These Are Chicago's Best Pizzas—According To Steve Dolinsky

By Anthony Todd in Food on Nov 9, 2015 3:00PM

Remember how Steve Dolinsky was embarking on a massive pizza quest through the city? He tried more than 70 pies, and then spent nearly two weeks slicing and dicing the results into a variety of best-of lists in different categories, covering both the city and the suburbs. What were the results?

If you want to read everything, head to his site, but the highlights for me (city snob that I am) are the best-ofs in each category for pizzas within the city limits. These include best deep dish and best thin crust, with honorable mentions (in our book) for stuffed and Neapolitan.

The winners? The best deep dish pizzas in the city include Lou Malnati's (no surprise), Pequods (no surprise), and Pizano's, as well as My Pi, which I've never been to, and Bartoli's. But despite their "best" rankings, Dolinsky isn't in love with all of them—particular Pequods, which he thinks is too doughy. "What they’re really doing is baking a giant loaf of bread beneath what is really a pretty good pizza topping."

The thin crust selections are more interesting to me, both because I prefer it and because there are more options. Also because, shame on me, I'd only been to one of the five spots on his list - the Boiler Room. Others include Pizza Rustica, Salerno's, Pizza Serio and Caponie's Tratoria. Who's up for a road trip to Caponie's?

If you're a real pizza nut, check out some additional lists. The best neapolitan in Chicago is, unsurprisingly, at Spacca Napoli, while the best stuffed crust is Bacino's. But Dolinsky really doesn't like stuffed crust, noting he wouldn't go out of his way to eat even his top five, and labeling Bacino's stuffed crust pie a "Frankenstein-ian casserole."

Oh, and if you're looking for more pizza goodness, here's our best of list for this year.