a creature of habit.

C: I did. I also found from the proximity of the three suburban pizzerias that they were all near each other. It was almost as if I could stalk you based on what pizza you had a hankering for.

SD: Ledo’s, for me, is like Stockholm Syndrome for pizza lovers. But I thought you’d like it.

C: What I really liked the most about Ledo’s is I kept biting into sweet bits of onion in either the sauce or the sausage. That was a nice surprise. But the place was empty on both my visits.

SD: Ledo’s tends to be busier during the summer, when Little League coaches are taking their players out for pizza after a game. Btu their delivery trucks are everywhere. I swear you could t-bone a Ledo’s delivery truck every other block around here, there are so many of them.

C: Well, I’m glad I made the effort to take a trip out to the western suburbs to do this. None of the pizzas on your list were bad. Like I said, my initial reaction to your list was more due to the familiarity of the places. They’re all good pizzas, but Ledo’s is definitely the keeper of the four I made it out to visit.

SD: Well, thanks.

C: This was a fun thing to do. I mean, families have stopped speaking to each other over a bad pizza in Chicago.

So there you have it. There is one pizzeria out in Indiana Dahl recommended that I couldn’t make it to by deadline, and it’s closed for the season, anyway. But it’s one more I’ll get to check out in spring.